[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S743-S744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. JOE McDONALD

 Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, today I wish to praise a great 
Montanan, Dr. Joe McDonald. Dr. McDonald's life achievements, work 
history and professional honors are large and impressive. He is a 
father, husband and friend who will always be remembered as a community 
leader, tribal council member and college president. What I appreciate 
most about Joe, though, is his remarkable ability to bring people 
together to work toward a common goal. Whether it is to create an 
institution of higher education, lead his tribal council or raise a 
healthy family, Joe has been patient, respectful and productive. I look 
up to Joe and consider him a friend.
  Dr. McDonald recently retired as president of the Salish and Kootenai 
College after a remarkable career and a lifetime of public service. 
Joe's career, indeed his entire life, is an inspiration not just to 
people living on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana, 
but also to thousands of students and others he touched over the years. 
As the local newspaper reported in a downbeat tone, ``Dr. McDonald 
retires. They say all good things must come to an end.''
  Dr. McDonald, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai 
Tribes, was born in St. Ignatius, MT. His good family gave him self-
confidence and other tools to become a role model in an increasingly 
divided world. Western Montana College recognized Joe's potential 
early. They gave the gifted student athlete a scholarship to play 
football and baseball, and the platform to fly. Joe turned the 
opportunity into an associate degree in education in 1953, a bachelor's 
degree in education from the University of Montana in 1958, an M.S. 
degree from UM in 1965, and an Ed.D. in 1981. Higher education gave him 
the foundation to make history.
  After college, Dr. McDonald mentored many reservation youths as 
coach, principal and superintendent at Ronan High School from 1968 
through 1976. While there, Joe began to bridge a divide he saw between 
Indian and non-Indian students. Wanting to do more than just complain, 
he created the first Native American Studies program in Montana Public 
Schools. Today, all Montana public schools include a curriculum 
entitled ``Indian Education for All.'' Although many good people had a 
hand in it, we can thank Joe McDonald for leading the way.
  Success as a teacher, coach and administrator gave him dreams of 
higher education on the Flathead Indian Reservation. In the 1970s, he 
began to lay the foundation for SKC. And in 1977, Congress passed the 
Tribal College Act. The new law opened the door for Dr. McDonald to 
create SKC, but didn't include any money to make it happen.
  With no money, no classrooms, no teachers and no students, Joe became 
president of SKC and served for over three decades. Beginning with 
literally nothing, he built the institution from the ground up. 
Educators around the Nation now credit him for building SKC into one of 
the, if not the flagship tribal college in the United States. When he 
retired last year, the college had a 130-acre campus with modern 
infrastructure. Administrators can now thank him for growing the 
school's endowment from just $5 in 1978 to more than $8 million today. 
They can also thank him for the $26 million operational budget, 58 
faculty members and more than 180 operational employees who educate 
1,100 students. Remember, none of it existed before Dr. Joe McDonald 
took the initiative to create it.
  And believe it or not, he did even more for his community. In 
addition to growing perhaps the most dynamic tribal college in the 
Nation, Dr. McDonald also served as an elected representative on the 
CSKT Tribal Council from 1974 to 1982. In terms of coaching, Joe is 
among the best. He has coached track, football and basketball--
mentoring high school and college students, at-risk kids and groomed 
college athletes. Not only did his athletes succeed in sports, but 
because of his lessons, they succeed in life, too.
  Joe married Sherri, the love of his life, when he was 19 years old. 
During their remarkable time together, Joe and Sherri raised four 
children, nine grandkids and six great-grandkids. As an example of his 
keen perception about people, he recognized how valuable she was. 
Throughout the years, he

[[Page S744]]

selflessly gave her credit for everything he accomplished.
  Some of his career and personal highlights include: 1951, Montana 
Class C, All State Basketball Team; 1959, Montana Class C Basketball 
Coach of the Year; 1989, National Indian Educator of the Year, National 
Indian Education Association; 1996, Montana Governor's Humanity Award 
Recipient; 2000, Michael P. Malone, Educator of the Year Award of 2000; 
2005, U of Montana's Highest Recognition, Honorary Doctorate of Humane 
Letters; 2005, University of Montana Foundation, Selected as one of the 
50 greatest Grizzlies; 2008, American Indian College Fund President of 
the Year; and 2008, Inducted into the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of 
Fame.
  He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Gonzaga University in 
Washington State and Montana State University and was named 
distinguished alum of the University of Montana and Western Montana 
College.
  Joe served on the Board of the American Indian College Fund, the 
American Indian Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors, and the 
Board of the American Indian Business Leaders.
  In 2009, CSKT created the ``Dr. Joseph F. McDonald Educational 
Excellence Award'' so others may aspire to the greatness embodied by 
its namesake.
  In 2010, in conjunction with his retirement event, CSKT designated 
the day officially as Joe McDonald Day.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in acknowledging this fine man and 
wishing him the best of luck in a well-deserved retirement. Knowing his 
love of family, I am sure those great-grandkids will keep him happy for 
years to come. But knowing Joe, I bet we haven't seen the last of him. 
My bet is that his dedication to public service is just too strong for 
him to fade into the sunset.
  We look forward to whatever challenges Dr. Joe McDonald decides to 
take on next. The world will be a better place because of it. It is 
already a better place because of him.

                          ____________________