[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 144 (Monday, September 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5991-S5992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                      TRIBUTE TO DR. C. PAT TAYLOR

 Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to Dr. C. Pat 
Taylor, who has served as president of Southwest Baptist University in 
Bolivar, MO, for the last 15 years, making him the longest serving 
president in the 133-year history of the school. Dr. Taylor already had 
an impressive record in higher education before coming to SBU in 1996. 
In the last 15 years he has added to that record of accomplishment and 
earned respect for his leadership and dedication to the students and 
community at Southwest Baptist University.
  Southwest Baptist University is a very special place to me. I earned 
my undergraduate degree there and 20 years later served 4 years as its 
President. Dr. Taylor is my successor, and I have enjoyed watching the 
university grow and get even better under his leadership.
  During his remarkable tenure at SBU:
  Dr. Taylor has presented a record 11,881 degrees since 1996.
  SBU has Missouri's third largest nursing degree program on its 
Springfield campus.
  The number of student missionaries sent out in North American has 
doubled to more than 400 in the last decade, and Dr. Taylor hopes to 
see that continue to increase.

[[Page S5992]]

  Student enrollment peaked at more than 3700 in the fall of 2009 and 
remains at 3,576 this semester.
  The Partner in Excellence campaign between 1999 and 2005 raised a 
record $62 million to fund 13 major building projects for the arts, 
instructional technology and extended learning, sports and athletics, 
religious education, and campus parking.
  The SBU endowment more than doubled during the last decade to over 
$19 million.
  The school's first doctoral program was launched, and the number of 
physical therapy applications has grown each year.
  ``It's all God's blessing,'' Dr. Taylor has explained. ``We've worked 
hard, but God has blessed it. It's not what we've done, but it's what 
God has done through us. When I really look at our success, it's 
because God has ordained that we will be successful.''
  I could not agree with Dr. Taylor more. I would add that Dr. Taylor 
is a blessing to Southwest Baptist University and the community. It is 
my hope that Southwest Baptist University continues to meet its mission 
as a ``Christ-centered, caring academic community preparing students to 
be servant leaders in a global society.'' It is a bold calling, and I 
am certain SBU has the leadership and dedication in Dr. Taylor to see 
it fulfilled.

                          ____________________