[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 19, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6759-S6760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO DR. JULIA LINK ROBERTS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a fine 
Kentuckian and an outstanding educator, my friend Dr. Julia Link 
Roberts. Dr. Roberts is the Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies at 
Western Kentucky University and the executive director of the Center 
for Gifted Studies, a leading Kentucky institution devoted to providing 
opportunities to gifted students for over 30 years.

[[Page S6760]]

  Dr. Roberts's stature in her field was recognized recently when she 
was presented with the Acorn Award by the Kentucky Council on 
Postsecondary Education. She is the only professor this year from a 4-
year institution to be so honored.
  Dr. Roberts has been recognized for her excellence before. In 2001, 
she received the very first David W. Belin Advocacy Award from the 
National Association for Gifted Children. She was named as one of the 
55 most influential people in the field of gifted education by Profiles 
of Influence in Gifted Education in 2004.
  In addition to her work at WKU and with the Center for Gifted 
Studies, Dr. Roberts was the driving force behind the creation of the 
Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky, an 
outstanding school that provides the opportunity for gifted students 
from across the State to spend their junior and senior years at WKU 
taking college-level courses. Newsweek magazine recently named the 
Gatton Academy one of America's top five high schools.
  Thousands of Kentucky's brightest, most promising students have come 
closer to realizing their full potential thanks to the guidance and 
direction of Dr. Roberts. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of 
them and can truly say they are among the finest Kentucky has to offer.
  I want to offer her my sincerest congratulations on the well-deserved 
honor of winning the Acorn Award. It is only the most recent 
affirmation of the great contribution she has made to the Commonwealth, 
her students, and the field of education. I am sure her husband, Dr. 
Richard Roberts, and their children and grandchildren and extended 
family are very proud of her and all she has achieved.
  The Bowling Green Daily News recently published an article 
recognizing Dr. Julia L. Roberts's remarkable career in education and 
her most recent achievement in winning the Acorn Award. I ask unanimous 
consent that the full article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           [From the Bowling Green Daily News, Oct. 8, 2011]

                 WKU's Roberts Honored With Acorn Award

                           (By Laurel Wilson)

       A Western Kentucky University professor recently was one of 
     two Kentucky faculty members to be honored with an Acorn 
     Award this year.
       Julia Link Roberts, Mahurin Professor of Gifted Studies at 
     WKU, was recognized as an outstanding professor at a four-
     year institution in the state.
       The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education has given 
     out Acorn Awards since 1992, said Sue Patrick, communications 
     director for the CPE. Each year, a faculty member is 
     recognized from a four-year institution and a two-year 
     institution.
       In addition to Roberts, David Cooper, a professor of 
     English and African-American history at Jefferson Community 
     and Technical College, was also honored.
       Recipients of the Acorn Award are chosen based on faculty 
     and student recommendations, as well as self-written essays 
     about their teaching philosophy, Patrick said.
       In his letter of recommendation for Roberts, WKU President 
     Gary Ransdell called her ``the model of an outstanding 
     faculty member'' and ``a true champion for education, from 
     elementary students to professional educators.''
       Roberts started WKU's Center for Gifted Studies more than 
     30 years ago, where she is executive director and has helped 
     generations of gifted students and their families, Ransdell 
     said in his letter.
       She was also one of the driving forces behind creating the 
     Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in 
     Kentucky, a program at WKU that allows high-school students 
     to spend their junior and senior years taking classes at WKU.
       The awards were presented during the 23rd annual Governor's 
     Conference on Postsecondary Education Trusteeship, which took 
     place Sept. 23 in Lexington and was sponsored by the CPE and 
     Kentucky's colleges and universities.
       ``This is always the highlight of our conference,'' Patrick 
     said.
       The conference is a great place to showcase faculty 
     excellence because trustees from all state universities are 
     together in one place, she said.
       Roberts and Cooper each received $5,000 and a plaque, she 
     said.
       ``Our faculty members are the heart of each of our colleges 
     and universities,'' CPE President Bob King said in a news 
     release. ``Recognizing excellence among so many talented and 
     dedicated teachers and scholars is a difficult, but rewarding 
     task. We are enormously grateful to Professor Cooper and Dr. 
     Roberts for their contributions to so many students across 
     the commonwealth.''
       Roberts said in an email that she was ``both thrilled and 
     humbled'' to be recognized for her excellence in teaching, 
     scholarship and service.
       ``I am proud to have a positive impact on young people who 
     participate in various programs offered by the Center for 
     Gifted Studies,'' she said. ``I am very happy to work with 
     teachers as my graduate students and to write articles and 
     books that encourage educators to remove the learning ceiling 
     for children and young people who are ready to learn at 
     advanced levels.''

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