[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 30 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT ROBERT A. CORRIGAN

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 27, 2012

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents in San 
Francisco, I am proud to honor Dr. Robert A. Corrigan in his final year 
as President of San Francisco State University. He has been a visionary 
leader in higher education and has made enormous contributions to San 
Francisco, California, and indeed, to our entire nation.
  During his 24-year tenure, President Corrigan transformed San 
Francisco State University into a premier urban university that 
reflects the diversity of the city it serves, works on behalf of social 
justice, and educates a 21st century workforce.
  President Corrigan has studied and taught at a number of prominent 
universities; how proud we were when he chose to come to San Francisco 
State University.
  President Corrigan was an early pioneer for diversity in education. 
At San Francisco State, he made a steadfast commitment to diversity of 
background, ethnicity, and gender in faculty hiring. He established 
groundbreaking initiatives to incorporate women and minorities into the 
faculty, resulting in one of the most diverse faculties of any U.S. 
university.
  Under President Corrigan's direction and guidance, San Francisco 
State evolved into the ``College with a Conscience,'' boasting a 
multicultural campus, and a faculty and student body that are actively 
engaged in public service. San Francisco State's Institute for Civic 
and Community Service is recognized as a national model. In 2001, San 
Francisco State assumed management of the City's Head Start Program, 
one of the few universities to do so, serving 1,800 low-income 
children.
  Corrigan made access to a quality education a priority of his 
presidency. With his wife, he established the Robert and Joyce Corrigan 
SF Promise Endowed Scholarship Fund that places higher education within 
reach of students from underserved, low-income neighborhoods. Joining 
forces with the City of San Francisco, they created an initiative that 
ensures admission and financial assistance to qualified San Francisco 
high school graduates, many of whom are the first in their family to 
attend college. Indeed, San Francisco State boasts one of the highest 
percentage of first-generation college students in the nation.
  President Corrigan's visionary leadership has been recognized by 
many. Most notably, he was handpicked by President Bill Clinton to 
chair the Steering Committee of College and University Presidents for 
the ``America Reads Challenge'' and ``America Counts'' initiatives.
  President Corrigan has been an educator, a role model, and a dynamic 
leader. On behalf of many of my constituents, I express gratitude for 
his 24 years of service at San Francisco State University.

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