[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 38 (Thursday, March 8, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E348-E349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GUAM

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 8, 2012

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the University 
of Guam for their 60 years of providing post-secondary education to the 
island of Guam. UOG was established in June 1952 and has evolved into a 
highly recognized institution of higher education in the Western 
Pacific region, and is the only fully accredited, four-year university 
on Guam.
  UOG is one of the premiere institutions for higher learning in the 
Western Pacific. Under the leadership of UOG President and former Guam 
Delegate to Congress, Dr. Robert A. Underwood, UOG has continued to 
prepare students for their professional careers and carry on their 
mission ``to enlighten, to discover, and to serve.''
  UOG's humble beginnings started in the village of Mongmong as the 
Territorial College of Guam, a two-year teacher training school under 
the authority of the Guam Department of Education, with an enrollment 
of about 200 students. In 1960, the then-Territorial College moved to 
UOG's present location in Mangilao and continued to expand the academic 
programs for its students. In 1963, the Territorial College was granted 
its first accreditation as a four-year degree institution and by 1967, 
it had implemented three new undergraduate schools. On August 12, 1968, 
the Territorial College was renamed the ``University of Guam'' by the 
Guam Legislature.
  In October of 1979, UOG established its Army Reserve Officers' 
Training Corps program to prepare future leaders in our nation's armed 
forces. Since then, UOG's ROTC program has become one of the most 
respected ROTC programs in the United States and was recognized by the 
Department of the Army as the Top U.S. Army ROTC program in 2002.
  Over the years, UOG has continued to expand its academic programs and 
now includes a College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of 
Natural and Applied Sciences, School of Business and Public 
Administration, School of Education, and a School of Nursing & Health 
Sciences. UOG is home to the Water and Environmental Research Institute 
of the Western Pacific (WERI), which has a longstanding history of 
providing high quality research that addresses the unique challenges 
facing Guam's water resources. WERI's expertise and research have 
proved invaluable in studying aquifer sustainability and the military 
build-up.
  UOG has also recently begun efforts to expand its educational 
services by establishing a School of Engineering. This expansion will 
bring greater opportunities for students in Guam, and throughout the 
Micronesia region, to study the engineering field. Further, UOG has 
endeavored on a $60 million capital improvement campaign, which 
includes three new buildings on campus, including a Student Services 
Center, Triton Engagement Center, and a new Fine Arts Building. 
Further, under Dr. Underwood's leadership, UOG has also established the 
Center for Island Sustainability. The Center will create an Islands-
based model of renewable, sustainable and appropriate technologies 
focusing on indigenous energy alternatives and replicable research to 
meet the needs of island communities. The Center is playing a critical 
role in developing studies that will help inform decision-makers about 
the impacts of the military build-up on Guam and reasonable 
mitigations.
  I congratulate the University of Guam on their 60th anniversary, and 
I commend them for their years of providing higher education

[[Page E349]]

opportunities to the people of Guam and the Western Pacific region. I 
also commend the UOG Board of Regents, UOG President Dr. Robert 
Underwood, and all administrators, faculty, and staff, for their 
commitment to the mission of the University. I look forward to the 
continued growth and expansion of UOG for many years to come.

                          ____________________