[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1331-E1332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE ON ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO.

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 25, 2012

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, today I commemorate the 20th anniversary of 
the Leadership Alliance. The Leadership Alliance, established in 1992, 
is a national academic consortium of leading research universities and 
minority serving institutions with the mission to develop 
underrepresented students into outstanding leaders and role models in 
academia, business, and the public sector.
  Through an organized program of research, networking and mentorship 
at various critical transitions alont the entire academic training 
pathway, the Leadership Alliance prepares young scientists and scholars 
from underrepresented and underserved populations for

[[Page E1332]]

graduate training and professional apprenticeships. Leadership Alliance 
faculty mentors provide high quality, cutting-edge research experiences 
in all academic disciplines at the nation's most competitive graduate 
training institutions and share insights into the nature of academic 
careers.
  Chaminade University, located in Honolulu, Oahu, has been a member 
institution of the Leadership Alliance since 2007. In the past five 
years, 16 students have participated in the Summer Research Early 
Identification Program--performing research at Brown, Harvard, Tufts, 
Yale, and other universities.
  Nearly 70 percent of Leadership Alliance early identification 
students enroll into a graduate level program and, of that 70 percent, 
25 percent enroll into PhD programs. Chaminade students have had 
transformative summer research experiences, encouraging their pursuit 
of graduate degrees, particularly in the fields of science, technology, 
engineering, and math (STEM).
  One Chaminade student, Natasha Flores, was able to do research at 
Yale University. Since graduating, she has conducted cancer research at 
the National Cancer Institute and has just completed her second year in 
a Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program at Stanford University. Joseph 
Tillotson, a 2011 Chaminade graduate, completed two summers of research 
through the Leadership Alliance and will be beginning Ph.D. studies in 
Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arizona this fall.
  Leadership Alliance Doctoral Scholars are diversifying the academy at 
research-intensive institutions and are engaging in career positions in 
government and industry.
  Congratulations to the Leadership Alliance on two decades of 
committed service to supporting a diverse and competitive research and 
scholarly workforce in the United States.

                          ____________________