[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 163 (Tuesday, December 18, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S8135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES RAMSEY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to my good friend 
and an extraordinary leader of my hometown of Louisville, KY: Dr. James 
Ramsey, the president of the University of Louisville. President Ramsey 
celebrated a milestone for the University of Louisville recently when 
it was announced that UofL was unanimously welcomed into the Atlantic 
Coast Conference.
  The ACC has a great history, a proud athletic tradition, and is home 
to some truly astonishing academic schools. Thanks to Jim's work as 
president over the last decade, the University of Louisville is able to 
stand toe to toe with any of them, in any of those categories.
  Dr. Ramsey is the 17th president of the university, and has held that 
post since 2002. In his 10 years at the helm, he has worked every day 
to make UofL one of the very best metropolitan research universities in 
the country. It is safe to say, he is succeeding.
  Since 2002, the quality of UofL's freshman class has improved every 
year, with the average incoming freshman ACT score rising from 23.2 in 
2002 to 24.7 in 2011. The graduation rate has increased nearly 60 
percent, and the number of doctoral degrees awarded by the school has 
more than doubled since 2002.
  UofL students are also winning national acclaim and prestigious 
academic honors. In 2009, UofL produced its fourth Rhodes Scholar, who 
was also the first woman from UofL to win the award.
  In 2010 and 2011, 14 UofL students won coveted Fulbright 
scholarships, placing UofL among the nation's top 20 Fulbright-
producing institutions each year. Since 2003, 68 UofL students have 
received Fulbright scholarships, which is more than all other Kentucky 
schools combined.
  President Ramsey has created a university culture that is focused on 
research and innovation. This approach has already led to major 
milestones in health care, business, and the environment. The Chronicle 
of Higher Education lists the University of Louisville as the fourth 
fastest growing research university in the country.
  UofL's research funding has doubled from a decade ago, and UofL is 
one of the country's fastest growing research universities in National 
Institutes of Health funding.
  UofL has also strengthened its ties with the city of Louisville in 
such a way that this school is an invaluable asset, not just to its 
students, faculty, and alumni, but to all members of the community. 
UofL has been a major player in the award-winning Partnership for a 
Green City with Jefferson County Public Schools and Louisville Metro 
government.
  It has also launched a Signature Partnership Initiative to improve 
education, health care, social services, and economic opportunity in 
the city. The school is also reaching out to men and women in the Armed 
Forces, signing education, training, and research agreements with Fort 
Knox and the Kentucky National Guard.
  All of these accomplishments in the last decade have transformed the 
University of Louisville from a fine local institution to a superb 
global one--one able to compete with any school in the quality of its 
students and the caliber of its research. Exciting things are happening 
at the university, and we have Jim Ramsey to thank.
  I want to salute Dr. Ramsey and congratulate him on his superb 
leadership of the school I am proud to call my alma mater. He and his 
wife Jane are fixtures of the community, and Elaine and I are honored 
to call them friends.
  I certainly hope Jim will be at the helm of UofL for a long time to 
come. I will always look forward to working with him on ways to better 
the school and the city that we both love.

                          ____________________