[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 11, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY'S 225TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 11, 2014

  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Georgetown's 225th 
anniversary. Founded in 1789 by Bishop John Carroll of Maryland, 
Georgetown stands as the oldest Jesuit and Catholic University in the 
United States. For over 225 years Georgetown has educated young 
scholars of all ages and backgrounds, equipping them with the knowledge 
and skills to make a difference in the world. What began as a two story 
old brick building has now become one of the finest universities in the 
country and I celebrate the University's founding.
  Bishop Carroll, in his ``Proposals for Establishing an Academy at 
George-Town, Potowmack River, Maryland,'' envisioned an institution 
which gave ``undivided attention . . . to the cultivation of virtue, 
and literary improvement.'' On January 23rd, 1789 he received the first 
deed for the land that became the campus of Georgetown University. Then 
in 1815 President James Madison signed an Act of Congress granting a 
federal charter to ``The College of Georgetown in the District of 
Columbia.'' Only the U.S. Military Academy had received a federal 
charter prior to Georgetown. In 1850 the first Catholic Medical School 
was established and 20 years later Father Patrick Healy, who was born a 
slave, became the first African American president of a major American 
university. Much later in 1919 the university added the Walsh School of 
Foreign Service, of which I am a proud alumnus.
  For over two centuries Georgetown has grown and evolved along with 
the Nation; today, it is home to students from all fifty states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the 
Northern Marianas as well as from 141 countries around the globe. At 
the university's Centennial Anniversary a speaker noted, ``It has taken 
a century to develop our country into a mighty nation and a united 
people. The same century has developed the college founded by John 
Carroll into a great and prosperous university, fully competent to hold 
her place among the universities of the world.'' This statement still 
holds true today and Georgetown stands as one of the most highly ranked 
educational institutions in the world.
  In recent years, research at Georgetown has led to important 
breakthroughs such as the development of a vaccine against the human 
papillomavirus, and efforts are being made to improve the Nation's 
capacity to identify and track the outbreak of diseases. The campus has 
been home to renowned faculty including the late U.N. Ambassador Jeanne 
Kirkpatrick and the late Carroll Quigley whom, Georgetown alum Bill 
Clinton quoted in his first inaugural address.
  Today, fifteen Members of the House of Representatives hold 
Georgetown degrees including our colleague the Honorable John Dingell, 
who holds two Georgetown degrees and is the longest serving Member of 
Congress in the Nation's history. It is a distinct privilege to serve 
in this body with esteemed colleagues who also studied at Georgetown.
  Mr. Speaker, I know they, in particular, share my pride in 
recognizing the 225th anniversary of the university's founding and look 
forward to a bright future for our alma mater.

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