[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E483-E484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           GRADUATE & PROFESSIONAL STUDENT APPRECIATION WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2014

  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in anticipation of Graduate-
Professional Student Appreciation Week, which will be observed this 
year between April 7th and the 11th.
  For more than 25 years, Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation 
Week has been observed as a show of support and appreciation for our 
nation's graduate and professional

[[Page E484]]

students. Its sponsor, the National Association of Graduate-
Professional Students, hosts events across the U.S.A. each year in 
April to educate the public about the importance and impact that 
graduate and professional students have on their communities and our 
country.
  Our nation's graduate and professional students play several 
important roles in our society. For starters, they teach undergraduate 
students at many colleges and universities across the country. In 
addition, they play an often unsung role in our nation's academic 
research efforts, working away in laboratories and libraries on cutting 
edge research. Finally, of course, once they graduate and receive their 
graduate or professional degrees, they go on to careers in science, 
education, law, medicine, and other fields that are essential to 
improving our quality of life and promoting economic growth. The 
National Association of Graduate-Professional Students represents more 
than 600,000 graduate and professional students at over 90 institutions 
across the United States, including a number in Pennsylvania's 14th 
Congressional District.
  More than 15,000 graduate and professional students are enrolled in 
the nine institutions of higher education in and around the City of 
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, 
Duquesne University, Chatham University, Robert Morris University, 
Carlow University, Point Park University, La Roche College, and the 
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
  The graduate programs offered by these institutions and the high 
caliber of students they attract have a tremendous impact on our local 
civic life and economy, not only while they are studying, but often 
because they remain in the region. Graduate students teach 
undergraduates, lead innovative research projects, and start companies 
that attract bigger companies to the region like Google, Yahoo, Disney 
and many others.
  Pittsburgh owes much of its recent economic growth to the world class 
research being done at our local colleges and universities. I think 
it's safe to say that the same is true across the country at 
institutions of higher learning where graduate and professional 
students are working in collaboration with talented faculty members to 
expand the boundaries of human knowledge and improve Americans' quality 
of life.
  That's why I think it's particularly important to recognize our 
nation's graduate and professional students each year. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in observing Graduate-Professional Student 
Appreciation Week this year.

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