[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 148 (Monday, December 8, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING DR. MICHAEL B. McCALL ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT 
  AS PRESIDENT OF THE KENTUCKY COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2014

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor, commend, and 
congratulate Dr. Michael B. McCall, founding president of the Kentucky 
Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), on the event of his 
retirement. Dr. McCall has led KCTCS all of the 17 years since its 
creation in 1997, and during that time has overseen the coordination of 
Kentucky's community colleges, technical institutes, and the University 
of Kentucky into an education system that is now the largest provider 
of postsecondary education in the Commonwealth.
   Dr. McCall, a strong advocate for a robust community college system 
even before coming to Kentucky, was recruited to KCTCS due to his 
knowledge, experience, and personal drive to see students succeed. As 
both an educator and an administrator, he has overseen the physical 
expansion of KCTCS and a dramatic upgrade in the system's academic 
quality. Dr. McCall oversaw 45 capital projects totaling approximately 
$500 million, giving 95 percent of all Kentuckians access to a KCTCS 
institution within a thirty minute drive. This enhanced presence has 
helped train the skilled workforce that Kentucky needs in order to 
compete in the modern economy.
   Under Dr. McCall's leadership, enrollment at KCTCS increased by 
nearly 110 percent, contributing to the education of more than 500,000 
Kentuckians. Dr. McCall also established or integrated several 
specialized programs to provide specialized skills for emergency 
services and some of Kentucky's signature industries, including 
emergency medical services, fire and rescue science technology, 
automotive manufacturing technical training, coal mining, and 
horseracing. The high-skilled, high-paying jobs in these fields will 
reinforce the readiness of Kentucky communities to guarantee public 
safety, grow and develop our local industries, and expand Kentucky's 
competitive advantage.
   Dr. McCall's stewardship of KCTCS has provided the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky with an academic tradition that will benefit generations to 
come. I congratulate Dr. McCall on a terrific career improving the 
lives of my fellow Kentuckians as he enters retirement and wish him all 
the best for whatever the future may hold.

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