[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 21, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF TREVOR COLBOURN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 21, 2015

  Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding 
member of the Central Florida community, Trevor Colbourn. Trevor passed 
away on January 13, 2015 at the age of 87 and will be deeply missed.
  Born in Armindale, New South Wales, Australia on February 24, 1927, 
Trevor became the second President of, what was then known as, the 
Florida Technological University in 1978. Recognizing that the 
University had grown beyond being just ``Florida's Space University,'' 
Trevor renamed the institution the University of Central Florida. In 
addition to the high-profile name change, Trevor also established the 
University's honors program and a football program that went on to earn 
national rankings. Trevor nurtured Orlando's fledgling research park, 
and developed a partnership with Orange County that has created 
thousands of high tech jobs and helped transform the region's economy.
  Under Trevor's leadership, the University introduced the state's 
first stand-alone doctoral program in computer science, and expanded 
its Ph.D. offerings to include civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, 
industrial and environmental engineering. Trevor also spearheaded a 
long effort to create equitable funding for the state's newer 
universities to put them on the same financial footing as the well-
established state universities.
  Known as the ``Scholar President,'' Trevor held degrees from the 
University of London, the College of William and Mary, and the Johns 
Hopkins University, where he earned his doctorate in American History 
in 1953. An expert on the American Revolution and Thomas Jefferson, 
Trevor penned a number of books and articles, including The Lamp of 
Experience, Fame and the Founding Father, and The Americans: A Brief 
History.
  Trevor was an active member of the American Association of State 
Colleges and Universities, the Metro Orlando Economic Development 
Commission, the Orlando Crime Prevention Association, the Board of 
Visitors of the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, the United 
Way, the Greater Orlando Sports Organizing Committee, the Kiwanis Club, 
the boards of the local opera company and public television station and 
the Organization of American Historians.
  A lifelong Episcopalian, Trevor is survived by Beryl, his wife of 66 
years, his daughters, Katherine ``Kit'' Wrye and Elinor Colbourn, and 
four grandchildren.
  I am saddened by the loss of such a valuable member of the Central 
Florida community and extend my heartfelt condolences to his family.

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