[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 55 (Thursday, April 16, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E517-E518]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 16, 2015

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark an important milestone in the 
history of my home state of Maryland. On April 15, 2015, the faculty, 
staff, students, and alumni of Bowie State University will celebrate 
the school's 150th anniversary at its annual Founders Day.
  In the final months of the Civil War, the Baltimore Normal School 
began serving emancipated African-Americans by offering training for 
teachers. In 1910, it outgrew its facilities and moved to a 187-acre 
lot in Bowie, Maryland, and in 1914 it became the Maryland Normal and 
Industrial School at Bowie. Over the course of the twentieth century, 
the institution evolved into a four-year degree-granting college and 
eventually became a liberal arts college whose mission extended well 
beyond training educators. Renamed Bowie State College in 1963, it 
provided access to higher education for African American students, many 
of whom were barred from other institutions as a result of segregation.
  In 1988, in recognition of the school's important role in higher 
education for Marylanders and its expansion into graduate studies, it 
was elevated to University status and welcomed into the University 
System of Maryland. Since then, Bowie State University has been one of 
Maryland's top institutions of higher education and has continued to 
rank as one of our nation's leading historically black colleges and 
universities, preparing not only some of the brightest young minds in 
Maryland but also training a new generation of leaders for our nation's 
African American community.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been proud to represent Bowie State University in 
Congress and to help secure federal grants that help the school expand 
its cutting-edge programs, including in the high-demand areas of 
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--or ``STEM'' 
education. In recent years, Bowie State University has become a 
national leader in what many are calling ``STEAM'' education, which 
brings traditional ``STEM'' fields together with art and design in 
order to prepare students for careers in digital technologies. At the 
same time, Bowie State University has become a national center for 
training in cybersecurity, drawing on its proximity to Ft. Meade and 
defense institutions in the Greater Washington area. It continues to 
build on a groundbreaking $27 million award from NASA and the National 
Science Foundation in 1995 that recognized Bowie State University as a 
national Model Institution for Excellence in STEM education.
  Last year, I joined President Obama in Prince George's County, 
Maryland, to highlight a $7 million Youth Career Connect grant that was 
made possible through an innovative partnership between the County's 
public schools, Lockheed Martin, and Bowie State University's Maryland 
Center to grow the pipeline of students pursuing college degrees and 
STEM-related careers. The University is playing a major role in growing 
Maryland's high-skill workforce for the twenty-first century, and I am 
excited for what the future holds.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating Bowie State 
University's proud history as it marks its sesquicentennial. I look 
forward to continuing to work closely with President Mickey Burnim and 
the Administration to ensure that Bowie State University can continue 
to carry out its mission of providing high-quality higher education and 
research that supports learning and careers in Maryland and across the 
United States.

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