[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 124 (Monday, August 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S6235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA 50TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. DONNELLY. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate the University of 
Southern Indiana, USI, on its 50th Anniversary. I also want to 
recognize the outstanding faculty and staff for the extraordinary 
impact they have had on the education and lives of hundreds of 
thousands of students.
  USI was founded September 15, 1965, in Evansville to respond to the 
need for a public higher education institution in southwestern Indiana. 
It began first as a regional campus of Indiana State University and 
then on April 16, 1985, legislation was signed into law making USI a 
separate State university. The university started out small, but 
quickly expanded, sitting on 330 acres by September 1969 and today 
covering 1,400 acres.
  USI is home to four academic colleges: the Romain College of 
Business, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Nursing and 
Health Professions, and the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and 
Education. USI is a Carnegie Foundation Community Engaged University 
and offers continuing education and special programs to more than 
15,000 participants annually through outreach and engagement. USI also 
houses the Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville.
  More than 9,300 students are currently enrolled at USI, and the 
university serves full-time, part-time, commuting and continuing 
education students. USI takes great care to keep class sizes small to 
maintain a high quality of individualized instruction; 40 percent of 
classes have fewer than 20 students and only 7 percent have more than 
50. These numbers reinforce an institution committed to its vision of 
``Shaping the future through learning and innovation.'' The USI 
curriculum offers a wide variety of classes in 70 undergraduate majors 
in the areas of liberal arts, preprofessional, professional, technical, 
and occupational programs at both the associate and baccalaureate 
levels, in addition to its 10 master's programs and a nursing 
doctorate. With more than 140 student groups on campus, USI's student 
body is living up to the university's mission to be an ``engaged 
learning community,'' one that always strives to achieve its goal of 
``advancing education and knowledge, enhancing civic and cultural 
awareness, and fostering partnerships through comprehensive outreach 
programs.''
  USI has exceled outside of the classroom as well. The Screaming 
Eagles compete as a member of the NCAA Division II athletics in the 
Great Lakes Valley Conference. USI boasts 17 varsity teams and has 
claimed three national championships--men's basketball in 1995 and 
men's baseball in 2010 and 2014. The Screaming Eagles have finished as 
national finalists three times--men's basketball in 1994 and 2004 and 
women's basketball in 1997. In addition, the USI men's and women's 
cross country/track teams have combined to capture seven individual 
national championships since 1997. These teams have accomplished much 
over the past 50 years, all the while meeting high academic standards 
in the classroom.
  USI has, for the last five decades, provided its students from 
southwestern Indiana, across our State, and around the country with the 
opportunity to achieve their dreams through higher education. USI 
remains representative of the hard work, dedication, and innovation 
that are such integral parts of the Hoosier spirit. I congratulate 
president Linda L. M. Bennett, the entire faculty and staff, and 
students both past and present, on this important anniversary. I am 
confident USI will continue to be a fixture in southwestern Indiana and 
know the faculty and staff will continue to provide an outstanding 
education to our students in the years to come. On behalf of the 
citizens of Indiana, I congratulate each and every member of the USI 
community on this 50th anniversary. I wish the University of Southern 
Indiana continued success and growth for many more years to come.

                          ____________________