[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 172 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S6659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to honor the College of 
Wooster in recognition of its 150th anniversary of providing quality 
higher education to the citizens of Ohio. In 1865, Reverend James Reed, 
the minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Wooster, rallied the 
community to create a Presbyterian college in Wooster. On December 18, 
1866, the then University of Wooster was incorporated by the 
Presbyterian Synod. In order to better reflect the institution's 
offerings, the University of Wooster became the College of Wooster. 
Wooster's first class consisted of 30 men and 4 women instructed by 
five faculty members; the college now enrolls over 2,000 students, 
representing 45 States and 44 countries, and instructed by 171 faculty 
members. Wooster now has more than 50 academic programs in business, 
the arts, humanities, and the sciences.
  The mission of the College of Wooster is to create ``a community of 
independent minds, working together to become leaders of character and 
influence in an interdependent global community.'' Wooster accomplishes 
this by offering a rigorous and dynamic liberal education that focuses 
on mentoring, applied learning, and project based learning where 
students develop attributes that are valued by employers and important 
for developing the leaders of tomorrow. It is helping to ensure that 
students are prepared with the skills they need for the jobs of the 
21st century. Because of this, 92 percent of Wooster graduates are 
either employed or in graduate school within 1 year after receiving 
their diplomas. We are proud to have this extraordinary independent 
college in Ohio.
  I am here to honor the College of Wooster and to congratulate all of 
those who contributed to making its first 150 years such a success.

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