[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 91 (Thursday, May 25, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND PRESIDENT DR. BRADLEY GOTTFRIED

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2017

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, next month the College of Southern Maryland 
in my district will bid farewell to Dr. Bradley Gottfried, who will 
step down as its president. Dr. Gottfried has led the College for the 
past eleven years with great care and dedication to its mission of 
expanding higher educational opportunities to those living in Charles, 
Calvert, and St. Mary's Counties and throughout the region.
  The College of Southern Maryland began as a public community college 
serving Charles County residents in 1958 and has since grown into one 
of our state's most highly respected institutions of higher education 
serving commuter and remote learning students. Offering associates 
degrees in the arts, sciences, and teaching, the College served a total 
of more than 11,000 credit students at four campus locations last year 
and an additional 20,000 students online. It hosts six women's and six 
men's intercollegiate NCJAA Division III athletic teams and nurtures a 
strong school pride among its students and alumni. The College also 
trains many students who are serving in the military or who have been 
recently discharged as veterans. Many of its graduates transfer to 
four-year colleges to pursue bachelor degrees.
  During Dr. Gottfried's tenure as President, the College has expanded 
to launch its Regional Hughesville Campus and its Center for Trades and 
Energy Training, which provides direct access to specialized training 
in career fields that have substantial growth potential, such as HVAC, 
electrical, construction, and plumbing. The College has also partnered 
with Southern Maryland businesses to create college-to-career pipelines 
that help students learn in-demand skills in cybersecurity, robotics, 
and digital media, among others. He has been praised both for his sound 
management of the College's finances and for his long-term vision for 
the College and how it can best serve its students. I've been proud to 
work closely with Dr. Gottfried to secure funding for the College of 
Southern Maryland's STEM Workforce Initiative, to enable the College to 
add to its nursing and health care resources and technology, and to 
expand courses supporting those training for careers in construction 
and transportation in our region.
  Dr. Gottfried is someone who believes strongly in the importance of 
community colleges, as I do, to impact lives positively and add to the 
range of higher education options available for Maryland students. He 
came to the College of Southern Maryland with a long and experienced 
career as an academic and community college administrator. Having 
earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from Miami University, Dr. Gottfried taught 
for many years and then became President of Sussex County Community 
College in New Jersey in 2000. He has also become a noted and 
accomplished historian of the Civil War and has written extensively on 
the Battle of Gettysburg. The entire College of Southern Maryland 
community and its partners across the region have been very fortunate 
to have Dr. Gottfried leading the school these past eleven years, and 
he will be greatly missed.
  I join in congratulating Dr. Gottfried on his retirement and wishing 
him and his wife Linda all the best in the future. I also wish to 
congratulate incoming President Dr. Maureen Murphy, currently at 
Brookdale Community College in New Jersey, on her selection to take the 
reins from Dr. Gottfried and continue the work of making the College of 
Southern Maryland one of the premier community colleges in the country.

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