[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6803-S6804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



         Recognizing the University of Michigan's Bicentennial

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the bicentennial 
of the University of Michigan. The university has adopted the motto 
``Always Leading, Forever Valiant'' for its bicentennial year--a motto 
that captures its 200 years at the forefront of American academic 
excellence.
  The genesis of the University of Michigan predates the founding of my 
home State of Michigan.
  On August 26, 1817, Lewis Cass, Governor of the Michigan territory, 
enacted a charter to create the University of Michigania, aligned with 
territory judge Augustus Woodward's envisioned System of Universal 
Science.
  In 1852, the university's first president, Henry Philip Tappan, 
pioneered a model of higher education in which scholars do not settle 
for existing knowledge but actively pursue new knowledge through 
rigorous science. This approach solidified the university's enduring 
legacy as a center for scientific research and discovery.
  The university has paved the way for future innovation with many 
firsts throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It was the first 
university with a chemical laboratory, the first to own and operate a 
hospital, the first to teach aeronautical engineering, the first public 
university with dental and pharmacy schools, and the first with a 
program in human genetics. Perhaps the most game-changing first--it was 
the first large State university to open its doors to both men and 
women.
  Today, faculty and students continue to reach new firsts by answering 
important research questions that will affect future generations. Take, 
for instance, how the university has laid the groundwork for 
breakthroughs in American mobility.
  In 2015, Mcity, a public-private partnership led by the University of 
Michigan, became the world's first controlled environment designed to 
test connected and automated vehicle technologies. The 32-acre 
simulated urban and suburban landscape is designed to support rigorous, 
repeatable testing of self-driving car technologies before they are 
tested on public roads and highways. This hub of innovation reflects 
our State's legacy as the heart of the American auto industry and will 
help lead our country into the next era of transportation.
  A similar nexus between our past and future is true across nearly 
every discipline that U of M's research touches--engineering, medicine, 
social sciences, humanities, and more. Students and faculty are 
developing new cancer treatments, creating energy-efficient batteries, 
engaging in cutting-edge environmental science to protect the Great 
Lakes, and building prototypes of engines to take us to Mars. That is 
just to name a few.
  Tied with the University of Michigan's drive to pursue knowledge is 
its drive to put that knowledge into action for the greater good. At 
its core, the university's mission is to serve society. This has been 
demonstrated by its history of activism and civic engagement.
  The university commemorates one such event that occurred on October 
14, 1960. Senator John F. Kennedy, whose former desk is just a few feet 
in front of me here today, delivered an unplanned speech on the steps 
of the Michigan Union at 2 a.m. He challenged University of Michigan 
students to work abroad in developing nations in an effort to promote 
peace. These remarks laid the blueprint for the U.S. Peace Corps, which 
was established in 1961.
  The University of Michigan continues to have a truly global reach. It 
provides a world-class education to a diverse student body of 63,000 
students on its Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses, educating 
instate, out-of-state, and international students alike. They are drawn 
to the university's unfaltering endeavor to expand our

[[Page S6804]]

base of knowledge and empower individuals to leave a lasting and 
positive impact on the world around them.
  With more than 572,000 living alumni--including my daughter Madeline, 
who just graduated this past May--the University of Michigan has one of 
the largest alumni networks, full of artists, astronauts, business and 
government leaders, entrepreneurs, and humanitarians, as well as Nobel 
laureates in economics, medicine, and science.
  The University of Michigan's many illustrious alumni include U.S. 
President Gerald R. Ford, Swedish diplomat and humanitarian Raoul 
Wallenberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller, actor 
James Earl Jones, civil rights leader Mary Frances Berry, Google 
cofounder Larry Page, and author and scholar Robin Wright. Many more 
alumni will follow in these footsteps. They share a drive to make what 
is affectionately known as the Michigan Difference and, of course, 
cheer for the Maize and Blue.
  I would like to congratulate the University of Michigan on its 
bicentennial as we look forward to a future driven by Michigan 
innovation.
  With that, I will close with something very simple: ``Go Blue!''
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gardner). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.