[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 7, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 
                                 ALBANY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PAUL TONKO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2019

  Mr. TONKO. Madam Speaker, I rise to mark the 175th anniversary of the 
founding of the University at Albany on the principles ``wisdom both 
for its own sake and for the sake of teaching'' sapientia et sua et 
docendi causa.
  The University at Albany was founded by the New York State 
Legislature on May 7, 1844 as the New York State Normal School, 
dedicated to ensuring that New York's next generation of teachers would 
be highly trained. Through the 19th century, the New York State Normal 
School educated teachers and school administrators and provided 
opportunities for social and economic mobility.
  Between 1890 and 1905, the school was transformed from a two-year 
teacher training school into a four-year liberal arts college, granting 
its first bachelor's degree in 1893. In 1914, the school was renamed 
the New York State College for Teachers, and by the 1950s started 
offering a Ph.D. program in education.
  In the early 1960s, the college broadened from its focus on teaching 
to a university with a more comprehensive scope. In 1962, a major 
expansion of the broader SUNY system heralded the University at 
Albany's first class of undergraduate students in liberal arts programs 
without required study in teacher education. The University at Albany 
continued its evolution into a leading research university in the 
decades that followed.
  Today, the University at Albany is a nationally respected Research 1 
university and a major employer and economic driver of the surrounding 
economy with a $1 billion annual impact on New York's Capital Region. 
The school maintains 18 NCAA Division I athletic teams that share in 
the school's legacy of excellence; in 2018, the University at Albany 
Men's Lacrosse team became the first State University of New York 
Division I team to be ranked No. 1 in the nation. And with an 
enrollment level of nearly 18,000 students today, the University at 
Albany has earned national recognition for supporting students from 
traditionally underrepresented backgrounds on college campuses.
  The University at Albany continues to build on its strong tradition 
as one of our nation's leading and most diverse research institutions. 
I am incredibly proud of the students, faculty, staff and alumni who 
have made the University at Albany what it is today. May they carry 
their success forward for another 175 years and beyond.

                          ____________________