[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 109 (Thursday, June 27, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E862-E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF MICHAEL ERIC ENGH, S.J.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2019

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Michael Eric Engh, S.J., on 
the occasion of his retirement as President of Santa Clara University, 
after a decade of extraordinary leadership.
  Father Engh was born to Marie and Donald Engh in Los Angeles on 
December 14, 1949. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1972, and earned 
his M.A. at Gonzaga University in 1976. He earned his Master of 
Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology, in Berkeley, 
California in 1982 and his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in 
1987.
  Father Engh taught at Loyola Marymount University from 1988 to 2008, 
became Santa Clara University's 28th President on January 5, 2009, and 
retires from the Presidency after a most distinguished decade on June 
30, 2019.
  Father Engh serves on a number of boards, including the Board of 
Trustees of Boston College; the Board of Directors of the Silicon 
Valley Leadership Group; the Board of Directors of the Association of 
Jesuit Colleges and Universities; the Council of Presidents of the

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Graduate Theological Union; and the Board of Trustees of Bellarmine 
College Preparatory.
  Since arriving at Santa Clara, Father Engh has led the University in 
defining its vision and setting the course for the future with a bold 
plan, Santa Clara 2020. Under his decade of leadership the University 
's endowment grew to $926 million in 2019, from $515 million in 2009. 
The University also recorded significant student accomplishments and 
accolades including Rhodes and Fulbright Scholars.
  Ten new undergraduate majors were instituted, several Masters 
programs were launched, and the REAL program for summer research in the 
College of Arts & Sciences began, among many others, and the Law 
School's Intellectual Property Program was ranked fourth by US News in 
2019. During Father Engh's tenure the campus was beautified and 
improved, and many new buildings were opened and facilities modernized, 
with many more in the process of development.
  The era of Father Engh bears the imprimatur of diversity and 
inclusion. He established the Office for Diversity and Inclusion in 
2013 and created the Blue Ribbon Commission on Diversity and Inclusion 
in 2016, increasing significantly the number of students of color from 
45 percent to 51 percent.
  Sustainability has been a hallmark of the Engh presidency. He signed 
the Climate Neutrality Action Plan and established the Office of 
Sustainability which grew into the Center for Sustainability with 
additional staff and programming. His efforts resulted in a deep-seated 
culture of sustainability across the entire University and ingrained in 
the community the importance of justice and sustainability.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me 
in honoring Father Michael Engh for his superb leadership of Santa 
Clara University which is not only a jewel in the crown of Jesuit 
universities but also one of the finest institutions of higher learning 
in the United States. His remarkable decade as President has 
strengthened our region, our state of California and he is a great 
blessing to our nation.