[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING DR. CHARLENE M. DUKES ON HER RETIREMENT AS PRESIDENT OF 
                   PRINCE GEORGE'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2020

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate an outstanding and 
trailblazing leader in higher education in Maryland's Fifth District. 
Dr. Charlene M. Dukes will be retiring as President of Prince George's 
Community College this June after thirteen years at the helm. She is 
the first woman to lead the College in its sixty-two-year history.
  Dr. Dukes's time as President has been characterized by growth and a 
deepening of the College's mission. She oversaw a partnership with 
Prince George's County Public Schools to create the first middle 
college in our state as well as a new Teacher Academy, Academy for 
Health Sciences, and two P-Tech Schools. The College joined with the 
University of Maryland Global Campus to launch a 3D Scholars Program 
and to expand programs in information technology and math. Under 
President Dukes's leadership, the College built new buildings at its 
Largo campus, including Lanham and Bladen Halls, the Culinary Arts 
Center, the Center for Performing Arts, and the Center for Health 
Studies. She led the effort to begin a major renovation this year of 
Marlboro Hall, the College's largest classroom facility.
  A proponent of streamlining operations to enhance the quality of its 
services, Dr. Dukes oversaw a process of realigning the College's 
organizational structure under the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan. That plan 
focuses on increasing student success, growing the College's regional 
impact, and ensuring that the College's organization excels in helping 
it serve the 40,000 students who benefit annually from its courses and 
programs.
  Before becoming the eighth President of Prince George's Community 
College, Dr. Dukes served on the Prince George's County Board of 
Education and as adjunct faculty at the Community College of Allegheny 
County in Pittsburgh. She also taught at Prince George's Community 
College and at Morgan State University. Former Governor Martin O'Malley 
appointed her to serve on the State Board of Education from 2007 to 
2015, and she was the Board's President for the last three years of 
that period. Recognized by Washington Magazine as one of the 100 most 
powerful women in the metro area in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, Dr. 
Dukes was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2013. She 
continues to serve on the boards of Prince George's County Chamber of 
Commerce, the Biden Institute, the Business Roundtable, the Greater 
Washington Community Foundation, the Institute for Higher Education 
Policy, and Campus Compact, among other nonprofits.
  When Dr. Dukes retires at the end of June, she will leave a powerful 
and lasting legacy for the College and for the county and state she has 
so faithfully served in the cause of higher education. Because of her 
leadership, thousands of Maryland students have access to quality, 
affordable community college that can serve as a pathway to opportunity 
and success. I join in thanking her for her service, and I congratulate 
her on her upcoming retirement.

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