[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 58 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE OF DR. MARION ROSS FEDRICK

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 5, 2024

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a loving 
wife, dedicated mother, committed community servant, and effective 
higher education administrator, Dr. Marion Ross Fedrick. President Dr. 
Fedrick will be honored for her seven years of service at Albany State 
University during the annual Blue and Gold Gala that will take place on 
Saturday, April 6, 2024. Dr. Fedrick is leaving the university to 
become the new Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff for Georgia 
State University. She will also serve as Special Advisor to Chancellor 
Sonny Perdue for his Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
Initiative.
  A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Fedrick has sought to 
better herself through education to serve others. She is a three-time 
graduate of the University of Georgia, earning a bachelor's degree in 
adult education, with a concentration in organizational development, a 
master's degree in public administration, and a Ph.D. in higher 
education.
  Because of her commitment to excellence, she has excelled 
professionally. She has given her time and talents to several 
organizations to include Clark-Atlanta University, Emory University 
Hospitals, State of Georgia Office of State Personnel Administration, 
AT&T, and the Former Bell South Corporation. Dr. Fedrick also served as 
the University System of Georgia's Vice Chancellor of Human Resources.
  On August 14, 2018, the trajectory of Albany State University changed 
forever when Dr. Fedrick was appointed at the 10th President of the 
University after serving as Interim President and Executive Vice 
President. It has been said that: ``Education is the passport to the 
future, it belongs to those who prepare for it today.'' Dr. Fedrick 
used her time at Albany State to prepare thousands of young people to 
embrace their futures with confidence. She has done this by being a 
leader who has embraced focusing on the whole being of the student--
academically, socially and spiritually. Dr. Fedrick has expanded access 
and opportunities for students by increasing campus-wide resources. Dr. 
Fedrick has truly lived by the words of Mary McLeod Bethune when she 
said that ``We have powerful potential in our youth, and we must have 
the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we direct their 
power toward good ends.'' Dr. Fedrick has helped all students who have 
come through the doors of Albany State during her tenure to direct 
their power towards the betterment of humankind.
  Dr. Fedrick has truly advanced the University though a variety of 
initiatives to include a redesign of the university's academic 
colleges, approval of the University System of Georgia's first nexus 
degrees and the design and implementation of the University's 
integrated student success model. As a result of her ingenuity and 
visionary leadership, the University has achieved a sixteen percent 
increase in retention and a six percent increase in enrollment.
  Dr. Fedrick is widely respected by her colleagues because of her 
enduring commitment to student success, racial and social equity and 
the power of community. She has used her powerful voice to be a 
spokesperson for access, equity, and fairness. Dr. Fedrick has helped 
to strengthen the bond between Albany State and the greater Albany 
community. Dr. Fedrick has been associated with and contributed to a 
wide variety of initiatives in the University System of Georgia to 
include the mental health task force and The Georgia COVID-19 Health 
Equity Council. This initiative helped the Georgia Department of 
Community Health to improve its outreach to communities most affected 
by the virus. This ensured the fair distribution and administration of 
the COVID-19 vaccine.
  Dr. Fedrick has accomplished much in her life but none of it would 
have been possible without the grace of God and the love and support of 
her husband, Horace and her daughter, Grace.
  On a personal note, I have worked with many University Presidents 
over the years. Dr. Fedrick has been one of the most effective 
presidents that I will have worked with during my time in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife Vivian, and the 
765,000 people of Georgia's Second Congressional District in expressing 
our deepest gratitude and best wishes to President Dr. Marion Ross 
Fedrick for her dedicated service to Albany State University. May God 
continue to bless her and her family as she enters a new chapter in her 
remarkable life.

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