[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22365-22366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          AIRLINE SAFETY AND COAST GUARD PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, yesterday's plane crash was 
another devastating blow to the residents of New York and the citizens 
of this great Nation. Although we do not know the cause yet, I have 
been hearing it called a ``routine plane crash.'' I want to repeat 
that, a routine plane crash. God help us all if we ever accept a plane 
crash as routine.
  I was in New York yesterday, and I had to take the train back to 
Washington. In fact, I chose to take the train back to Washington. I 
was talking to the train conductor who said that U.S. lawmakers have 
failed the American public. This is what our citizens think of this 
House and this Congress.
  How many planes must go down before we truly deal with safety? Not 
just who screens the baggage but the safety

[[Page 22366]]

of the entire transportation system, including ports, rail, bridges, 
tunnels and, maybe after yesterday, more thorough safety inspections 
for airplanes. Does this country and this Congress have to wait until 
another disaster strikes again to act to protect our transportation 
infrastructure?
  We do not want the American people to feel that we have failed them. 
I do not hold out much hope, but I am asking the conferees to support 
the other body's version of airline security so that we can move on to 
other areas of homeland security.
  I also want to take the time tonight to talk about four heroes in the 
field of education. Earlier today, I attended a luncheon honoring four 
outstanding college professors. I especially am proud of Commander 
Vincent Wilczynsky, an engineering professor at the Coast Guard 
Academy. He is the first service academy professor to receive this 
distinguished award in its 20-year history. The members of the 
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and the entire 
Congress are very proud of the commander and all educators like him who 
strive for excellence in their classrooms every day. Although this 
award ceremony only lasted a few hours, their contribution to these 
young minds will be felt for many years to come.

                  U.S. Professors of the Year Program


                             winners' bios

       CDR Vincent Wilczynski is associate professor of mechanical 
     engineering at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Wilczynski was 
     instrumental in establishing the mechanical engineering major 
     at the Academy, and earning its accreditation. A strong 
     advocate for linking engineering principles to practical 
     applications, he guides students through research and 
     analysis to real-world design problems.
       Wilczynski extends his impact beyond the walls of the 
     Academy by working with high school students across the 
     nation in FIRST (For Inspiration of Science and Technology), 
     a non-profit organization that brings students together with 
     distinguished professionals and introduces students to 
     mentoring, leadership, entrepreneurship, and professional 
     behavior.
       CDR Wilczynski hold a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from 
     The Catholic University of America and an M.S. in Naval 
     Architecture and Marine Engineering from Massachusetts 
     Institute of Technology.
       Cornelius Carter is associate professor of dance at The 
     University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Carter founded the 
     Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre in his first year of teaching 
     to create an environment that would prepare young Alabama 
     dancers to compete for the best national internships and 
     memberships in professional dance companies, and for 
     scholarships to graduate academic dance programs.
       One colleague affectionately called Carter ``a one-man 
     gang'', as he collaborates with local high schools, mentoring 
     at-risk students and expanding cultural horizons of those 
     outside the university's dance program.
       Carter holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from University 
     of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, and has taught dance at the 
     American Ballet Theater, Harvard Summer Dance Program, and 
     this summer, at the Ailey School at Lincoln Center in New 
     York City.
       Clarence Romero is associate professor of psychology at 
     Riverside Community College in Riverside, Calif. He 
     spearheaded Latino Educators of Tomorrow (LET), a teacher 
     preparation program that encourages students to overcome 
     mental and physical barriers, to set personal goals and 
     accept responsibilities. LET reinforces the idea that 
     students are the masters of their own destinies.


       Romero's teaching philosophy was profoundly impacted by an 
     exercise in which he asked his students to make him ``student 
     for a day''. The students told him, ``Teachers tell; they 
     don't listen. They don't know who we are or what we're all 
     about.'' Romero understood, and strives to make his students 
     active participants in an education process that has real 
     life applicability.
       He holds a Ph.D. in psychology from University of 
     Riverside, and has served as an instructor, chief 
     administrative officer, counselor and student personnel 
     worker.
       Laura Duhan Kaplan is associate professor of philosophy at 
     The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She developed 
     ``narrative philosophy'', a teaching style in which students 
     use stories from their own everyday lives to unpack the 
     meaning of difficult theoretical concepts proposed by famous 
     philosophers. She writes extensively on how her method 
     affects student understanding, highlighting student's writing 
     about their learning experience.
       Kaplan served as coordinator of Women's Studies at UNC 
     Charlotte for seven years, and is credited with tripling 
     program enrollment. She established numerous other 
     interdisciplinary programs, including a Junior Great Books 
     course for middle school students, and is working toward 
     establishing a Jewish Studies program at UNC Charlotte.
       Kaplan holds Ph.D. in philosophy and education from 
     Claremont Graduate School and has taught more than twenty 
     different courses from pre-freshman to graduate level.


                             State Winners

       Alabama: Stephen Chew, Professor and Chair, Psychology, 
     Samford University.
       Alaska: Ping-Tung Chang, Professor, Mathematics, University 
     of Alaska Anchorage.
       Arizona: Albert Celoza, Faculty, Liberal Arts, Phoenix 
     College.
       Arkansas: Helen Robbins, Associate Professor, English, Lyon 
     College.
       California: Nicole Weekes, Assistant Professor, Psychology, 
     Pomona College.
       Colorado: Charles Ferguson, Assistant Professor, Biology, 
     University of Colorado at Denver.
       Connecticut: David Sloane, Professor, English and 
     Education, University of New Haven.
       District of Columbia: Gerald Feldman, Associate Professor, 
     Physics, George Washington University.
       Florida: June Main, Professor, Education, Jacksonville 
     University.
       Georgia: Ulf Kirchdorfer, Associate Professor, English, 
     Darton College.
       Idaho: John Freemuth, Professor, Political Science, Boise 
     State University.
       Illinois: Constance Mixon, Instructor, Political Science, 
     Richard J. Daley, Chicago.
       Indiana: Mary Johnson, Assistant Professor, Micro Biology, 
     Indiana State University.
       Iowa: Terence Kleven, Associate Professor, Religion, 
     Central College.
       Kansas: C. Rick Snyder, Professor, Clinical Psychology, 
     University of Kansas.
       Kentucky: James Wagner, Assistant Professor, Biology, 
     Transylvania University.
       Louisiana: Teresa A. Summers, Professor & Division Head, 
     Textiles, Apparel Design & Merchandising, Louisiana 
     University.
       Maryland: Sylvia Sorkin, Professor, Computer Science, The 
     Community College of Baltimore County, Essex.
       Massachusetts: Kevin Smith, Associate Professor, Physics, 
     Boston University.
       Michigan: Bernard J. O'Connor, Professor, Political Science 
     Eastern Michigan University.
       Minnesota: James Bartruff, Professor, Theatre Arts, 
     Minnesota State University Moorhead.
       Mississippi: Michael M. Neumann, Professor, Mathematics, 
     Mississippi State University.
       Missouri: Vicki Ritts, Associate Professor, Psychology, St. 
     Louis Community College.
       Montana: John Photiades, Professor, Economics, The 
     University of Montana-Missoula.
       Nebraska: David Iaquinta, Professor, Sociology, Nebraska 
     Wesleyan University.
       Nevada: Dale Holcombe, Professor, Animal Biotechnology, 
     University of Nevada, Reno.
       New Hampshire: Randall S. Hanson, Associate Professor, 
     Colby-Sawyer College.
       New Jersey: Robert Clark, Associate Professor, Biological 
     Sciences, Cumberland County College.
       New Mexico: Mary Fanelli Ayala, Associate Professor, Modern 
     Languages, Eastern New Mexico University.
       New York: Frances Bronet, Associate Professor, 
     Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
       North Carolina: Althea Riddick, Chair, Business and Office 
     Technology, College of the Albemarle.
       Ohio: Robert Welker, Professor, Education, Wittenberg 
     University.
       Oklahoma: Sue Ellen Read, Professor, Teacher Education, 
     Northeastern State University.
       Oregon: Becky Houck, Professor, Biology, University of 
     Portland.
       Pennsylvania: Gary S. Smith, Professor, History, Grove City 
     College.
       Rhode Island: Roger Lebrun, Professor, Entomology, 
     University of Rhode Island.
       South Carolina: Mary Steppling, Assistant Professor, Speech 
     Language Pathology, Columbia College.
       South Dakota: Michael Roche, Professor, Political Science, 
     The University of South Dakota.
       Tennessee: David Julseth, Associate Professor, Foreign 
     Language, Belmont University.
       Texas: Robert Webking, Professor, Political Science, The 
     University of Texas at El Paso.
       Utah: David Lancy, Professor, Anthropology, Utah State 
     University.
       Vermont: Lyndon Carew Jr., Professor, Animal Sciences & 
     Nutrition, Food Science, University of Vermont.
       Virginia: Cheryl Jorgensen-Earp, Associate Professor, 
     Communication Studies, Lynchburg College.
       West Virginia: John J. Renton, Professor, Geology, West 
     Virginia University.
       Wisconsin: Scott Hartsel, Professor, Chemistry, University 
     of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
       Wyoming: Carol Frost, Professor, Geology & Geophysics, 
     University of Wyoming.




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