[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10682]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    TRIBUTE TO DR. CLARENCE STRAHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 13, 2001

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, as a former teacher, I am happy to rise 
before you today on behalf of the school district of my hometown, 
Flint, Michigan. On July 13, members of Flint Community Schools will 
join family and friends to honor the career of Dr. Clarence Straham, 
who is retiring after 35 productive years.
  Originally from Moffett, Oklahoma, Clarence Straham's path to 
greatness began in 1956, when he joined the United States Air Force, 
where he served as an Academic and Drill Instructor/Counselor in San 
Antonio. Honorably discharged in 1962, Clarence attended the University 
of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he received a Bachelors Degree in 
Mathematics and Science in 1964. In 1971 he received a Masters Degree 
from Eastern Michigan University, and furthered his education with a 
Doctorate from the University of Michigan.
  Clarence's career as a teacher began following his graduation from 
the University of Arkansas, where he became a mathematics teacher at 
Merrill Junior/Senior High in Pine Bluff. After moving to Michigan, he 
taught at Bryant Community Junior High and later moved to Northwestern 
Community High, where he remained from 1968 to 1976. During that time, 
Clarence also taught at C.S. Mott Adult High School and Mott Community 
College. In 1976, Clarence moved to Flint Southwestern Academy, where 
he has remained to this day. In addition to his tenure at Southwestern, 
he spent two years as a member of the part-time faculty at the 
University of Michigan-Flint.
  For more than four decades, Clarence has selflessly worked to improve 
Flint Community Schools. An 11-year member of the Four North Central 
Evaluation Team in mathematics, he saw to it that the curriculum for 
high schools in four different cities was kept to a high quality of 
standards. He has also been the co-chairperson of the Flint NAACP 
Scholarship Committee, and a member of the Flint Multi-Cultural 
Community Education Task Force, among many other accomplishments. 
Clarence is a member of the National Council of Teachers of 
Mathematics, Urban League, and is a Life Member of the NAACP.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Clarence Straham is a tremendously respected 
individual. Thousands of his students, past and present, have greatly 
benefited from his insight, as has the entire Flint community over the 
course of the last 35 years. He has always been a fighter for education 
for he believes that a strong educational background is the basis 
toward improving the quality of life. I ask my colleagues to please 
join me in congratulating him on his retirement, and wishing him the 
very best in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________