[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 24067-24068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. OTIS SINGLETARY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of a 
noted Kentuckian, a community leader, and a dedicated educator and 
administrator, Dr. Otis Singletary. I also want to take this 
opportunity to extend my condolences to his wife, Gloria, his three 
children, Bonnie, Robert, and Kendall, and all who knew and loved this 
remarkable man.
  Dr. Singletary served his country in many capacities. A native of 
Mississippi, he joined the Navy at the outbreak of World War II and 
continued to serve in the Armed Forces through the Korean War. After 
earning his Ph.D., he taught history at the University of Texas. There 
the Students' Association recognized Dr. Singletary's talent and love 
for teaching and twice honored him with its Teaching Excellence Award. 
In 1958, he received the Scarborough Teaching Excellence Award.
  An accomplished historian and published author, Dr. Singletary soon 
began to show his skills in administrative positions as well. After 
serving as the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Texas, Dr. 
Singletary relocated to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro 
where he served as chancellor. In 1964, he took a leave of absence to 
direct the Federal Job Corps, Office of Economic Opportunity, under 
President Lyndon B. Johnson. Later, he served as the vice-president of 
the American Council on Education.
  For most people this career would represent a lifetime worth of 
achievement, but Dr. Singletary was just getting started. He assumed 
the presidency of the University of Kentucky in 1969, a time of 
national campus unrest. While other college leaders faltered in the 
wake of the Kent State tragedy, Dr. Singletary successfully calmed the 
fears of his students and led the university forward. Under his 
guidance, the University of Kentucky prospered and became a nationally 
recognized research institution. To compensate for shrinking State 
funds, Dr. Singletary encouraged a vigorous fundraising campaign 
targeting private donors. He raised almost $140 million in his 18-year 
presidency. A selective admissions policy, endowed professorships, the 
expansion of library holdings, and an undergraduate honors program were 
all implemented during his tenure. Upon his retirement in 1987, Dr. 
Singletary had supervised over $250 million in new

[[Page 24068]]

construction and renovation at UK, including facilities for the arts, 
biological sciences, equine research, agriculture, and cancer research.
  Dr. Otis Singletary will forever be remembered for his unwavering 
dedication to the University of Kentucky, its faculty, staff, and its 
students. I ask each of my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to 
Otis Singletary, for all that he has given to his students, his 
community, and his Nation. He will be missed.

                          ____________________