[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Pages 31265-31266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            DR. TOM GOODWIN

 Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one 
of Arkansas's and America's preeminent educators, Dr. Tom Goodwin of 
Hendrix College. Dr. Goodwin was honored last week with a United States 
Professor of the Year Award as the Outstanding Baccalaureate College 
Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of 
Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 
He was one of four, in the entire Nation to be honored for their 
dedication to undergraduate education and teaching and their commitment 
to students.
  It is not often, that one gets recognized for one's life's work. It 
is even less often that the recognition comes when the recipient is 
still at the height of his career. I wish to congratulate Dr. Goodwin 
on behalf of all Arkansans for this wonderful accomplishment. Dr. 
Goodwin has dedicated his entire professional life, over 25 years, to 
the education of young people. During a time

[[Page 31266]]

when many are concerned with publishing, research, and the advancement 
of their own careers, Dr. Goodwin has remained focused on the reasons 
he entered academia--the fostering and development of the leaders and 
great thinkers of the next generation. And I, for one, agree with him. 
He has done what so many teachers try to do. Some are more successful 
than others. Some are outstanding researchers who make wonderful 
discoveries that further the scientific knowledge of mankind. Some are 
great administrators who manage the machinery from which these great 
discoveries are churned. Still, Dr. Goodwin has made the greatest 
discovery of all. He has discovered that all of the advancements of the 
human race, all of the great mechanizations from which these 
advancements come mean nothing without the continuity of people 
teaching other people. Knowledge in a vacuum, doesn't further the human 
condition. For the human condition to move forward, to change for the 
betterment of all, we must learn. We must teach. ``For the end of man 
is to know.'' That's one of my favorite literary quotes, from Robert 
Penn Warren's All The King's Men. The end of man keeps moving farther, 
just beyond the outstretched reach of our hands. To reach the ends, man 
must continue to know. Dr. Goodwin has found the best way to accomplish 
this; the best way to achieve the end is through a partnership between 
teacher and student. The disbursement of knowledge; what it is, how to 
get it, where to find it, becomes the primary objective for a 
multigenerational team working together. Dr. Goodwin has achieved this 
elusive goal. A seamless partnership between professor and student, 
with both benefiting from the contributions of the other, both 
contributing toward the end of man.
  But don't take it from me. His colleagues and his students realize 
the impact Dr. Goodwin has had on the minds and motivations of young 
people. They refer to him not only as teacher and scholar, but also as 
mentor and friend. Dr. John Churchill, secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society and former Dean of Hendrix College notes, ``To see Tom Goodwin 
with students is to feel the power of his expectations. It is also to 
feel the warm, personal support, extended toward their efforts. He 
epitomizes the tension of the best undergraduate liberal arts 
professors: demanding rigor and providing support. He takes a wide-
ranging interest in his students' education. He helps them grow into 
well-rounded intellects.'' His colleagues in the Chemistry Department 
at Hendrix College, Dr. Liz Gron, testifies to the amount of time and 
attention Dr. Goodwin gives his work. ``He wants every student to 
succeed and he provides a number of different venues in order to 
support different learning styles. Tom schedules four help sessions a 
week, as well as time-independent exams to accommodate students that 
synthesize concepts more slowly.'' His students agree. ``Dr. Goodwin 
offered many, many hours of his personal time, both in the laboratory 
and the classroom, to help me conquer the very difficult subjects I was 
studying,'' says Daniel Mwanza, a former student at Hendrix. Many other 
former students agreed and wrote statements similar to Mr. Mwanza's in 
support of his nomination for this award. So you see, this man is 
important to his students, important to his colleagues and institution, 
and important to education across this country. I am proud to serve him 
and I am proud he is my constituent. Dr. Goodwin represents the highest 
tradition of education in this country. He inspires his students to 
achieve more than they would alone. He is deeply deserving of this 
award, and I wish to congratulate him for this monumental 
achievement.

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