[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 11887-11888]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT EDWARD PARRISH, PRESIDENT OF WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC 
                               INSTITUTE

 Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to pay 
tribute to the distinguished president of Worcester Polytechnic 
Institute, Edward Parrish, as he nears his retirement this year.
  Ed Parrish came to WPI as president in 1995 after an impressive 
career in engineering at NASA and in teaching and academic research. 
From the University of Virginia to Vanderbilt and finally to WPI, he 
was widely recognized for his skill and dedication in engineering and 
engineering education. He has led regional and national efforts to 
expand the recruitment of students and the scope of engineering 
programs, and he has demonstrated his commitment to the future in these 
fields by joining in the management of a magnet school for the sciences 
with the Worcester public schools.
  He has been a pioneer in improving the quality of education, and 
expanded

[[Page 11888]]

the program at WPI to include more integrated projects, cross-science 
working groups, and problem-solving education. He has created new 
opportunities for faculty and students to participate in research and 
international study. By modernizing the infrastructure of the 
university, he made it one of the earliest and best-wired campuses in 
the Nation.
  Since its founding in 1865, WPI has been a unique institution widely 
recognized as a pioneer in technology and higher education. Ed Parrish 
has led a world-class university into the 21st century, expanding both 
the number and the knowledge of undergraduate and graduate students by 
offering opportunities to work with professionals in real situations on 
campus, in Massachusetts, and around the world, solving real problems 
that have an immediate impact on society.
  Fortunately, Ed has agreed to serve on the Goldwater commission to 
provide a continuing source of scientists by awarding scholarships to 
college students, so that his experience and talent will continue to 
benefit the lives of students and the life of the Nation in the years 
ahead. His 9 years at WPI have been a time of growth and expansion for 
the university, and all of us in Massachusetts have much to thank him 
for as he enters this next chapter of his outstanding career. Ed and 
his family have my best wishes for the future, and I look forward to 
many opportunities to work with him and learn from him in the 
future.

                          ____________________