[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6373]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING SISTER JANET EISNER IN RECOGNITION OF HER 25 YEARS AS 
                     PRESIDENT OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2005

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a remarkable woman, 
constituent, and friend, Sister Janet Eisner, president of Emmanuel 
College, Later this month, on April 28, Sister Janet will celebrate 25 
years as the college's president.
  Founded in 1919 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, a French order 
established to educate the daughters of the poor, Emmanuel College, 
under the leadership of Sister Janet, remains true to that mission. 
Under her leadership, thousands of young women from disadvantaged 
backgrounds have studied and received degrees from the college. Though 
today's students are from a more diverse socio-economic pool, Emmanuel 
continues to provide need-based financial aid to more than 70 percent 
of its students.
  Herself a graduate, Sister Janet has embraced many of the schools 
traditions, while at the same time, advocated for programs and policies 
that have addressed the changing needs of the college and its students. 
In 1979, she became president of a small private liberal arts women's 
college. Since then, Sister Janet has transformed Emmanuel into a 
coeducational institution with a greater emphasis on math and science. 
As a result of her efforts to have Emmanuel embrace the math and 
science disciplines, the Merck Pharmaceutical Corporation has recently 
built a major research facility on campus, greatly expanding laboratory 
access for the college's faculty and students.
  Sister Janet believes, as I do, that the future of the New England 
region depends upon scientific intellectual capital and biomedical 
innovation and she is determined to ensure that Emmanuel and its 
students have a place in that future. With that in mind, Sister Janet 
serves on the Executive Committee of MASCO, the Medical, Academic, and 
Scientific Community Organization of the Longwood Medical and Academic 
Area, and has organized her academic neighbors into a formidable 
consortium, ``the Colleges of the Fenway''. This consortium includes 
Simmons College, Wheelock College, Wentworth Institute, Massachusetts 
College of Art, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied 
Health Sciences.
  In addition to her efforts to maintain a high level of academic 
excellence at Emmanuel, Sister Janet has preserved and deepened the 
college's commitment to community service. Freshman orientation 
includes an introduction to volunteer opportunities in Boston food 
pantries, after-school programs, environmental projects, homeless 
shelters, and hospices. As a result, Emmanuel's students devote 
countless hours to community service activities such as providing 
educational tutoring and mentoring to Boston's at-risk children. Last 
fall, Sister Janet dedicated the Jean Yawkey Center for Community 
Leadership to focus and support community engagement. The Yawkey Center 
joins the Carolyn A. Lynch Institute, formed to support urban teachers, 
in linking Emmanuel students with public and private inner city 
schools.
  Few people have achieved what Sister Janet has achieved, and yet she 
firmly believes that there is far more to accomplish at the college. 
Lilies adorn the seal of Emmanuel College, but I think Sister Janet's 
contributions to Emmanuel are more emblematic of the flower of the 
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur: the sunflower. The sunflower is strong, 
brilliant, and constantly seeking light. I could not think of a more 
fitting description of Sister Janet's tenure at Emmanuel College. I 
congratulate Sister Janet for a remarkable 25 years as president of 
Emmanuel College and wish her continued success in the years to come.

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