[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9055]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO DR. GERALD ``CARTY'' MONETTE

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, my colleagues have often heard me 
speak on this floor about tribal colleges that provide higher education 
to the residents of this country's Indian reservations. For over 30 
years, these institutions have brought hope and opportunity to 
thousands of students who otherwise would not have had the chance to 
seek an education beyond high school.
  There is a reason why the Nation's tribal colleges consistently 
manage to achieve more with less than any other educational 
institutions in the United States--talented and committed leadership. 
One of those leaders, Dr. Gerald ``Carty'' Monette, has been part of 
the tribal college movement since its inception. As the president of 
Turtle Mountain Community College since 1978, he has seen his 
institution grow from a handful of students gathering in an abandoned 
convent and a series of trailers in Belcourt, ND, to an enrollment of 
650 meeting in a state-of-the-art building in a setting that reflects 
the sacred grounds of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
  Dr. Monette's modest and self-effacing manner belies a strong and 
determined leader who has inspired hundreds of graduates of Turtle 
Mountain Community College. He had an early understanding of the ... 
relationship between education, economic development, and community 
partnerships. As a result, the college today boasts the Center for New 
Growth that is a regional center for economic development; he wanted 
the College to have energy independence and today there is a wind and 
geothermal energy center at the College.
  Not only has Dr. Monette been a leader at Turtle Mountain, he has 
been a national leader as one of the founders of the American Indian 
Higher Education Consortium, AIHEC, and has served several terms as 
presidents of the consortium. AIHEC has been the heart and soul of the 
tribal college movement and under Dr. Monette's leadership it began an 
aggressive telecommunications initiative that is enhancing communities 
throughout Indian country.
  As Dr. Monette prepares to apply his leadership and vision to other 
educational pursuits, I wish him and his wife, Dr. Loretta DeLong, a 
Turtle Mountain Community College graduate, the very best. He has left 
a lasting legacy for his fellow members of the Turtle Mountain Band of 
Chippewa and their children. We join them honoring this exceptional 
man.

                          ____________________