[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO REV. THOMAS BYRON COLLINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 28, 2006

  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rev. Thomas Byron 
Collins, who recently passed away on June 17, 2006. He was an 
instrumental part of Georgetown University, and was involved in a 
number of projects that helped raise the fundraising prowess of the 
university in securing funds for campus projects.
  Father Byron Collins was born in the town of Bradford in the State of 
Pennsylvania on August 16, 1920. He attended Holy Cross College in 
Worcester, Massachusetts, until the death of his father in 1938. He 
then returned back to Bradford where he entered the Society of Jesus at 
the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pennsylvania. This 
was the start of a lifetime service as a Jesuit priest. Father Collins 
was appointed to Georgetown University in 1954, and in his first five 
years, he was the plant administrator, which included responsibility 
for construction on three campuses of the university. His ability in 
securing funds for these important projects and seeing them through was 
legendary. He was then appointed vice-president for business management 
in 1959. Georgetown University in the next 15 years saw an 
unprecedented rise in various campus construction projects than it had 
in the previous years. Georgetown became a pioneer among institutions 
of high education in securing federal legislation shaped to meet its 
needs due to the tireless efforts of Father Collins.
  Father Collins also was well-regarded in the Georgetown University 
community for his deep respect for all religions. He used to say that 
all major religions had ``a beauty and a truth.'' He never wanted 
religion to be a source of conflict but as a means of bringing people 
together. He has left behind a remarkable legacy, and without that 
legacy, Georgetown University would not have had the infrastructure 
needed to make it into one of the Nation's most prestigious centers of 
higher education.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have had this time to recognize the 
legacy of Father Thomas Byron Collins at Georgetown University.

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