[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 27]
[Senate]
[Pages 36124-36125]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRATULATING OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate Olivet 
Nazarene University on its 100th-year anniversary.
  Olivet Nazarene University was founded by a group of families led by 
Edward Richards and Orla Nesbitt in 1907, first as a grade school and 
later as a liberal arts college. From humble beginnings, the university 
has endured bankruptcy, fire, a change of location to Bourbonnais, and 
tornado devastation to become the fine institution of higher learning 
that it is today. Olivet Nazarene University has grown as a liberal 
arts institution, with additional locations now throughout the greater 
Chicago area and in Hong Kong.
  The university also has the distinction of serving as the summer home 
of the Chicago Bears. Olivet has hosted the NFL team for its training 
camp since 2002.
  Currently, 4,400 undergraduate and postgraduate students attend the 
university. Olivet Nazarene offers these students 100 undergraduate 
fields of study, nearly 20 master's degrees, nontraditional adult 
degree completion

[[Page 36125]]

programs, and a doctor of education in ethical leadership.
  Olivet Nazarene University has graduated many notable alumni who have 
given back to the university, the State of Illinois, and this country 
in significant ways. An estimated 30,000 Olivet Nazarene University 
alumni live and work around the world, including Georgia Southwestern 
State University president Kendall A. Blanchard and Ticketmaster 
cofounder Cecil Crawford.
  Olivet Nazarene University sets a standard of affordable excellence, 
with a cost below average for private colleges nationwide. 
Approximately 96 percent of traditional undergraduates receive a total 
of $24.9 million in scholarships and grants.
  I congratulate Olivet Nazarene University, its president, Dr. John C. 
Bowling, and all the staff on 100 years of service to their students 
and alumni, the State of Illinois, and our Nation.

                          ____________________