[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10972]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. CARL V. PATTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2008

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Carl 
V. Patton, President of Georgia State University, who is retiring June 
30 of this year.
  For 16 years he has led Georgia State University in its transition 
from what was considered to be a commuter school into a vibrant 
research university which is home to more than 28,000 students 
representing every county in the State, every State in the Nation, and 
160 countries.
  President Patton not only wrote a bestselling book on public policy, 
he has practiced his beliefs, providing the leadership to create 
buildings, departments, knowledge, and solutions vital to our 
prosperity in the 21st century. As the University has grown physically, 
it has grown in stature as well. Among President Patton's many 
accomplishments:
  He launched a university-wide planning effort that produced what is 
known as the ``Main Street Master Plan'', which increases the 
University's footprint in the downtown community and shapes the 
University's future growth.
  He started the University's first comprehensive capital campaign, 
securing private funding sources to supplement state allocations for 
building projects.
  Under Dr. Patton's leadership, Georgia State University has expanded 
its campus using a strategy of acquiring and rehabilitating buildings 
and, when necessary, constructing new buildings like the Student 
Center, the Recreation Center, the Aderhold Learning Center, the Rialto 
Theater, Haas-Howell and Standard Buildings, Robinson College of 
Business, Commerce Building, North Metro Center, student housing at the 
Village and the Lofts and now the University Commons. Students, 
faculty, and staff now occupy floor space from the old Fairlie-Popular 
district to Grady Hospital. Residence halls full of students with 
dreams to change the world have replaced dilapidated structures empty 
of any economic hope. Old banks, tired office buildings, and moribund 
shells of department stores now bristle with the energy of a new 
commerce based on knowledge and preparing our young students to take on 
today's problems with tomorrow's solutions. Downtown Atlanta now is a 
living, vibrant area 24 hours a day thanks to the presence of thousands 
of students learning, living, and playing while placing more than $7 
million a day into the local economy.
  Instead of designing walls to keep the city and its urban ways 
separate from the campus, President Patton has insisted that the 
University fully integrate its research, teaching and service mission 
into the fabric of the urban environment of its downtown Atlanta home.
  His vision has included a state-of-the-art urban science park. And, 
thanks in no small part to the support of this Congress, this science 
park will support research on the treatment of autism, obesity, and 
post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to neuroscience research, 
Georgia State will employ the efforts of eminent scholars from biology, 
chemistry, computer science, physics, mathematics, and statistics to 
better understand the molecular basis of disease.
  Finally, each of the six schools that are a part of Georgia State 
have grown and prospered during President Patton's tenure.
  Georgia State has grown into one of this Nation's leading urban-
serving research universities reflecting Dr. Patton's vision for a 
partnership between Atlanta and the University. That vision is best 
described by his words:
  ``It's not just us serving the city. It's not the city serving us. 
It's the idea of together building a city and a university that are 
second to none. Georgia State is a source of limitless potential that 
can be unleashed through a clear understanding of how we generate 
lasting value to our city, our State, and the Nation. Working with our 
community, we are able to determine our shared future.''
  Dr. Patton has lived his life in the way he hopes his students live 
theirs, tirelessly volunteering for service in his community through 
organizations like Central Atlanta Progress, the Rotary, and the Grady 
Memorial Hospital Corporation. His example and his hard work will not 
stop at retirement, however, as he plans to continue to live downtown 
and assist Georgia State in its future endeavors to raise capital and 
to expand its student body to tackle the tough issues of our times.
  Madam Speaker, I am sure I speak for you and my colleagues in the 
House of Representatives when I say that Dr. Carl V. Patton is the kind 
of leader we need to set the right example for the future of our 
country and our students. He has served Georgia State University, the 
city of Atlanta, the State of Georgia, and the United States of America 
well. God Bless for a well-deserved retirement.

                          ____________________