[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15784-15785]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. MURIEL A. HOWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 19, 2009

  Mr. HIGGINS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor 
Dr. Muriel A. Howard of Western New York. After serving as president of 
Buffalo State College for 13 years, Dr. Howard will leave to become the 
president of the American Association of State Colleges and 
Universities in Washington, D.C. It is my privilege to highlight Dr. 
Muriel A. Howard as a woman whose extraordinary efforts as president of 
Buffalo State College have forever shaped and enhanced this fine 
institution in the 27th Congressional District.
  Born in North Carolina, Dr. Howard was raised on a farm in Wilmington 
along with her five siblings. Dr. Howard learned at an early age the 
importance of hard work and social responsibility. Her parents and 
grandparents instilled the importance of education in their children. 
Dr. Howard always sat in the front row, excited and eager to learn. 
When her parents chose to move the family to Queens, education remained 
the top priority. Her mother drove her children to the best school in 
Queens.
  Dr. Howard continued her education at City University of New York's 
Richmond College where she received a degree in sociology and a minor 
in education. Dr. Howard also has a master's degree in education from 
the University at Buffalo, and a doctorate of philosophy, in 
educational organization, administration, and policy from the 
University at Buffalo. At Harvard University, she earned a certificate 
in the Institute for Educational Management.
  Accordingly, University at Buffalo presented Dr. Howard with 
leadership opportunities. She served as vice president of public 
service and urban affairs for 23 years, becoming the first woman to 
serve as vice president at SUNY Buffalo. Dr. Howard's distinction as 
one of Western New York's finest leaders led to the honor of being 
named the seventh president of Buffalo State College--the first woman 
president at the institution.
  At Buffalo State College, Dr. Howard challenged the status quo and 
transformed it into a diversified college. The college is now known for 
its leadership in arts and culture because of the new $30 million 
Burchfield Penney Art Center that would not have been possible without 
her efforts.
  Nationally, Dr. Howard has been a leader in education. She has been 
involved on a number of boards including: the American Council of 
Education; the Division III President's Council of the National 
Collegiate Athletics Association; the American Association of State 
Colleges and Universities, Merchants Insurance

[[Page 15785]]

Company, Farm Credit Services of Western New York, and the Fleet Bank 
Community Relations Advisory Board.
  Dr. Howard also has served the great state of New York through many 
organizations such as the New York State Department of Education 
Commissioner's Council on Higher Education, the New York State Blue 
Ribbon Commission on Youth Leadership and the State University of New 
York Advisory Council on Teacher Education to name a few.
  Her unrelenting devotion and selfless service will be missed at 
Buffalo State College and in the Western New York community. On behalf 
of the Western New York Community, I thank Dr. Muriel A. Howard for her 
friendship, and for her service to Western New York and Buffalo State 
College. I congratulate Dr. Howard on this most recent achievement and 
wish her the best of success as she assumes the role of president of 
the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in 
Washington, D.C. I look forward to continuing the partnership we've 
formed and with gratitude and admiration, I ask all Members of Congress 
to join me in honoring an extraordinary woman of New York's 27th 
Congressional District, Dr. Muriel A. Howard.

                          ____________________