[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING DR. JOHN JOHNSON ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday July 8, 2009

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise to 
honor the long and distinguished career of Dr. John Johnson, on the 
occasion of his retirement as president of Alabama Southern Community 
College.
  Dr. Johnson received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics/
chemistry from Troy University, a master's degree in counseling from 
the University of Alabama, and a Ph.D. in college administration from 
the University of Alabama.
  He devoted almost four decades of his life to higher education. For 
the past 20 years, Dr. Johnson served as president of Alabama Southern 
Community College, and prior to his tenure as president, he served on 
the faculties of Birmingham-Southern College and the University of 
Alabama, as well as the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education.
  While serving as president, Dr. Johnson raised Alabama Southern 
Community College to new heights. During his tenure, Alabama Southern 
has been recognized by the Alabama Department of Postsecondary 
Education as having ``achieved the most dramatic turnaround of any 
college in the history of the Alabama College System.'' Alabama 
Southern was selected as a top ten finalist for the 2006 Bellwether 
Award for Workforce Development and was also selected as the 2005 
National Bellwether Award for Instructional Excellence by Community 
College Futures Assembly and National Council for Instructional 
Administrators.
  In 2004, Alabama Southern was designated as a National Center for 
Pulp and Paper Technology Training, the highest award given by the 
National Science Foundation for Advanced Technology Education. This 
distinction made Alabama Southern the only national center in rural 
America. In 1998, Alabama Southern was selected as one of the 10 best 
examples of the management of change in the American Association of 
Community College's report Managing Change: A Model for Community 
College Leaders.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing a 
dedicated educator and friend to many throughout Alabama. I am certain 
that his family--his wife, Laurie, and their three children, Adam, 
Russell, and Bess--along with the faculty and staff at Alabama Southern 
Community College and his many friends in Monroeville and throughout 
the State join me in praising his accomplishments and extending thanks 
for his considerable service to southwest Alabama. On behalf of a 
grateful community, I wish Dr. Johnson the very best of luck in all of 
his future endeavors.

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