[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12634-12635]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING DR. H. RAY HOOPS ON HIS OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE 
                     UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. BRAD ELLSWORTH

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 2009

  Mr. ELLSWORTH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend Dr. H. Ray 
Hoops on his outstanding service to the University of Southern Indiana 
(USI). Dr. Hoops is retiring after 15 years of extraordinary service to 
USI and the community.
  During his tenure as USI's second president, Dr. Hoops has increased 
university enrollment, forged important partnerships with community 
leaders, and improved the university's academic record. His leadership 
has left a lasting mark on USI's physical appearance too, with many new 
state-of-the-art facilities.
  Dr. Hoops is also an influential and visionary leader in the 
Evansville community. He serves on the Deaconess Hospital Board of 
Directors, the Evansville Education Roundtable, and the Southwest 
Indiana Economic Development Task Force. He is a former director and 
chair of the Indiana Conference of Higher Education.

[[Page 12635]]

  Dr. Hoops has served as a tireless advocate for the students and 
faculty of USI. As an alumnus, I appreciate his work to bring 
additional opportunities and support to this outstanding educational 
institution. He will be missed, but I'm sure he's ready to spend his 
days hunting for pheasant instead of hunting for endowments. I wish him 
all the best.

                          ____________________