[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 13016]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          JOHN ``JACK'' KIBBIE

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to pay 
tribute to a truly exceptional public servant and fellow Iowan, Jack 
Kibbie. Jack is retiring this year after 32 years of public service in 
the Iowa State Legislature. A decorated war hero before his time in 
office, Jack was awarded the Bronze Star for his service as a tank 
commander during the Korean war. After serving 4 years each in the Iowa 
House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate, he left the Senate in 
1968 but returned in 1988 and has served ever since. The longest 
serving Senate president in Iowa's history, Jack has dedicated his life 
to fighting for Iowans and all Americans and I am truly proud to have 
the opportunity to honor his life's work today.
  Jack has spent much of his time in public office supporting Iowa 
students. Known as the ``Father of Iowa's Community Colleges,'' he 
sponsored the 1965 bill that created Iowa's community college system. 
Later on, Jack served on the Iowa Lakes Community College Board for 17 
years and was president for 10 of those years. What is most remarkable 
about all of this work is that Jack himself does not have a college 
degree, but he spent his life making sure his fellow Iowans had the 
opportunity to attain one. Over the years, we have seen the Iowa 
community college system grow and succeed. The statewide community 
college student body, which began with a modest enrollment of 9,000 
students, has flourished into a system of 15 schools that now serve 
more than 155,000 college students and more than 254,000 noncredit 
students in every corner of the State. Together, these students 
represent nearly 22 percent of Iowa's working population.
  This will forever stand as Jack Kibbie's great legacy--a living 
legacy that will enrich and empower Iowans far into the future. By 
2018, for instance, Iowa will add 101,000 jobs requiring postsecondary 
education, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education 
and the Workforce. By this same year, nearly two out of every three 
jobs in Iowa will require postsecondary training beyond high school. At 
a time when community colleges are needed more than ever to help the 
United States regain its standing as the Nation with the highest 
proportion of college graduates in the world, Iowa's system--thanks to 
Jack Kibbie's life's work--is up to that task.
  Another legacy of Jack Kibbie--often overlooked--is his leadership in 
ensuring that the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System is rock-solid. 
Jack has fought to ensure Iowa has one of the best funded public 
pension funds in the United States because he believes strongly in 
providing workers with traditional pensions. I couldn't agree more.
  And I don't think there is anyone in Iowa who has been more 
persistent and determined--going back many years--in championing 
alternative fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, and wind energy. Today, 
Iowa is the No. 1 biofuels producer in the United States and that is in 
no small measure thanks to Jack Kibbie.
  Mr. President, Jack Kibbie's retirement is a tremendous loss for 
Iowans. For more than five decades Jack has fought for them and stood 
up for the values that make this country great. I wish him a long and 
happy retirement with his wife Kay and family.

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