[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO MR. JOSEPH CARTER CORBIN, FOUNDER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 
                         ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to 
Mr. Joseph Carter Corbin, founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine 
Bluff.
  As a proud graduate of Arkansas Mechanical and Normal College, now 
the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, I am pleased to have the 
opportunity to participate in the dedication of a headstone on the 
grave site of our founder and first president, Professor Joseph Carter 
Corbin.
  The Bible says, ``Where there is no vision, the people perish;'' and 
all of us who revere and appreciate the history of the University of 
Arkansas at Pine Bluff owe a debt of gratitude to our fellow alumna, 
Ms. Gladys Turner Finney, who thought of the idea, did the research, 
and communicated with other alumni across the country and brought the 
idea to fruition. The final resting place of Joseph Carter was recently 
discovered in an unmarked grave in Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, 
Illinois, which I represent as a Member of Congress.
  Professor Corbin died January 9, 1911, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He 
was interred at the Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park near his wife, 
Mary Jane Corbin, and two sons, John W. Corbin and William H. Corbin. 
The cemetery, known at that time as Waldheim German Cemetery, is 
located at 863 South Des Plaines Avenue in Forest Park, Illinois.
  Mr. Corbin was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on March 26, 1833, to free 
parents, William and Susan Corbin. He entered Ohio University at 
Athens, Ohio, in 1850, when he was 17, after having been home-schooled. 
He earned a bachelor's degree in art. He also earned two master's 
degrees from Ohio University in 1856 and 1889.
  He later moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, joined the Republican Party, 
and became a leader. He quickly rose and became secretary of the State 
convention and was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
where he laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Branch Normal 
College. It finally started, and he became its founder and principal 
for 27 years, from 1875 to 1902.
  A leader in the public education movement in Arkansas, Professor 
Corbin became the principal of Merrill High School in 1902. He and 
fellow educator, R.C. Childress, founded Teachers of Negro Youth in 
Arkansas, which became the first State colored teachers association. 
Professor Corbin was its first president.
  Compared with educators Booker T. Washington and Horace Mann, 
Professor Corbin was thought to be one of the most highly educated 
individuals of his time as a scholarly graduate of Ohio University. 
During his tenure at Branch Normal, he worked tirelessly to maintain an 
adequate physical plant and academic program. The student population 
grew from 7 students to 241 students by 1894, when Arkansas graduated 
its first African American student.
  As beneficiaries of his work, we hold Professor Corbin and his legacy 
in high esteem. An institution which started with 7 students is now the 
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offering master's degrees, 
bachelor's degrees, and doctorate degrees. We owe Joseph Carter Corbin, 
our first president and the founder of a now great institution, a debt 
of gratitude and thank him for his work.

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