[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8245]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DR. AL BOWMAN

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I would like to take a few moments to 
thank Dr. Al Bowman for all he has done to keep the doors of 
educational opportunity open for young people in my State of Illinois.
  After nearly 10 years as President of Illinois State University, and 
a total of 35 years of service to ISU, Dr. Bowman is retiring. But the 
mark he leaves will continue to benefit ISU and the people of Illinois 
for years to come.
  The ISU Dr. Bowman is leaving is more financially stable and more 
attractive to top talent. Its student body is more diverse.
  Under Dr. Bowman's leadership, Illinois State University has ranked 
as one of America's top 100 public universities for 7 straight years.
  A hallmark of Dr. Bowman's presidency at ISU has been his 
determination to make sure that students graduate with the best 
possible education and the lowest possible debt.
  Illinois State University has done much more than any school I know 
of to make sure its students are able to make informed choices about 
student loans. The university asks each student to meet with financial 
counselors. Those counselors push students to borrow the minimum they 
need--not the most they can get. As a result, ISU's students graduate 
with an average student debt of $22,720--a sizable debt, to be sure, 
but well below the national average for 4-year, public institutions.
  And the quality of education is unquestioned. ISU's graduates are 
finding work in their field and paying down their loans. The 
university's student loan default rate is only 3 percent--again, well 
below the national average.
  Dr. Bowman's first career was working as a speech pathologist at the 
Veterans Administration Hospital in Danville, IL.
  He joined the ISU faculty in 1978 as a professor in the Department of 
Speech Pathology and Audiology. He was appointed department chairperson 
in 1994 and served in that position for 8 years. Even as department 
chair, Dr. Bowman continued to teach and to serve as director of ISU's 
Down Syndrome Speech-Language Clinic.
  During Dr. Bowman's tenure as director, the department flourished. He 
doubled the faculty and the scholarly production of the staff. The 
department won accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation 
of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and its master's 
program was ranked for the first time as the top speech and audiology 
master's program in Illinois.
  In 2002, Dr. Bowman was promoted to Illinois State's interim provost 
where he served until he was named president in 2004.
  As president, Dr. Bowman was a driving force behind Illinois State 
University's first comprehensive campaign, which raised more than $96 
million. He also helped secure $49 million for a new student fitness 
and recreation center and $17.5 million for the renovation of Schroeder 
Hall, the university's home to the Criminal Justice Sciences, History, 
Politics and Government, Social Work and Sociology-Anthropology 
departments.
  I congratulate Dr. Al Bowman on his many accomplishments throughout 
his long and distinguished career.
  I thank him for his service and wish him all the best.

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