[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9677]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DR. ROBERT E. WITT

 Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Dr. 
Robert E. Witt, chancellor of the University of Alabama system, who is 
retiring in August of this year. Dr. Witt will be long remembered for 
his remarkable career, his extraordinary leadership, and for his role 
in restoring the University of Alabama to its rightful place as the 
capstone of higher education.
  A native of Bridgeport, CT, Dr. Witt received his bachelor's degree 
in economics from Bates College. He received his M.B.A. from the Tuck 
School of Business at Dartmouth College and his Ph.D. from the 
Pennsylvania State University.
  Dr. Witt began his 35-year career in higher education in 1968 when he 
joined the business school faculty at the University of Texas at 
Austin. He eventually became department chair, associate dean, and in 
1985, he was named dean of the UT business school. In 1995, Dr. Witt 
was named president of the University of Texas at Arlington, where he 
served until 2003 before moving to Tuscaloosa, AL.
  Prior to his election as chancellor of Alabama's largest education 
enterprise, Dr. Witt served as president of the University of Alabama 
from 2003 to 2012. Throughout his tenure, I was impressed by his vision 
and commitment to growing the capstone into one of the leading 
institutions for higher education in the South.
  During his 9 years as president of the university, he led an 
ambitious campaign for academic growth and achievement that positioned 
the University of Alabama as one of America's fastest growing public 
universities. Because of his efforts, the university has achieved a 
higher position academically, which continues to bring positive growth 
to the University of Alabama and our State as a whole.
  In addition to serving as president of the University of Alabama 
system, Dr. Witt is chairman of the Council of the Presidents of 
Alabama's public colleges and universities. He is a member of the 
Governor's College & Career Ready Task Force, the American Cast Iron 
Pipe Company Board of Directors, the Alexis de Tocqueville Executive 
Committee, the Advisory Board, and the Elizabeth Project Care Board. 
Dr. Witt is past chairman of the chamber of commerce of West Alabama, a 
past member of the Tuscaloosa County IDA Board, and the Black Warrior 
Council Boy Scouts of America.
  In 2011, Dr. Witt was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor, 
which is comprised of 100 living Alabamians elected for their 
noteworthy service to the State.
  Dr. Witt's many accomplishments, as well as his contributions to the 
University of Alabama, city of Tuscaloosa, and the State of Alabama, 
will not be soon forgotten. Our State and community have been fortunate 
to have a leader like Dr. Robert Witt, and I wish Dr. Witt and his 
wife, Sandee, the very best in their next chapter.

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