Hoyer Floor Remarks Honoring William "Brit" Kirwan
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) spoke on the House Floor today in honor of former University System of Maryland Chancellor Dr. William E. "Brit" Kirwan. Dr. Kirwan retired on June 30, 2015 after 12 years of service as USM's chancellor. Below is a transcript of his remarks and a link to the video:
Click here to watch the video.
"Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to an individual who has made a remarkable impact on higher education in this country and in my state. He's done that for more than half a century.
"William English ‘Brit' Kirwan retired at the end of June as chancellor of the University System of Maryland.
"He served as chancellor for the past 12 years, and during that time he oversaw a period of growth, transformation, and achievement, which included the integration of online technology with course instruction and a 24 percent increase in enrollment.
"Dr. Kirwan's lifetime of service to higher education Mr. Speaker, began in his youth, which was spent on and around college campuses in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, and Durham, North Carolina.
"His father, Dr. A. D. Kirwan, was an accomplished educator and college administrator as well, having written and lectured in history at the University of Kentucky and later served as a dean and its president.
"Brit Kirwan followed in his father's footsteps, luckily for all of us, attending the University of Kentucky and later pursuing his master's and doctorate in mathematics from Rutgers University in New Jersey.
"Dr. Kirwan came to the University of Maryland College Park in 1964, a year after I graduated. He came as an assistant professor of math.
"After 24 years teaching in the department, and having been elevated to department chair and then provost, Dr. Kirwan was selected as president of the University in 1988.
"He led the University System of Maryland's flagship campus for a decade before leaving to become president of the Ohio State University.
"I think I speak for all Marylanders when I say that we were very happy when he came back to Maryland.
"I was a member of the Board of Regents at the time, and I remember participating in the meeting when we were searching for a new chancellor, and I asked my colleagues: ‘if we could get Brit Kirwan back, would you want him?'
"All of them were extraordinarily enthusiastic.
"So I called his house in Ohio, and his wife Patty answered – and I asked her if she and Brit would be interested in returning.
"She replied that they would both like to be closer to their grandchildren, luckily they were living in Maryland.
"I took that as a good sign, and, a short time later, Brit was back.
"As chancellor of the University System, he managed a network that serves over 165,000 undergraduate and graduate students at 12 universities, two regional higher education centers, and one research center.
"It is the 12th largest University System in America.
"And, under Dr. Kirwan's leadership, it has become a national model for excellence in higher education, research, and applied innovation.
"Dr. Kirwan has been called upon by both Democratic and Republican presidents over the years to advise on issues relating to higher education access and performance. And certainly he's been asked by United States Senators and Members of this House for his advice and counsel as well.
"He has been committed throughout his years as an administrator, Mr. Speaker, to the principle that education ought to be accessible to all and that it ought to be seen as a tool to help people enrich their lives through learning while advancing their careers.
"Among his major priorities have been making the University campuses more diverse and making attending college more affordable.
"Under his leadership, the University System built partnerships with the private sector and the state and federal governments in order to further the cause of advanced research and innovation that has practical application for economic growth and national defense.
"Last year Mr. Speaker, I was proud to be on hand to inaugurate a new test site in Southern Maryland for unmanned aircraft systems, which will help in the development of new aerospace technologies and bring business development and skilled jobs to that region.
"Dr. Kirwin has always understood that we need to do more to ensure that everyone who wants to pursue higher education can do so and that our colleges and universities are helping to produce skilled innovators and workers. He knew that the University System was a partner in economic growth in our state and that university and academic institutions were partners in growing the United States economy.
"Mr. Speaker, I've had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Kirwan for many years, and I have seen firsthand his passion for higher education, his respect for faculty and staff, and his love of students.
"And last week I had the opportunity to participate in a ceremony to rededicate the University of Maryland Mathematics building in honor of Dr. Brit Kirwan. That building in which he taught mathematics is now named in his honor.
"All of us have witnessed his determination to make the University System of Maryland a source of pride for our state and our country.
"And he has done so.
"He has been a man who is deeply devoted to his wife Patty, a wonderful woman and their wonderful family, and their community.
"Patty Kirwan is herself an extraordinary partner in the success that she and Brit have both achieved.
"Mr. Speaker, Chancellor Brit Kirwan is a man of extraordinary intellect, vision, understanding, compassion, character and principle.
"He has brought all of these traits to bear in all of the important roles he performed throughout every endeavor in his life.
"On behalf of all of us who live in our state but indeed on behalf of all of the citizens of the United States who he has advantaged in one way of the other, I thank Dr. Kirwan for his leadership on behalf of higher education for our state and for our country.
"Dr. Kirwan has stepped down as chancellor, but Mr. Speaker I know that he will continue to lend all of his great talents to making higher education ever more effective and his country ever more successful.
"Well done, Dr."
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