Thursday, May 26, 2005

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Floor Statement Congratulating Dr. Betty Siegel
Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor

Mr. President, I rise to memorialize in the Record of the Senate the name of a great educator in the State of Georgia. Two weeks ago at the commencement exercises of Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA, a lady by the name of Dr. Betty Siegel announced at the end of that commencement her retirement as president of Kennesaw State University after 25 years of service.

One might think in listening to that, well, that is a nice accomplishment, but is that so significant? I will talk for a minute about how significant this woman's life and her contributions have been.

Twenty-five years ago there were not many women presidents of any colleges or universities in the United States of America. In fact, Betty Siegel became the first president of a public university in the history of the university system of Georgia. She took the leadership of a small, urban campus, nonresidential, known as Kennesaw State College, with students numbering 4,000, handing out a handful of degrees, most all to computer learners.

As Dr. Siegel announced her retirement 2 weeks ago, she leaves a university with 18,000 students, third only to the University of Georgia and Georgia State University in population in our State, granting multiple degrees and a forerunner in our State in nursing, in education, in family business, in leadership, and in ethics.

Betty Siegel graduated from Wake Forest with an undergraduate degree and went to the University of North Carolina for her master's and doctorate from Florida State. She taught, she became a dean, throughout the southeastern United States. But when she was tapped, it was not only the right person for the time, it was the best decision possible. She broke the glass ceiling for women presidents at universities and colleges in Georgia because now we have many. She was the forerunner.

She built an urban university that was nonresidential and commuter into a combination commuter and residential university of renown and respect all over the United States.

While she did it, she did just a few other things. She got appointed to five corporate boards because of her contribution, her intellect, her knowledge, and her breadth and depth. She became president of a Chamber of Commerce. How many times have you heard of a college president or university president going on to be the president of a local community Chamber of Commerce? This happens to be the second largest Chamber of Commerce in the State of Georgia. But that is how remarkable Betty Siegel is.

I also mentioned in my remarks earlier that Kennesaw was the leader in leadership and ethics. They are because Betty Siegel found a way, through corporate and private donations, to endow a chair and build a school committed to leadership in ethics, in business, and in public life.

Through her commitment to understand the strength of small business and the fact that it is the heart of American employment, she founded, in our State, at her university, a division of family business, second to none, that today is the resource for families who try to make those transitions from one generation to the next, to make the transition from small business to medium-sized business to large business, or to seek the guidance that is so unique for small family businesses. And Kennesaw State University is that institution.

But I want to tell you something about Dr. Betty Siegel.

Retirement is not quite the appropriate announcement because she has never retired from her commitment in her life to young people and to their education, and she will not now. Because when asked, after her announcement--within minutes--well, what are you going to do? She said: I am going to teach. I am going to work with young people. I am going to try to make their lives better.

After making that announcement, she spent the next week overnight in a dorm with students, asking how she could advise the next president to make the services of Kennesaw State University even better for the students who will enter in the fall of 2005 and go on to 2006.

It gives me a great deal of pleasure and it is a privilege to recognize on the Senate floor the contributions of Dr. Betty Siegel to the children of Georgia, her contributions to higher education, the ceiling she broke for women in academics in our State, and, most importantly, all of her continuing capacity to helping and teaching our young people.