-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a distinguished North Carolinian and a dear friend, High Point University President Dr. Nido Qubein.

Dr. Qubein immigrated to the United States from the Middle East when he was 17 years old. He came to our country to pursue his education and attend college. Needless to say, his academic achievements were impressive, and they were an early indication of the success he would build in North Carolina.

He received his associate's degree in business from Mount Olive College, a bachelor's degree in human relations from High Point University, and a master's in business education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

My family and I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Qubein and his family and his wife Mariana for decades. We have been inspired by their dedication to education and their service to others.

During his career in business, philanthropy, and education, Dr. Qubein has been widely recognized for his work. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans designation, the Daughters of the American Revolution Americanism Award, and has been inducted into the National Speakers Hall of Fame.

But of all of his accomplishments, what he has been able to achieve for his hometown of High Point, NC, is perhaps his most indelible legacy. In 2005, High Point University trustees asked him to become its seventh President. Dr. Qubein decided to scale back his business career and to accept their offer to lead his alma mater. That decision launched a huge golden age.

What has happened under Dr. Qubein's tenure is nothing short of a complete transformation of High Point University. Enrollment at the school has more than quadrupled--now over 6,000. Nearly every year, HPU has topped itself, increasing the number of students in each year's class. In 2005, HPU had three specialized academic schools. Today, there are 13, including dental, law, and engineering. In 2005, the university had 108 full-time faculty. Today, they have 500. In 2005, the university's endowment was just over $45 million. Today, it has quadrupled to $180 million. The size of the campus has skyrocketed by over 400 percent to 520 acres. Under Dr. Qubein's leadership, the university established a full-time, pro bono physical therapy clinic, as well as new schools for business, communications, law, natural sciences, health sciences, nursing, a school of pharmacy, a conservatory, and so much more.

All of this growth has led to this amazing fact: The percentage of graduates who either begin a career or enroll in graduate school within 180 days of earning their degree is 99 percent. That outcome is 14 percent higher than the national average.

The success is all the more exceptional because High Point University is an institution led by the values of its president. HPU is a God, family, and country institution. They welcome students of all backgrounds, but the values of faith in God and patriotism are at the core of what defines High Point University. They lead, and they lead with purpose.

Simply put, Dr. Qubein has transformed High Point University from a small, little-known southern college into a nationally known and respected institution that now draws students from all 50 States and more than 50 countries around the world.

So on behalf of the citizens of North Carolina, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Nido Qubein for everything he has done for the city of High Point and the university that bears its name and for setting the standard for what it means to be an extraordinary American citizen.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source