[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 28, 2014)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E843] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] HONORING DR. LUIS PROENZA ______ HON. TIM RYAN of ohio in the house of representatives Wednesday, May 28, 2014 Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the career of Dr. Luis Proenza, who dedicated his extraordinary abilities to education and public service. Upon his retirement as the President of The University of Akron, his tremendous leadership as President will be greatly missed. Dr. Proenza's career in education started long before his time as University President in Akron, Ohio. After graduating with a Ph.D. in 1971 from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Proenza joined the faculty of the University of Georgia as a professor, where he gained prominence as a researcher in retinal neurophysiology, eventually being named to the National Research Council-National Academy of Science's Committee on Vision. In 2001, President George W. Bush named Dr. Proenza to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, our nation's highest-level policy advisory group for science and technology. During his record setting 15-year tenure as a University President in Ohio, Dr. Proenza's creative leadership helped develop The University of Akron into a powerful economic engine for regional development. Acting as a catalyst for collaborative community initiatives and partnerships throughout his tenure, Dr. Proenza helped further solidify The University of Akron as Northeast Ohio's preeminent public university. Under his leadership The University of Akron's research portfolio has doubled in size, a fifty-block area surrounding the campus has been revitalized, and the Austen Bio-Innovation Institute has been established. Also under his direction a partnership with three local hospitals and a medical school has emerged to help establish Akron as one of the country's leading centers for biomaterials and biomedicine. I would like to thank Dr. Proenza for the fifteen years he has dedicated to our community and the University of Akron. I would also like to thank him for his spirit of progress, education, and collaboration that has since fostered a movement among other Ohioans. Dr. Proenza will become President Emeritus of the University, continue his current tenured professorship in biology, and will be named University Professor in the Office of Academic Affairs following a sabbatical leave. Hopefully he and his wife Theresa Butler can spend a lot more time on their 44-foot sailboat Apogee, which they designed together and plan to sail on Lake Erie. ____________________