[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Senate] [Page 22986] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS ______ IN RECOGNITION OF UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL'S SESQUICENTENNIAL CONVOCATION Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the University of Michigan Medical School as it celebrates its 150th Anniversary. On October 1, 1999, its faculty, staff, alumni, students and friends will gather to celebrate the Medical School's distinguished history and reputation. Since its founding in 1850, the men and women of the University of Michigan Medical School have been pioneers in the practice of medicine. With over 18,260 M.D. degrees awarded since the first graduating class in 1851, the Medical School's alumni and faculty have left an indelible mark on the course of medical history. With leading roles in the field trials of the Salk polio vaccine, pioneering cancer treatments, innovative uses of new technology in medicine and much more, it has greatly impacted the health of our entire nation. In addition, the University has a remarkably long list of innovative firsts. It opened the nation's first university-owned hospital in 1869, the first department of pharmacology in 1891, the first university- operated psychiatric hospital in 1906, the first children's psychiatric hospital and the nation's first Human Genetics Department. It has been an impressive century and a half indeed. According to statistics recorded by the Center for Disease Control, in the last century alone, the average life expectancy has increased nearly 30 years, from approximately 47 years in 1900 to more than 76 years today. Medical advances have not only added years to the lives of Americans, but have also added quality to those years. Among those leading the way to longer and healthier lives have been the faculty and alumni of the University of Michigan Medical School. The value of their contributions to the practice of medicine in America over the past 150 years is incalculable, and I am confident that they will continue to be on the cutting edge of medicine advances in the 21st century. Mr. President, the faculty, staff, alumni and students of the University of Michigan Medical School can take pride in their many important achievements of the School's first 150 years. I hope my colleagues will join me in saluting the accomplishments of the Medical School's first century and a half and in wishing it continued success for the future. ____________________