[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 23644] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO DR. PIYUSH AGRAWAL ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM PUBLIC EDUCATION ______ HON. CARRIE P. MEEK of florida in the house of representatives Thursday, September 30, 1999 Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a distinct honor to pay tribute to one of America's unsung heroes, Dr. Piyush Agrawal. The celebration of his retirement from public education, particularly in his role as Superintendent of Piscataway Township Public Schools in Piscataway, New Jersey, this Saturday, October 2, 1999, will certainly leave a great void in our public school system. During the years that I have known Dr. Agrawal as an administrator par excellence in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, he truly epitomized the preeminence of a caring public servant who genuinely exuded the virtues of a gentleman and a scholar. I want to express my gratitude for all the efforts and sacrifices he consecrated to the thousands of children and their parents, as well as the administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals working in our Nation's fourth largest school system. He has been in the field of education since 1955. His career has spanned over four continents from Asia to Europe, to Africa and to North America. His broad range of assignments included a stint as a United Nations expert on education, and has likewise served as a Consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the new American Schools Development Corporation (MASDC) and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). He has also served on several prestigious national task forces and panels such as the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, the Florida Speaker's Task Force on Mathematics, Science and Computer Education, and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. Many of his colleagues admire him for his leadership in ensuring equality of opportunity in our schools. At the same time, his forceful advocacy in adhering to the tenets of equal treatment under the law for all has been unequivocal not only in the halls of academia, but also in every government agency geared toward the responsible and productive well-being of our children. In fact, countless others have been touched by his untiring commitment to this agenda. Dr. Agrawal is the consummate educational activist who abides by the dictum that those children who have less in life through no fault of their own should be helped at all costs in their quest for mastery of the basic skills and academic achievement. He has not faltered one iota in his belief that all children can learn and can succeed, given the appropriate affective and cognitive assistance from their parents and teachers. The numerous accolades with which he has been honored by various state and national organizations succinctly represent a genuine testimony of the utmost respect he enjoys from the academic community. Blessed by a down-to-earth common sense, he is also imbued with the uncommon wisdom of subtly recognizing the strengths and limitations of those who have been empowered to govern over the well-being of others. It is this quality that endears him to many of his colleagues. And it is this superlative rapport that buttresses his leadership over several civic and social organizations, which have so wisely depended upon his vision and commitment. Presently, he serves as Vice-President of the National Advisory Council for South Asian Affairs, a public interest foreign policy group recognized by the U.S. State Department. In 1994 he was appointed by the then Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown to the U.S. 2000 Census Advisory Committee on the Asian and Pacific Islander Populations for a three-year term. In 1997, he was reappointed to another three-year term by current Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley. He thoroughly understands the accou- terments of power and leadership. And he is wont to exercise this knowledge alongside the mandate of his convictions and the wisdom of his conscience, sagely focusing their elements upon the good of the community he has learned to love and care for so deeply. His word is his bond to those he deals with--not only in his moments of triumphal exuberance, but also in his quest to help transform our communities into the veritable mosaic of vibrant cultures and diverse people converging into the great promise and optimism that is America. Dr. Piyush Agrawal truly exemplifies this unique leadership whose courageous vision and firm belief appeal to our noble character as a nation. At the risk of being presumptuous, I want to extend to him the gratitude of our community. I sincerely bid him good luck on his well- deserved retirement and wish him Godspeed in all his endeavors. He will certainly be missed. ____________________