Cord Byrd: “I commend the Senate's guest Chaplain today, Father Thomas S. Acker, S.J., for his eloquent prayer opening today's…”

“I commend the Senate's guest Chaplain today, Father Thomas S. Acker, S.J., for his eloquent prayer opening today's session of the United States Senate. For the last 18 years, Fr. Acker has been serving as President of Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia. During that time, Wheeling Jesuit University has grown to become one of the leading universities in the State of West Virginia, and much of that growth is due to the insight and hard work of this Jesuit priest. During Fr. Acker's tenure at Wheeling Jesuit, the enrollment has doubled--doubled--and the number of buildings and square footage on campus has more than doubled. The addition of the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center, the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, and the Alan B. Mollohan Challenger Learning Center on campus places Wheeling Jesuit University in a unique position for growth into the 21st Century, which will begin next year, and has made a difference in the lives of the residents of West Virginia and beyond.”