Haley Stevens: “as a product of the World War II years, I rushed through my undergraduate education after that war. In the process, my…”

“as a product of the World War II years, I rushed through my undergraduate education after that war. In the process, my education was of the Yogi Berra variety: If I came to a fork in the road, I took it. Now, having acquired seniority here, I have privileges I never dreamed would be part of my life, and am more and more aware of what I missed by not spending more time in basic educational endeavors. For instance, because of my service on the Senate Rules Committee, it is my honor to be chairman of the Joint committee of the Library. This position opened my eyes and ears and filled my mind with joys totally unexpected. For instance, my increasing visits with Dr. Jim Billington, Librarian of the Library of Congress, a national treasure and our preeminent Russian scholar, have led to meeting more and more of the distinguished academics of our time. One of these persons is Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor Emeritus at Yale university and Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Sadly, because of business here in the Senate, I missed Dr. Pelikan's brilliant luncheon address to the Bicentennial of the Library of Congress on April 24 of this year. Arriving late, I was overwhelmed by the comments about his speech to the 'Library Legends Luncheon' and requested a copy of it. The title of this address was: 'Hospital for the Soul.' Now, I realize why we address those who have received Phd's as 'Doctor.'”