May 12, 1998

Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the fifth class of inductees into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. These five women gained recognition in fields of nature, justice, the arts, and finance and represent the best of my state and of our nation.

I want to take this opportunity to speak about each of this year's inductees.

Dorrit Hoffleit, a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, has established herself as a premiere astronomer through her work as senior researcher at Yale University. For over seventy years she has studied astronomy and has received an undergraduate degree from Radcliffe in mathematics and a doctorate from Harvard. Her interest in stars began early in her childhood when she saw two stars collide.

During World War II, Professor Hoffleit worked as a mathematician at the Ballistic Research Laboratories at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. It is here that she felt the effects of being a female in a male-dominated field. She was paid less for doing the same work as her male colleagues. In fact, despite her doctorate she still received a sub-professional ranking. However, she protested this treatment and as a result was given her due rank and ultimately transferred to Washington.

In 1956, she went on to direct the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Mass. Her work there helped to provide women with more substantial opportunities in astronomy. An indication of her success is that twenty-five percent of the students who worked with Professor Hoffleit have gone on to become professional astronomers.

As a member of the Yale research faculty, Professor Hoffleit has made immense academic contributions to her field. She is most renowned for her two star catalogs. Her most well known catalog, The Bright Star Catalogue, has been defined as `the bible of virtually every stellar astronomer.'

Despite retiring from Yale over twenty years ago, Professor Hoffleit continues to go to work every day. In these past twenty years, she has not drawn a salary. She is dedicated to educating her colleagues and future astronomers, rather than promoting herself and her career. As a result of her profound selflessness and service, the effects of her efforts will be as limitless as the stars she has spent a lifetime studying.

A second inductee is Judge Constance Baker Motley. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Judge Motley first became interested in civil rights after being denied admission into a local public beach and skating rink.

After graduating from high school, she was unable to afford college, so she worked for $50 a month refinishing furniture. She continued to be active and to voice her beliefs, despite her inability to further her education. A local philanthropist, Clarence Blakeslee, heard her speak at the Youth Council in 1939, and he was so impressed with her that he offered to pay for her education. She graduated from New York University in 1943, and three years later received her law degree from Columbia University.

After graduating from Columbia, she worked full time for the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, under then chief counsel Thurgood Marshall. She worked there for twenty years as a staff member and associate counsel and she was known for her impressive skill as an oral advocate. During her time at the Legal Defense and Educational Fund she argued before the Supreme Court ten times, winning nine appeals. She is renowned for her work with Thurgood Marshall and others on the landmark Brown versus Board of Education case.

Judge Motley entered politics in 1964, serving in the New York State Senate. In 1965 she became the first woman to serve as a City Borough President. During this time, she worked on ways to improve the inner-city through better housing and schools. In 1966, she became the first African-American woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. As a federal judge she continued to break new ground. In 1982 she was made chief judge and in 1986 was appointed senior judge. Neither position had ever been held by a woman before her.

Judge Motley's work for justice over five decades has been responsible for some of the most extraordinary changes in American culture during our history. She has received many awards and honorary degrees for her immense contributions to civil rights and the legal profession.

A third inductee is Rosa Ponselle. Born Rosa Melba Ponzillo, she was a first generation American, the daughter of Italian immigrants who settled in Meriden, Connecticut. She began studying music and singing at age ten. Her musical break came at eighteen when she auditioned for the great opera legend, Enrico Caruso. Immediately after auditioning, she was cast in the role of Leonora in the Metropolitan Opera's staging of Verdi's `La Forza del Destino.' She remained loyal to the Metropolitan throughout her career, and she spent all but four seasons of her nineteen-year career performing there. In fact, she was the first American-trained singer to star at the Metropolitan.

Ms. Ponselle shocked the opera world when she retired in 1937. She dedicated the remaining forty-four years of her life to helping train and teach aspiring young operatic youths. One of her most notable students was Placido Domingo. She also served as the artistic director of the Baltimore Civic Opera Company. She died in Baltimore in May 1991.

Her voice was said to exude a blend of youthfulness and maturity and she remains an inspiration to opera students and audiences worldwide.

Lillian Vernon, another inductee, is a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut. She is the founder and CEO of Lillian Vernon Corporation. She entered the industry of mail order catalogues in the 1950's when it was dominated by industry moguls such as Richard Sears and A. Montgomery Ward. The company, which began in 1951, was one of the first to offer personalized merchandise by mail. The corporation was the first company founded by a woman to be publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange.

Ms. Vernon also does a great deal of charity work. She serves on the boards of various non-profit organizations, including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, New York University's College of Arts and Science, and the Children's Museum. She has been honored for her work as a business leader and community activist. She received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Big Brothers-Big Sisters National Hero Award, and the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame Award. Ms. Vernon is a remarkable entrepreneur, businesswomen, and role model.

The final inductee is Mabel Osgood Wright. She was a resident of Fairfield, Connecticut and was the founder and President of the Connecticut Audubon Society. Wright established the first bird sanctuary in the United States, naming it Birdcraft. She founded the sanctuary around the turn of the century, fearing that bird life was being gradually eradicated.

Wright saw conservation education as a key element to sustaining wildlife. She wrote many books in an effort to introduce children to nature appreciation and conservation. She published a field guide to New England birds in 1895. During this time, the Audubon movement was still young and was lacking public support. Through her involvement she helped to revive the organization on the state level. Aside from serving as President of the Connecticut Audubon Society, she served as an officer of the national group and as an editor and writer for Bird Lore magazine.

It is said that Wright was unique in the environmental movement. This is because she was a nature writer as well as a community leader and her message focused not on the protection of our national parks but the preservation of our backyards, our gardens, and our bird sanctuaries. She believed the best way to preserve nature was through teaching children how to do it.

Although she died in 1935, her message lives on at the Birdcraft Bird Sanctuary which remains a museum containing exhibits of Connecticut wildlife and providing frequent tours for school children.

All five of these inductees are richly deserving of this award. I am pleased, indeed, that their remarkable lives will now become better known to the people of Connecticut and the United States for generations to come.