Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced Dr. Condoleezza Rice at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee nomination hearing for Secretary of State.  

Before serving as President George W. Bush’s National Security Advisor, Dr. Rice served as Provost of Senator Feinstein’s alma mater, Stanford University, for 6 years. Dr. Rice was also a member of the National Security Council under President George H. W. Bush and a Stanford Professor of Political Science during the 1980s. Following is the prepared text of Senator Feinstein’s remarks:

“Chairman Lugar, Ranking Member Biden, and Members of the Committee, it gives me great pleasure to introduce a friend and fellow Californian, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, as the President’s nominee to be the next Secretary of State.

Dr. Rice’s story began 50 years ago with her birth in Birmingham, Alabama. A precocious child – she began piano lessons at age 3, could read by 5, and skipped the first and seventh grades. She attended public schools before enrolling at Birmingham Southern Conservatory of Music in 1964.

Her father, an educator and pastor, aptly nicknamed his only child ‘Little Star.’

Dr. Rice’s family moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1969, where she entered an integrated school for the first time as a 10th grader. Staying close to home, she opted for the University of Denver and was awarded her B.A. Degree, with honors, at the age of 19.

By this time Dr. Rice was engrossed with Soviet military issues and the related problems of arms control. She began her graduate studies on the topic at Notre Dame, and was awarded an M.A. degree in 1975. Thereafter she returned to the University of Denver to finish her dissertation on the Czech military’s effect on society.

Dr. Rice’s career as an academician then brought her to my alma mater, Stanford University, in 1981 where she was an assistant professor of political science. As an assistant professor, she wrote the book Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and Czechoslovak Army, 1948-1963 and continued to follow her great interest in football.

From 1989 to 1991, in the first Bush Administration she proved her mettle in government for the first time as a Senior Director for Soviet Affairs and East European Affairs at the National Security Council. President George H.W. Bush had this to say about her abilities: ‘Condi was brilliant … She disarms the biggest of the big shots. Why? Because they know she knows what she is talking about.’

It was then back to Stanford in the early 1990s, where she was named provost of the university. She was the first woman, first African American and the youngest person, at age 38, to hold the position in the school’s history. For six years, she managed a $1.5 billion school budget, 1,400 faculty members, and 14,000 students. Remarkably, she also continued to teach in the classroom. She valued her time with students, telling them ‘If you find yourself in the company of people who agree with you, you’re in the wrong company.’

She returned to the White House as the first African American woman to serve as National Security Advisor in January 2001.

As a young girl Condi had stood at the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with her father, telling him that ‘Daddy, I’m barred out of there now because of the color my skin. But one day, I’ll be in that house.’ She delivered on the promise.

Now, she is the President’s choice to be our country’s next Secretary of State.

American foreign policy today is at a crossroads. In Iraq, across the Middle East, in North Korea, in our relations with China, and in so many other places, we face major challenges. I would submit that Dr. Rice has the skill, judgment, and poise to lead in these difficult times. If confirmed, she will have the deep, personal trust and confidence of the President. Dr. Rice has been by his side for every crucial national security decision in the last four years.

My sense is that the President trusts her implicitly. When Dr. Rice meets with Hu Jintao, or Ariel Sharon, or Vladimir Putin, there will no doubt that she speaks for and on behalf of the President.

The problems we face abroad are complex and sizable. If Dr. Rice’s past performance is any indication, though, we can rest easy. It is difficult to know ahead of time how anyone will perform as Secretary of State. Time and events test vision, facile thinking, and resolute problem solving. But this is a remarkable woman.”