The Mansfield Center joins our community in mourning the loss of one of our greatest statesmen and patriots, Congressman Pat Williams.His was a life of service: as a teacher in Butte, a state legislator, Montana’s longest-serving Congressman and then as a faculty member here at the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ (UM). During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979-1997, Pat was defined by his care for the essential elements of a compassionate democracy: working families, education, Native American communities, public land, and the arts. While at UM, Pat facilitated funding through U.S. Senator Tester and the Department of Education to support ethics and public affairs programming at the Mansfield Center, largely in support of the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ he so deeply cherished. Pat once said that "...the personal attention that Mike Mansfield paid to Montanans has set the standard for those of us who have come after him." But Pat himself set the bar for that personal care and integrity that defined his leadership for the people of Montana and all the people of our great nation.
Our thoughts are with his family as we remember his tremendous achievements.