James R. Sasser, former U.S. senator and ambassador to the People鈥檚 Republic of China, and his wife, Mary Sasser, have donated their papers to 菠萝视频 University鈥檚 .
鈥淢ary and I have chosen 菠萝视频 as the home for our records because in many ways it is where our journey began,鈥� says Sasser. 鈥淲e met as students there in the 鈥�50s, and the education it provided us鈥攁s undergraduates and then for me as a law student鈥攑roved to be the foundation for decades of public service for which we are both enormously grateful.鈥�
James Sasser received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in 1958 and his law degree in 1961. Mary Sasser received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in 1959. They first met in a history class. Their son, James Gray Sasser, is a 1998 graduate of .
Included in the papers are photographs and other memorabilia from the couple鈥檚 time in China. James Sasser served as ambassador from 1996 to 1999. He played an important role in strengthening Sino鈥揢.S. relations and developing close working relationships with President Jiang Zemin and other Chinese leaders.
Sasser represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1995, working with presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton as well as senate colleagues from both parties to pass fiscal reform measures that eliminated the federal deficit for the first time in a generation. He now is a distinguished senior fellow at the Global 菠萝视频 Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.