<BillNo> <Sponsor>
SENATE RESOLUTION 5
By Akbari
SR0005
001551
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A RESOLUTION to honor and congratulate Dr. Priscilla Davis on
the celebration of her eightieth birthday.
WHEREAS, it is fitting that we pay tribute to those citizens who are celebrating special
occasions in their estimable lives; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Priscilla Davis will celebrate her eightieth birthday this year, a milestone
that will be commemorated as yet another precious souvenir of life's rich pageant; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Davis, at the age of only nine, demonstrated fearless courage and
perseverance in her fight with polio, even after her doctors told her that she would be unable to
use her right arm for the rest of her life; she struggled through recuperation without a physical
therapist due to segregation, and she managed to make a complete recovery and go on to live
an active life; and
WHEREAS, she studied at both the University of Buffalo and Buffalo State University,
earning her doctorate in communicative disorders, and went on to teach for over thirty years
combined at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences; and
WHEREAS, a tireless advocate and laborer for those who experience auditory or
linguistic difficulties, Dr. Davis was a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association for forty-five years; and
WHEREAS, she moved to teach at the University of Alabama, where she, for over a
decade, enlightened her students in such subjects as speech development, articulation
disorders, multicultural issues, diagnostics, and phonetics; and
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WHEREAS, Dr. Davis exhibited her aptitude for effective leadership at the University of
Alabama as a member of the Faculty Senate, the chairman of the Promotion and Tenure
Committee, and the president of the Black Faculty and Staff Association; and
WHEREAS, committed to racial equality on campus and beyond, she served as the
faculty advisor to the NAACP; and
WHEREAS, as she enters her eightieth year, Dr. Davis, admired for her wisdom, spirit of
generosity, integrity, and enthusiasm for life, still exudes the goodness that is so
characteristically hers; and
WHEREAS, we wish to grasp this golden opportunity to specially recognize one of
Tennessee's most outstanding citizens on this very special occasion; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that we hereby honor and
congratulate Dr. Priscilla Davis on the celebration of her eightieth birthday and extend to her our
best wishes for many happy returns of the day.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.