| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 1562 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, A number of proud Texans are visiting Austin on |
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| 6 | 6 | | April 27, 2009, to celebrate Prairie View A&M University Day at the |
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| 7 | 7 | | State Capitol; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Prairie View is the second-oldest public |
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| 9 | 9 | | institution of higher education in Texas and the first in the state |
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| 10 | 10 | | to be founded for African Americans; and |
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| 11 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Established in 1876, Prairie View opened its doors |
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| 12 | 12 | | in Waller County on March 11, 1878, as Alta Vista Agricultural |
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| 13 | 13 | | College, part of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas; |
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| 14 | 14 | | the following year the school became Prairie View State Normal |
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| 15 | 15 | | Institute, with a focus on training African American teachers; in |
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| 16 | 16 | | 1887, the legislature authorized the creation of an agricultural |
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| 17 | 17 | | and mechanical department and an experiment station at Prairie |
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| 18 | 18 | | View, and in 1890 the school became a land-grant institution; the |
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| 19 | 19 | | school assumed its present name in 1973, when it became a separate |
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| 20 | 20 | | unit within The Texas A&M University System; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | WHEREAS, In recognition of the school's notable history and |
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| 22 | 22 | | mission, the Texas Legislature defined a special charge for Prairie |
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| 23 | 23 | | View in 1981, calling on it, firstly, to enable students of diverse |
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| 24 | 24 | | ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to realize their full |
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| 25 | 25 | | potential, and secondly, to assist small and medium-sized |
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| 26 | 26 | | communities and businesses in their development; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Today, Prairie View enrolls more than 8,000 students |
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| 28 | 28 | | from throughout the country and around the world; composed of nine |
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| 29 | 29 | | schools and colleges, it also offers instruction at satellite |
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| 30 | 30 | | campuses in The Woodlands, Spring, and the Texas Medical Center, |
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| 31 | 31 | | where its College of Nursing is located; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Prairie View currently awards some 1,500 degrees |
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| 33 | 33 | | annually, approximately half of them distributed among 50 |
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| 34 | 34 | | baccalaureate academic majors and the other half among 37 master's |
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| 35 | 35 | | and four doctoral degree programs; the school is one of the |
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| 36 | 36 | | top-ranking institutions across the nation in the number of degrees |
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| 37 | 37 | | it confers on African Americans in the fields of computer science, |
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| 38 | 38 | | math, and engineering, and it is also a leader in the number of |
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| 39 | 39 | | black graduates admitted to medical school; in addition, it has |
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| 40 | 40 | | benefited countless citizens through various extension programs, |
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| 41 | 41 | | which it has offered since 1915; and |
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| 42 | 42 | | WHEREAS, Since 2003, Prairie View has been guided by |
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| 43 | 43 | | President George C. Wright, a distinguished historian who formerly |
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| 44 | 44 | | served as executive vice president for academic affairs and as |
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| 45 | 45 | | provost at The University of Texas at Arlington; joining President |
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| 46 | 46 | | Wright in the chamber today are members of the rising generation of |
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| 47 | 47 | | Texas leaders, representatives of the Prairie View A&M University |
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| 48 | 48 | | Student Government Association; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | WHEREAS, For 130 years, Prairie View A&M University has |
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| 50 | 50 | | enriched the lives of thousands of students, contributed to the |
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| 51 | 51 | | advancement of human knowledge, and proved a powerful force for |
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| 52 | 52 | | social progress and economic development in the Lone Star State; |
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| 53 | 53 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 54 | 54 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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| 55 | 55 | | Legislature hereby recognize April 27, 2009, as Prairie View A&M |
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| 56 | 56 | | University Day at the State Capitol and honor this venerable |
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| 57 | 57 | | institution for its outstanding dedication to academic excellence |
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| 58 | 58 | | and significant public service; and, be it further |
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| 59 | 59 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 60 | 60 | | prepared for Prairie View A&M University as an expression of high |
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| 61 | 61 | | regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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| 62 | 62 | | Zerwas |
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| 63 | 63 | | ______________________________ |
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| 64 | 64 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 65 | 65 | | I certify that H.R. No. 1562 was adopted by the House on April |
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| 66 | 66 | | 27, 2009, by a non-record vote. |
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| 67 | 67 | | ______________________________ |
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| 68 | 68 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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