H.R. No. 271
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, An esteemed educator and civil rights activist, Dr.
Blandina Cardenas has rendered exceptional service to The
University of Texas-Pan American; and
WHEREAS, Born and raised in the border community of Del Rio,
Blandina Cardenas earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from The
University of Texas at Austin; she returned to her hometown to teach
preschool children from the migrant community and garnered national
praise for the educational models she developed as a public school
teacher; in 1977, she accepted a presidential appointment to serve
as commissioner for children, youth, and families in the Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare; she also completed her doctoral
studies in education administration at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst; and
WHEREAS, In 1980, Dr. Cardenas was appointed to the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights, where she served for more than a decade;
she went on to work closely with various advocacy groups, including
the Inter-American Children's Institute, and she directed the
Southwest Center on Values, Achievement and Community in Education
at the LBJ Institute at Southwest Texas State University; she later
joined The University of Texas at San Antonio as a professor before
being named dean of its College of Education; she made further
contributions to the field of education through her affiliation
with the American Council on Education and through her work with
Mexican universities, for which she received the highest honor
bestowed on a noncitizen by the government of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, The first woman to lead The University of Texas-Pan
American, Dr. Cardenas became its seventh president in 2004; in
that role, she launched several initiatives aimed at establishing
the university as a model of higher education for a diverse student
population; she also worked to modernize the institution and raise
its academic standards; continuing her efforts to encourage
underrepresented groups to pursue higher education, she oversaw an
increase in financial aid from $84 million to $111 million and
provided much needed relief to many of the families from the
neighboring communities who struggled to pay for college; and
WHEREAS, In nearly five years as president of UTPA, Dr.
Cardenas helped raise the number of students receiving degrees,
including significant increases in nursing and graduate degrees, as
well as the number of internships and study abroad programs being
offered to students; in addition, she supported the creation of
collaborative partnerships with South Texas College and the
addition of a doctoral program in rehabilitation counseling; she
also ushered in a new era of research in such fields as economics,
border life, medicine, and engineering; moreover, under her skilled
leadership, UTPA saw increased faculty and student scholarly
productivity, with more undergraduate students publishing or
presenting their academic research and more students in master's
programs writing theses; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Blandina Cardenas has demonstrated an
unwavering commitment to making higher education more accessible to
the residents of South Texas, and her work has benefited both UTPA
and the surrounding community in myriad ways; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby commend Dr. Blandina Cardenas for her notable
contributions to The University of Texas-Pan American and extend to
her sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Dr. Cardenas as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Pena
Gonzales
Guillen
Martinez
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 271 was adopted by the House on
February 9, 2009, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House