82R14213 KO-D
By: Branch H.C.R. No. 10
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Southern Methodist University is celebrating the
100th anniversary of its founding and 10 decades of educational
excellence in 2011; and
WHEREAS, Created in 1911 by what is now the United Methodist
Church with support from Dallas community leaders, Southern
Methodist University is a private institution of higher education
that is nonsectarian in its teaching; recognized as a top-tier
national university by U.S. News & World Report, the school has an
enrollment of nearly 11,000 students who come from all 50 states and
more than 90 foreign countries and who represent diverse economic,
ethnic, and religious backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, SMU offers 123 undergraduate degree programs and 127
graduate and professional programs, including 25 doctorates
through seven schools in the humanities and sciences, performing,
visual, and communication arts, business, engineering, education
and human development, law, and theology; its 10 libraries house
the largest private collection of research materials in the
Southwest, with more than three million volumes; the school has
more than 660 full-time faculty members and nearly 112,000 alumni
worldwide, with about half that number residing in Texas; and
WHEREAS, Along with a threefold increase in applications over
the last 15 years, SMU has seen the average SAT scores of its
first-year undergraduate students rise approximately 100 points in
the past decade; the university has greatly expanded its study
abroad options, and now affords access to 145 programs in nearly 50
countries; SMU's endowment surpassed $1 billion in 2005; and
WHEREAS, SMU will be the site of the George W. Bush
Presidential Center, which will feature a library, museum, and
independent institute and is scheduled to open in 2013; the
university is also home to the Meadows Museum, which boasts one of
the finest collections of Spanish artworks outside of Spain, with
pieces by El Greco, Velazquez, Goya, Picasso, and Miro; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of an eventful century, Southern
Methodist University has provided its students with an education
that has enriched them both academically and personally, and in so
doing, the school has made important contributions to Texas and the
world beyond; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby honor Southern Methodist University for its 10 decades of
outstanding service and extend to the university's administration,
faculty, staff, students, and alumni sincere best wishes for a
successful centennial celebration; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Southern Methodist University as an expression of high
regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate.