SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 291
WHEREAS, A number of proud Texans are visiting Austin on
March 2, 2015, to celebrate Texas Southern University Day at the
State Capitol; and
WHEREAS, Founded in 1927, with a loan from the Houston
Public School Board, Texas Southern University opened its doors
as Houston Colored Junior College; the school was highly
successful and enrollment grew quickly, leading to the
transition to a four-year institution in 1934, with a graduate
program added in 1943; the Texas Legislature appropriated
$2 million in 1947 to buy the campus of what was then Houston
College for Negroes in order to create a new state-supported
university, and four years later the school assumed the name
Texas Southern University; and
WHEREAS, Today, Texas Southern University is one of the
largest of the historically black colleges and universities in
the United States; located in Houston's Third Ward, it enrolls
more than 9,600 students from throughout the country and around
the world, and it employs some 1,300 faculty and staff; it is
composed of 10 schools and colleges that offer 45 baccalaureate
academic majors, as well as 29 master's and eight doctoral degree
programs; and
WHEREAS, Texas Southern University is committed to serving
students of diverse cultural, religious, educational, and
economic backgrounds and to preparing them for future leadership
roles; the university trains the majority of African American
lawyers in Houston and African American teachers in the Houston
Independent School District, and it has historically graduated
more than 27 percent of the African American pharmacists in the
United States; in addition, the university's Thurgood Marshall
School of Law has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as
the most diverse law school in the nation; and
WHEREAS, Throughout its history, Texas Southern University
has provided its students with a solid foundation for
achievement, and it has been a powerful force for social progress
and economic development in the Lone Star State; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 84th
Legislature, hereby recognize March 2, 2015, as Texas Southern
University Day at the State Capitol and extend to all those
associated with this notable institution sincere best wishes for
continued success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
Texas Southern University as an expression of the high regard of
the Texas Senate.
Ellis
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on March 2, 2015.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate