H.R. No. 417
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Dr. Walter Wendler is being inaugurated as
president of West Texas A&M University on September 15, 2017; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Wendler has served as president of WTAMU since
his appointment in September 2016, and on the occasion of his
official investiture, he will be unveiling a long-term planning
effort, WT 125, which will culminate in 2035, the school's 125th
anniversary; this exciting initiative seeks to raise the
university's national profile as a research and doctorate-granting
institution while emphasizing its focus on issues affecting the
Texas Panhandle region; and
WHEREAS, Raised in Northport, New York, Dr. Wendler received
a bachelor's degree in environmental design from Texas A&M
University, and he went on to earn a master's degree in architecture
from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in
curriculum and instruction from The University of Texas at Austin;
and
WHEREAS, After beginning his academic career as an assistant
architecture professor at Louisiana State University, Dr. Wendler
joined the faculty of Texas A&M, where he later served as chair of
the Department of Architecture, as dean of the College of
Architecture, and as executive assistant to the president;
subsequently, he was appointed vice chancellor for planning for The
Texas A&M University System; and
WHEREAS, In 2001, Dr. Wendler became the chancellor of
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and over the course of his
six years in that office, he oversaw an annual budget of more than
$460 million and the planning of $286 million in new buildings as
well as a 65 percent increase in research productivity; in 2007, he
returned to teaching as a member of the school's architecture
faculty, and from 2008 until his retirement from SIU in 2015, he
served as director of the School of Architecture; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Walter Wendler brings a wealth of experience and
expertise to his leadership of West Texas A&M, and he may indeed
reflect with pride on his many achievements as he takes on the
challenges and opportunities of this new role; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby congratulate Dr. Walter
Wendler on his inauguration as president of West Texas A&M
University and extend to him sincere best wishes for a successful
tenure; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Dr. Wendler as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Price
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 417 was adopted by the House on August
15, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House