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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The University of Texas at Dallas is celebrating its |
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| 6 | 7 | | 50th anniversary in 2019; and |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 1961, three visionary founders of Texas |
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| 8 | 9 | | Instruments, Eugene McDermott, J. Erik Jonsson, and Cecil Green, |
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| 9 | 10 | | established the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest; it was |
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| 10 | 11 | | renamed the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies in 1967, and two |
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| 11 | 12 | | years later the founders transferred the center to The University |
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| 12 | 13 | | of Texas System; that same year, the Texas Legislature established |
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| 13 | 14 | | UT Dallas, with an effective date of September 1969; and |
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| 14 | 15 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Francis Johnson served as acting president |
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| 15 | 16 | | until Dr. Bryce Jordan took the helm in July 1971, and Dr. Robert |
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| 16 | 17 | | Rutford became the second president in May 1982; Dr. Franklyn |
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| 17 | 18 | | Jenifer was appointed president in July 1994, and during his |
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| 18 | 19 | | 11-year tenure, the school's enrollment increased more than 61 |
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| 19 | 20 | | percent and many new buildings were constructed; Dr. David Daniel |
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| 20 | 21 | | became the fourth president in June 2005, and under his leadership, |
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| 21 | 22 | | UT Dallas doubled research expenditures, launched $300 million in |
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| 22 | 23 | | new construction, added 17 new degree programs, and raised $100 |
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| 23 | 24 | | million in private funds; Dr. Hobson Wildenthal was appointed |
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| 24 | 25 | | president ad interim in May 2015, and current president Dr. Richard |
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| 25 | 26 | | Benson was inaugurated in October 2016; and |
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| 26 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Under Dr. Benson's guidance, UT Dallas has achieved |
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| 27 | 28 | | top-tier status with its designation by the Carnegie Commission on |
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| 28 | 29 | | Higher Education as an R1 doctoral university of very high research |
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| 29 | 30 | | activity and its achievement of critical benchmark criteria |
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| 30 | 31 | | required to qualify for funding from the National Research |
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| 31 | 32 | | University Fund; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Through the years, more than 110,000 alumni have |
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| 33 | 34 | | earned over 122,000 degrees from UT Dallas, and today, the |
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| 34 | 35 | | university offers 140 degree programs and boasts an enrollment of |
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| 35 | 36 | | nearly 30,000 students; in 2018, 37 percent of entering freshmen |
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| 36 | 37 | | were in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, |
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| 37 | 38 | | and 66 percent ranked in the top 25 percent; that same year, 172 |
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| 38 | 39 | | National Merit Scholars chose to attend UT Dallas, more than any |
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| 39 | 40 | | other university in Texas; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, The university's faculty includes a Nobel laureate |
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| 41 | 42 | | as well as members of the National Academy of Sciences and the |
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| 42 | 43 | | National Academy of Engineering; in 2015, Dr. Aziz Sancar became |
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| 43 | 44 | | the first graduate of UT Dallas to receive a Nobel Prize, winning |
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| 44 | 45 | | the chemistry prize for his work detailing how cells continuously |
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| 45 | 46 | | monitor and repair damaged DNA on a molecular level; and |
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| 46 | 47 | | WHEREAS, UT Dallas is an economic driver for the North Texas |
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| 47 | 48 | | region; more than 4,500 internships have been awarded to UT Dallas |
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| 48 | 49 | | students, and 21 of the 22 Fortune 500 companies in the Dallas/Fort |
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| 49 | 50 | | Worth Metroplex have hired UT Dallas graduates; and |
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| 50 | 51 | | WHEREAS, For the past half century, UT Dallas has provided |
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| 51 | 52 | | its students with a strong foundation for achievement, and in so |
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| 52 | 53 | | doing, it has contributed greatly to the growth and prosperity of |
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| 53 | 54 | | the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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| 54 | 55 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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| 55 | 56 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of The |
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| 56 | 57 | | University of Texas at Dallas and extend to all those associated |
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| 57 | 58 | | with the university sincere best wishes for continued success in |
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| 58 | 59 | | their important work; and, be it further |
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| 59 | 60 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 60 | 61 | | prepared for UT Dallas as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 61 | 62 | | House of Representatives. |
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