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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, Texas A&M University-San Antonio is celebrating its |
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| 6 | 7 | | 10th anniversary in 2019, and this milestone offers a fitting |
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| 7 | 8 | | opportunity to pay tribute to this dynamic institution; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, State Senator Frank Madla was an instrumental figure |
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| 9 | 10 | | in the establishment of A&M-SA; in the late 1990s, he initiated the |
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| 10 | 11 | | process of locating an institution of higher education on the South |
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| 11 | 12 | | Side of San Antonio, and the first courses were offered in 2000, |
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| 12 | 13 | | when 126 students began studies under the auspices of The Texas A&M |
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| 13 | 14 | | University System; initially, classes were held at Palo Alto |
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| 14 | 15 | | Community College, and land for a permanent campus was acquired in |
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| 15 | 16 | | 2007; the official founding of Texas A&M University-San Antonio as |
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| 16 | 17 | | a stand-alone university took place in May 2009, with the passage of |
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| 17 | 18 | | Senate Bill 629 by the Texas Legislature and the bill's subsequent |
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| 18 | 19 | | signing by Governor Rick Perry; and |
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| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, The first decade in the A&M-SA saga has been filled |
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| 20 | 21 | | with notable accomplishments; Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier was |
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| 21 | 22 | | named inaugural president in 2010 and helped guide the college's |
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| 22 | 23 | | early development, including the opening of the Main Campus |
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| 23 | 24 | | building in 2011; Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson took the reins in |
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| 24 | 25 | | 2014 and has overseen further additions to the university's |
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| 25 | 26 | | facilities, including the completion of the campus's first |
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| 26 | 27 | | dormitory, Esperanza Hall, in 2017 and the three-story Science and |
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| 27 | 28 | | Technology Building in 2018; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, One of the defining characteristics of the past 10 |
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| 29 | 30 | | years has been the university's robust growth; enrollment has |
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| 30 | 31 | | increased by more than 300 percent during that period, reaching a |
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| 31 | 32 | | present total of 6,500, and over 8,000 students have earned an |
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| 32 | 33 | | A&M-SA degree to date; from the outset, the institution has placed a |
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| 33 | 34 | | special focus on serving underrepresented communities in the local |
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| 34 | 35 | | area, and it has pioneered programs to help students overcome |
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| 35 | 36 | | financial and academic barriers to completing their studies; today, |
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| 36 | 37 | | nearly three-quarters of A&M-SA students are Hispanic, 60 percent |
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| 37 | 38 | | are female, and 77 percent are the first members of their families |
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| 38 | 39 | | to attend college; and |
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| 39 | 40 | | WHEREAS, Since its inception, Texas A&M University-San |
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| 40 | 41 | | Antonio has excelled in its educational mission, helping the |
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| 41 | 42 | | members of its diverse student body to prepare for the challenges |
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| 42 | 43 | | and opportunities of the future, and all those associated with the |
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| 43 | 44 | | institution may take justifiable pride in its outstanding record of |
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| 44 | 45 | | achievement; now, therefore, be it |
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| 45 | 46 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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| 46 | 47 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding |
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| 47 | 48 | | of Texas A&M University-San Antonio and extend to the school's |
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| 48 | 49 | | students, faculty, and administrators sincere best wishes for |
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| 49 | 50 | | continued success; and, be it further |
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| 50 | 51 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 51 | 52 | | prepared for the university as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 52 | 53 | | Texas House of Representatives. |
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