Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR490 Compare Versions

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1	1	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 490
2	2	In Memory
3	3	of
4	4	Steve Murdock
5	5	WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost an admired educator and
6	6	demographer with the passing of former U.S. Census Bureau
7	7	director Steven Harold Murdock on April 7, 2023, at the age of 74;
8	8	and
9	9	WHEREAS, The son of Lois and Raymond Murdock, Steve Murdock
10	10	was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on June 2, 1948; after
11	11	graduating from North Dakota State University, he went on to earn
12	12	his doctoral degree in demography and sociology from the
13	13	University of Kentucky; he taught for a quarter century at Texas
14	14	A&M University, where he held a Regents Chair; for a decade, he
15	15	held the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography and
16	16	Organization Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio;
17	17	in 2007, he joined Rice University as the Allyn and Gladys Cline
18	18	Chair in Sociology, and he became the founding director of Rice's
19	19	Hobby Center for the Study of Texas; he was the author of dozens
20	20	of books and nearly 50 academic journal articles, and he was a
21	21	caring mentor to his Ph.D. students; and
22	22	WHEREAS, Dr. Murdock originated and institutionalized the
23	23	position of Texas state demographer; for more than 25 years, he
24	24	guided the Texas State Data Center and Texas Population Estimates
25	25	and Projections Program, taking a leadership role in the state's
26	26	efforts in the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses; he also
27	27	made approximately 50 to 60 presentations each year on the
28	28	changing size and distribution of the state's population at the
29	29	request of groups such as legislators, school superintendents,
30	30	and fellow academics; President George W. Bush nominated him as
31	31	director of the U.S. Census Bureau in 2007, and his dedication to
32	32	public service led him to accept, even though the job would last
33	33	only a year until the next administration; he is credited with
34	34	being the steady hand that kept the 2010 Census on course during a
35	35	period of transition; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Among numerous honors, Dr. Murdock received the
37	37	Distinguished Alumni Award from North Dakota State University,
38	38	the Faculty Distinguished Research Award from Texas A&M, and both
39	39	the Distinguished Rural Sociologist and Excellence in Research
40	40	Awards from the Rural Sociological Society; in 2005, he was named
41	41	one of the 25 Most Influential Texans by Texas Monthly; and
42	42	WHEREAS, Although Steve Murdock will be deeply missed, he
43	43	left behind a legacy of scholarship and service that will be
44	44	remembered and admired for years to come; now, therefore, be it
45	45	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th
46	46	Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of Steven Harold
47	47	Murdock and extend sincere condolences to the members of his
48	48	family: to his wife, Mary Zey; to his stepson, James Collins
49	49	Ferrell; to his grandson, George Collins Ferrell; to his sister,
50	50	Joann Lonbaken, and her husband, Roger, and his brother, Lee
51	51	Murdock, and his wife, June; and to his other relatives and
52	52	friends; and, be it further
53	53	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be
54	54	prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns
55	55	this day, it do so in memory of Steve Murdock.
56	56	Eckhardt, Campbell
57	57	________________________________
58	58	President of the Senate
59	59	I hereby certify that the
60	60	above Resolution was adopted by
61	61	the Senate on April 27, 2023, by a
62	62	rising vote.
63	63	________________________________
64	64	Secretary of the Senate
65	65	________________________________
66	66	Member, Texas Senate
67	67	________________________________
68	68	Member, Texas Senate