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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The University of Texas at Dallas has greatly |
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| 8 | 9 | | benefited from the visionary leadership of President Richard C. |
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| 9 | 10 | | Benson, who has guided the institution over the past eight years; |
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| 10 | 11 | | and |
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| 11 | 12 | | WHEREAS, In his role at UTD's helm, Dr. Benson has launched |
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| 12 | 13 | | ambitious fundraising endeavors, including the New Dimensions |
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| 13 | 14 | | campaign, which has amassed more than $415 million to date; he has |
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| 14 | 15 | | also overseen tens of millions of dollars in research expenditures, |
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| 15 | 16 | | and his tenure has coincided with the advancement of several |
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| 16 | 17 | | significant campus projects, including the opening of the Texas |
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| 17 | 18 | | Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building and the |
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| 18 | 19 | | breaking of ground on the 12-acre Athenaeum cultural district; and |
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| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Benson earned his bachelor's degree in aerospace |
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| 20 | 21 | | and mechanical science from Princeton University in 1973, his |
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| 21 | 22 | | master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of |
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| 22 | 23 | | Virginia in 1974, and his doctorate in mechanical engineering from |
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| 23 | 24 | | the University of California, Berkeley, in 1977; prior to the start |
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| 24 | 25 | | of his career in higher education, he was employed with the Xerox |
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| 25 | 26 | | Corporation; in 1980, he became a professor of mechanical |
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| 26 | 27 | | engineering at the University of Rochester, where he later served |
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| 27 | 28 | | as an associate dean and chair of the Department of Mechanical |
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| 28 | 29 | | Engineering; and |
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| 29 | 30 | | WHEREAS, While at Penn State from 1995 to 2005, Dr. Benson |
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| 30 | 31 | | headed the Department of Mechanical Engineering, later renamed the |
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| 31 | 32 | | Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering; he also served as |
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| 32 | 33 | | dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech from 2005 to |
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| 33 | 34 | | 2016, during which time that department achieved record growth; and |
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| 34 | 35 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Benson has been honored on many occasions by the |
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| 35 | 36 | | American Society of Mechanical Engineers, of which he has been a |
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| 36 | 37 | | Fellow since 1998; he received ASME's Henry Hess Award in 1984, and |
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| 37 | 38 | | in 2009, he was elected to a three-year term on the organization's |
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| 38 | 39 | | board of governors; he has further held editorial positions with |
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| 39 | 40 | | several ASME publications, including its Journal of Applied |
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| 40 | 41 | | Mechanics; and |
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| 41 | 42 | | WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure as president, Dr. Richard |
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| 42 | 43 | | Benson has worked tirelessly to elevate UTD's status as a |
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| 43 | 44 | | first-rate research university and a premier institution of higher |
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| 44 | 45 | | learning, and his achievements will continue to be appreciated for |
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| 45 | 46 | | many years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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| 46 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 47 | 48 | | Legislature hereby honor President Richard C. Benson for his |
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| 48 | 49 | | outstanding service to The University of Texas at Dallas and the |
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| 49 | 50 | | field of higher education and extend to him sincere best wishes for |
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| 50 | 51 | | the future; and, be it further |
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| 51 | 52 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 52 | 53 | | prepared for Dr. Benson as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 53 | 54 | | House of Representatives. |
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