Bill Text: IL HR0983 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of former Illinois State University President Lloyd Watkins.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Passed) 2012-05-23 - Resolution Adopted [HR0983 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HR0983-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois State University President Lloyd Watkins, who passed | ||||||
| 5 | away on March 1, 2012; he served as the University's 13th | ||||||
| 6 | president from 1977 to 1988; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Lloyd Watkins was not only a leader at Illinois | ||||||
| 8 | State University; he looked beyond the campus and was a leader | ||||||
| 9 | who made a difference in his community; during his presidency, | ||||||
| 10 | the University became the State headquarters of the Illinois | ||||||
| 11 | Special Olympics, attracting thousands of visitors to campus | ||||||
| 12 | each summer; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, He served on numerous community and university | ||||||
| 14 | boards, including Normal's 2015 Committee, and helped small | ||||||
| 15 | businesses as a member of the Service Corps of Retired | ||||||
| 16 | Executives; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, He focused on expanding international education | ||||||
| 18 | programs by creating exchanges with student centers in Austria, | ||||||
| 19 | France, England, Japan, China, Scotland, Germany, Italy, and | ||||||
| 20 | Spain; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, He tirelessly advocated for Illinois State | ||||||
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| 1 | University, worked to overcome a budget crisis in the early | ||||||
| 2 | 1980s by launching a long-range planning effort, and put great | ||||||
| 3 | emphasis on obtaining grants and donations from the private | ||||||
| 4 | sector, a move his successors have continued to build upon; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, During his tenure, he presided over numerous | ||||||
| 6 | capital improvement projects on campus including the | ||||||
| 7 | multimillion-dollar Redbird Arena; he launched 5 new academic | ||||||
| 8 | programs, including international business, public relations, | ||||||
| 9 | writing, applied computer sciences, and school psychology, and | ||||||
| 10 | also expanded the Honors program; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, After serving 11 years as President of Illinois | ||||||
| 12 | State University, he retired in 1988; he continued to benefit | ||||||
| 13 | the University community by sharing his passion for learning by | ||||||
| 14 | teaching in the Communications Department until 1991; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his parents, Herman | ||||||
| 16 | and Lydia; and his first wife, Mary Ellen (Caudle) Watkins; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Lloyd Watkins is survived by his wife, Kay; his | ||||||
| 18 | sons, John L. Watkins (Margaret), Joseph W. Watkins (Michelle), | ||||||
| 19 | and Robert L. Watkins (Charmelle); his grandchildren, Ryan, | ||||||
| 20 | Reid, and Mariana Watkins and Lucas, Ehren, and Emma Watkins; | ||||||
| 21 | his step-children, Eric D. Bloomquist, Darin L. Bloomquist, and | ||||||
| 22 | Ellen K. Elliot; and his step-granddaughter, Faith A. Elliot; | ||||||
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| 1 | therefore, be it
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| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 3 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 4 | we mourn, along with his family, friends, and former students, | ||||||
| 5 | the passing of Lloyd Watkins; and be it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to the family of Lloyd Watkins as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 8 | sincere sympathy.
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