Bill Text: IL SR1208 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Burton E. "Burt" Swanson.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-01-13 - Resolution Adopted [SR1208 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SR1208-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
3 | learn of the death of Burton E. "Burt" Swanson Ph.D. of | ||||||
4 | Champaign, who passed away on April 23, 2020; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson was born in Bureau County to Harlan | ||||||
6 | and Evelyn (Wessel) Swanson on November 28, 1939; he grew up on | ||||||
7 | the family farm near Princeton and graduated from Bureau | ||||||
8 | Township High School in 1957 in a class of eight; he attended | ||||||
9 | Illinois State University and then the University of Illinois, | ||||||
10 | where he received his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural | ||||||
11 | Education in 1961; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson joined the Peace Corps and took his | ||||||
13 | very first air flight, traveling to Washington, D.C. for | ||||||
14 | training at Howard University; after training, he took his | ||||||
15 | first international flight to his assignment in Cyprus; he was | ||||||
16 | called home to Washington at the death of President John | ||||||
17 | Kennedy and continued to serve in the Peace Corps as a | ||||||
18 | recruiting officer; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson earned his Master of Science in | ||||||
20 | International Agricultural Development from the University of | ||||||
21 | California-Davis in 1968 and his Ph.D. in development studies | ||||||
22 | from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1974; during |
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1 | this time, he worked with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman | ||||||
2 | Borlaug at CIMMYT (the International Maize and Wheat | ||||||
3 | Improvement Center) in Mexico; after earning a postdoctorate at | ||||||
4 | Wisconsin, he accepted a position at the University of Illinois | ||||||
5 | in 1975, where he remained for his entire academic and | ||||||
6 | international career; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson was a professor of rural development | ||||||
8 | in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental | ||||||
9 | Sciences (ACES) and director of INTERPAKS (International | ||||||
10 | Program for Agricultural Knowledge Systems), directing and | ||||||
11 | teaching a series of short courses for international | ||||||
12 | participants from around the world; he was also a senior fellow | ||||||
13 | for International Service for National Agricultural Research | ||||||
14 | at The Hague; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson had a long and distinguished career | ||||||
16 | in international agricultural extension and rural development | ||||||
17 | and is recognized as an international authority in the field; | ||||||
18 | he traveled around the world, serving in Europe, the Middle | ||||||
19 | East, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Egypt, and Russia and | ||||||
20 | working extensively in China and India, with 80 assignments in | ||||||
21 | over 35 countries; he spent his career working to improve | ||||||
22 | national extension systems in order to increase agricultural | ||||||
23 | productivity and food security in developing nations, in an | ||||||
24 | environmentally sustainable way; among his colleagues, he was |
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1 | known for his intense focus and tireless work ethic; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson worked with the United States Agency | ||||||
3 | for International Development (USAID), the International Fund | ||||||
4 | for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Bank, and the | ||||||
5 | United Nations Food and Agriculture Office (FAO) in Rome; he | ||||||
6 | was a founder and the first president of the Association of | ||||||
7 | International Agricultural Extension Education (AIAEE); he | ||||||
8 | wrote and edited several books, one of which was translated | ||||||
9 | into seven languages; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson provided leadership for the | ||||||
11 | value-added agricultural research and extension program at the | ||||||
12 | University of Illinois; he also taught a discovery course for | ||||||
13 | freshmen at the university and delighted in sharing with new | ||||||
14 | students his in-depth knowledge and insights about the world | ||||||
15 | and its problems and what their future roles in that world | ||||||
16 | might be; he secured a $9 million dollar grant in 2010 to | ||||||
17 | establish the MEAS project (Modernizing Extension and Advisory | ||||||
18 | Services); and
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19 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson received numerous national and | ||||||
20 | international awards, including the University of Illinois | ||||||
21 | Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement, the | ||||||
22 | Paul A. Funk Recognition Award from the College of ACES, the | ||||||
23 | C-U International Humanitarian Award, and the Outstanding |
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1 | Service Award from AIAEE; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson was devoted to his children and | ||||||
3 | cherished his family and the time spent with them; he was an | ||||||
4 | extraordinary, generous, and loving grandfather; he loved | ||||||
5 | attending the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, scuba | ||||||
6 | diving and swimming, traveling just for fun, enjoying the | ||||||
7 | beauty of Allerton Park, supporting his favorite causes, and | ||||||
8 | spending time with his many friends and colleagues; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson was preceded in death by his parents; | ||||||
10 | his sister-in-law, Sylvia Swanson; and his son-in-law, Alan | ||||||
11 | Rankin; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Burt Swanson is survived by his wife, Iris | ||||||
13 | (Arend-Frillman); his daughter, Anne Swanson; his son, David | ||||||
14 | (Sally); his granddaughters, Sophia and Alyssa; his brother, | ||||||
15 | Roger Swanson; his wife's family, Leslie (Alan) Rankin, Jamie | ||||||
16 | (Brian) Shamhart, and Scott (Christine) Frillman; his | ||||||
17 | grandsons, Miles and Seth Rankin, Nicholas, Jason, and Will | ||||||
18 | Frillman and Cole Shamhart; his nephews, Ronald (Dawn) Swanson | ||||||
19 | and Peter (Connie) Swanson; and his great-nieces and | ||||||
20 | great-nephew, Betsy, Erica, Veronica, Nicole, Natalie, and | ||||||
21 | Nate Swanson; therefore, be it
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22 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL |
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1 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
2 | Burton E. "Burt" Swanson and extend our sincere condolences to | ||||||
3 | his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | ||||||
4 | further
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5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
6 | presented to the family of Burt Swanson as an expression of our | ||||||
7 | deepest sympathy.
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