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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, James D. Spaniolo is retiring as president of The |
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University of Texas at Arlington on May 31, 2013, drawing to a close |
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more than nine years of outstanding service to that institution; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Spaniolo earned his bachelor's degree magna cum |
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laude from Michigan State University, where he was also the |
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editor-in-chief of the student newspaper; he went on to earn both a |
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master's degree in public administration and a law degree from the |
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University of Michigan in 1975; moreover, during those years, he |
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served his country as a medical corpsman in the U.S. Army Reserve; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, After handling libel and First Amendment cases for |
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the law firm of Paul and Thomson in Miami, Florida, Mr. Spaniolo |
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established the first in-house legal departments at the Miami |
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Herald and the American Newspaper Publishers Association; from 1977 |
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to 1989, he held several positions with the Knight-Ridder newspaper |
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chain, serving as general counsel and general executive at the |
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Miami Herald and vice president for human resources and assistant |
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to the publisher at the Detroit Free Press; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Spaniolo then went on to serve as vice president |
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and chief program officer for the John S. and James L. Knight |
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Foundation from 1989 to 1996, and from 1996 to 2004, he was the dean |
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of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and a professor at |
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the School of Journalism at Michigan State University; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2004, Mr. Spaniolo became the seventh president |
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of The University of Texas at Arlington, and under his |
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administration, the university's research budget has tripled to |
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more than $71.4 million; the university has also increased its |
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investment in faculty recruitment and retention, creating more than |
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100 new positions and establishing new endowed chairs and |
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professorships; the number of private donors to the university has |
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increased by 34 percent, and donations have grown from $5.8 million |
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in 2005 to more than $23.2 million in 2012; the university's |
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endowment has more than doubled, from $39 million in 2004 to $95 |
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million in 2013; and |
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WHEREAS, During President Spaniolo's tenure, enrollment has |
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increased at UT Arlington from 25,000 in 2004 to more than 33,800 |
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students in 2013, and new residence halls and apartments have |
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increased the number of students living on campus to 5,300; in |
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addition, President Spaniolo has played a leading role in making |
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the university one of the most diverse in the nation, with a student |
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population that is 21 percent Hispanic, 15 percent African |
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American, 10 percent Asian, and 8.3 percent from foreign countries; |
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the average SAT score of full-time students rose to a new high of |
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1088 in 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, The university's infrastructure and physical plant |
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have also improved under President Spaniolo's leadership, with more |
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than a dozen new or renovated buildings marking an increase of 1.5 |
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million square feet in the past five years; new facilities include |
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the Engineering Research Building and the 20.5 acre College Park |
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District, which incorporates parking structures, a residence hall |
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and student apartments, a welcome center, retail space, and a |
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7,000-seat events center; and |
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WHEREAS, Despite his many professional responsibilities, |
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President Spaniolo has found time to give back to the community as a |
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member of the executive committee of the Arlington Chamber of |
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Commerce and a member of the boards of the Arlington Tomorrow |
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Foundation, the Center for Innovation, the Fort Worth Chamber of |
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Commerce, the North Texas Commission, and the Van Cliburn |
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Foundation; he has earned the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Star |
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Award, the Sally Kallam Award for support of Leadership Arlington, |
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and the Silver Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America for his |
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service to Arlington; and |
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WHEREAS, James Spaniolo's vision, energy, and commitment to |
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excellence have greatly benefited The University of Texas at |
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Arlington and earned him the respect and admiration of the entire UT |
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Arlington community, and he may indeed reflect with pride on all |
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that he has achieved; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate James D. Spaniolo on his retirement |
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as president of The University of Texas at Arlington and extend to |
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him sincere best wishes for continued success and happiness; and, |
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be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for President Spaniolo as an expression of high regard by |
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the Texas House of Representatives. |
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Patrick |
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Burnam |
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Burkett |
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Branch |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1081 was adopted by the House on April |
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3, 2013, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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