Bill Text: TX HR119 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Congratulating Dr. Diana Natalicio on her retirement as president of UT-El Paso.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-02-21 - Reported enrolled [HR119 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR119-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 119 |
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WHEREAS, Diana Natalicio announced her retirement as | ||
president of The University of Texas at El Paso in May 2018, and as | ||
she prepares to conclude her remarkable three-decade tenure in | ||
office, it is indeed fitting to recognize her enormous | ||
accomplishments; and | ||
WHEREAS, Dr. Natalicio joined the UTEP faculty as an | ||
assistant professor of linguistics in 1971; she rose to become | ||
chair of the modern languages department, dean of the College of | ||
Liberal Arts, and vice president for academic affairs before her | ||
appointment as president in 1988; and | ||
WHEREAS, Committed to expanding access to higher education, | ||
Dr. Natalicio has skillfully guided the growth of enrollment from | ||
15,000 to more than 25,000; the school's demographics now reflect | ||
those of the predominantly Hispanic Paso del Norte region, and many | ||
students are the first in their families to attend college; over the | ||
past 30 years, UTEP's budget has increased from $65 million to more | ||
than $500 million; and | ||
WHEREAS, Dr. Natalicio has also focused on improving the | ||
quality and breadth of academics and research; when she took the | ||
helm, UTEP had a single doctoral program; today, it offers 22, and | ||
the institution's reputation for excellence has helped capture | ||
significant research funding, including more than $94 million | ||
annually from such agencies as the U.S. Department of Energy, the | ||
National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Environmental | ||
Protection Agency; the university has designated nearly $400 | ||
million to build and renovate facilities for science, engineering, | ||
and health sciences, as well as infrastructure related to student | ||
quality of life; in 2018, UTEP launched a new binational academic | ||
partnership with a leading research institution in Mexico, the | ||
Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez; and | ||
WHEREAS, An acclaimed leader in higher education, | ||
Dr. Natalicio was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the | ||
National Science Board and by President George H. W. Bush to the | ||
Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic | ||
Americans; she has served on the boards of numerous organizations, | ||
among them the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Rockefeller | ||
Foundation, Trinity Industries, Sandia Corporation, the | ||
U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, and the American Council on | ||
Education; in 2017, she was named one of Fortune magazine's Top 50 | ||
World Leaders, and the previous year, Time magazine ranked her | ||
among the 100 most influential people in the world; her other honors | ||
include the Academic Leadership Award from the Carnegie Corporation | ||
of New York and the Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca, the highest | ||
recognition Mexico accords foreign nationals; she holds a | ||
bachelor's degree from St. Louis University and both a master's | ||
degree in Portuguese and a doctoral degree in linguistics from The | ||
University of Texas at Austin; and | ||
WHEREAS, Diana Natalicio has elevated the national profile of | ||
UTEP while making the university more responsive to the needs of | ||
residents of the Paso del Norte region, striking a balance few | ||
institutions have achieved, and her tremendous contributions to | ||
higher education will continue to resonate for decades to come; | ||
now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commend Diana Natalicio for her exemplary | ||
service as president of The University of Texas at El Paso and | ||
extend to her sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Dr. Natalicio as an expression of high regard by the | ||
Texas House of Representatives. | ||
Ortega | ||
Moody | ||
González of El Paso | ||
Blanco | ||
Fierro | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 119 was adopted by the House on | ||
February | ||
13, 2019, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||