Bill Text: TX HR1724 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring UT Austin professor emeritus Paul Bestor Woodruff.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-17 - Reported enrolled [HR1724 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR1724-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 1724 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Paul Bestor Woodruff, professor emeritus at The | ||
| University of Texas at Austin, has enriched the lives of | ||
| innumerable people through his outstanding work as a philosopher, | ||
| educator, translator, and author; and | ||
| WHEREAS, One of America's foremost interpreters of Plato, | ||
| Thucydides, Socrates, and other classical thinkers, Dr. Woodruff | ||
| has illuminated complex societal issues through his scholarship on | ||
| the ideas surrounding the ancient Greeks' first steps toward | ||
| democracy; his translations are used as standard references in | ||
| academia, and he has also reached a broader audience via public | ||
| television and the pages of the Washington Post; moreover, he has | ||
| added to the prestige of the university as the author of such books | ||
| as Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue and The Necessity of | ||
| Theater: The Art of Watching and Being Watched; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Dr. Woodruff joined the UT Austin faculty in 1973, | ||
| and while rising in his field, he also made an enormous impact on | ||
| the university in administrative roles; during his tenure as | ||
| inaugural dean of undergraduate studies, he charted a new path with | ||
| the introduction of an interdisciplinary core curriculum and | ||
| improved student support services; as director of the Plan II | ||
| honors program, he helped deliver an Ivy League-quality education | ||
| to thousands of young Texans; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Over the years, Dr. Woodruff further served as chair | ||
| of the Department of Philosophy, Darrell K. Royal Professor of | ||
| Ethics and American Society, and Mary Helen Thompson Centennial | ||
| Professor in the Humanities; he is the recipient of numerous | ||
| accolades, among them the Harry Ransom Teaching Award, the | ||
| Civitatis Award recognizing outstanding UT faculty, and Pro Bene | ||
| Meritis, the highest honor bestowed by the UT College of Liberal | ||
| Arts; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Dr. Woodruff earned bachelor's degrees from both | ||
| Princeton and Oxford University before serving as a captain in the | ||
| U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, an experience that has informed | ||
| his perspective on moral conflict; he completed his doctorate in | ||
| philosophy at Princeton University; since his retirement in the | ||
| fall of 2022, Dr. Woodruff has continued to write and to meet with | ||
| former students to discuss life and philosophy; and | ||
| WHEREAS, UT Austin has benefited immeasurably from Paul | ||
| Woodruff's visionary leadership, and his wisdom, humility, and | ||
| willingness to engage have inspired generations of students to | ||
| observe more acutely and think more deeply; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby honor UT Austin professor emeritus Paul Bestor | ||
| Woodruff for his contributions and extend to him sincere | ||
| appreciation for his many years of dedicated service; and, be it | ||
| further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for Dr. Woodruff as an expression of high regard by the | ||
| Texas House of Representatives. | ||
| Howard | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 1724 was adopted by the House on May | ||
| 17, 2023, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
