Bill Text: TX HR554 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the founding of Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-15 - Reported enrolled [HR554 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR554-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 554 |
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WHEREAS, Texas A&M University-San Antonio is celebrating its | ||
10th anniversary in 2019, and this milestone offers a fitting | ||
opportunity to pay tribute to this dynamic institution; and | ||
WHEREAS, State Senator Frank Madla was an instrumental figure | ||
in the establishment of A&M-SA; in the late 1990s, he initiated the | ||
process of locating an institution of higher education on the South | ||
Side of San Antonio, and the first courses were offered in 2000, | ||
when 126 students began studies under the auspices of The Texas A&M | ||
University System; initially, classes were held at Palo Alto | ||
Community College, and land for a permanent campus was acquired in | ||
2007; the official founding of Texas A&M University-San Antonio as | ||
a stand-alone university took place in May 2009, with the passage of | ||
Senate Bill 629 by the Texas Legislature and the bill's subsequent | ||
signing by Governor Rick Perry; and | ||
WHEREAS, The first decade in the A&M-SA saga has been filled | ||
with notable accomplishments; Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier was | ||
named inaugural president in 2010 and helped guide the college's | ||
early development, including the opening of the Main Campus | ||
building in 2011; Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson took the reins in | ||
2014 and has overseen further additions to the university's | ||
facilities, including the completion of the campus's first | ||
dormitory, Esperanza Hall, in 2017 and the three-story Science and | ||
Technology Building in 2018; and | ||
WHEREAS, One of the defining characteristics of the past 10 | ||
years has been the university's robust growth; enrollment has | ||
increased by more than 300 percent during that period, reaching a | ||
present total of 6,500, and over 8,000 students have earned an | ||
A&M-SA degree to date; from the outset, the institution has placed a | ||
special focus on serving underrepresented communities in the local | ||
area, and it has pioneered programs to help students overcome | ||
financial and academic barriers to completing their studies; today, | ||
nearly three-quarters of A&M-SA students are Hispanic, 60 percent | ||
are female, and 77 percent are the first members of their families | ||
to attend college; and | ||
WHEREAS, Since its inception, Texas A&M University-San | ||
Antonio has excelled in its educational mission, helping the | ||
members of its diverse student body to prepare for the challenges | ||
and opportunities of the future, and all those associated with the | ||
institution may take justifiable pride in its outstanding record of | ||
achievement; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding | ||
of Texas A&M University-San Antonio and extend to the school's | ||
students, faculty, and administrators sincere best wishes for | ||
continued success; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for the university as an expression of high regard by the | ||
Texas House of Representatives. | ||
Pacheco | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 554 was adopted by the House on March | ||
13, 2019, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||