Bill Text: TX HR719 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Honoring former state senator Robert Duncan for his service as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-22 - Reported enrolled [HR719 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR719-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Honoring former state senator Robert Duncan for his service as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-22 - Reported enrolled [HR719 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR719-Introduced.html
86R15727 BPG-D | ||
By: Burrows | H.R. No. 719 |
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WHEREAS, Former state senator Robert Duncan concluded his | ||
noteworthy tenure as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System | ||
on August 31, 2018; and | ||
WHEREAS, Appointed in 2014, Chancellor Duncan guided the | ||
system through a period of tremendous growth, with record levels of | ||
student enrollment and degrees awarded; he also fostered a culture | ||
of sustained philanthropy, and fund-raising surpassed $615 million | ||
while the endowment grew by over $150 million to a total of $1.3 | ||
billion; and | ||
WHEREAS, Chancellor Duncan collaborated closely with | ||
institution presidents to support system expansion in West Texas; | ||
he worked tirelessly toward the goal of establishing a veterinary | ||
school in Amarillo to meet the growing need for large-animal vets, | ||
and he oversaw efforts to build a new dental school in El Paso; in | ||
addition, he addressed the acute shortage of mental health care in | ||
the region by creating the Texas Tech Mental Health Institute to | ||
increase collaboration and spur faculty innovation; and | ||
WHEREAS, Previously, Chancellor Duncan served in the state | ||
legislature for more than two decades; first elected to the house in | ||
1992, he won a senate seat in a special election four years later, | ||
and he represented Senate District 28 for nearly 18 years; admired | ||
for cooperating across the aisle to find solutions to the | ||
challenges facing rural Texas, he took an active role in reforming | ||
the Texas Department of Insurance and resurrected the boll weevil | ||
eradication program; a champion of higher education, he was | ||
instrumental in the development of such programs as the National | ||
Research University Fund and the Texas Research Incentive Program; | ||
over the course of his tenure, Senator Duncan chaired the State | ||
Affairs Committee for a decade, and he also led the Jurisprudence | ||
and Long Term Care Legislative Oversight Committees; moreover, he | ||
was repeatedly named one of the state's 10 best legislators by Texas | ||
Monthly as well as a Texas Super Lawyer; and | ||
WHEREAS, Chancellor Duncan holds both a bachelor's degree in | ||
agricultural economics and a law degree from TTU, and he was a law | ||
partner at Crenshaw, Dupree & Milam in Lubbock for more than 25 | ||
years; in all his endeavors, he has enjoyed the love and support of | ||
his wife, Terri, and his children, Lindsey and Matthew; and | ||
WHEREAS, Through his visionary leadership, Robert Duncan | ||
significantly advanced the mission of the Texas Tech University | ||
System, and over the course of his long career in public service, he | ||
has made lasting contributions to higher education and to the Lone | ||
Star State; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commend the Honorable Robert Duncan for his | ||
accomplishments as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System | ||
and extend to him sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it | ||
further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Chancellor Duncan as an expression of high regard by | ||
the Texas House of Representatives. |