WHEREAS, Dr. John Herbert Roper, the Richardson Professor of American History at Emory & Henry College, will retire in 2013 after an outstanding career in higher education that has spanned more than three decades; and

WHEREAS, John "Jack" Roper earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina, a master's degree and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina, and a second master's degree from North Carolina State University; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Roper taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Florida International University, the University of Mississippi, and St. Andrews Presbyterian College, now University, before joining the faculty of Emory & Henry College in 1988; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Roper's tenure at Emory & Henry College has been marked by passionate and effective teaching in the classroom and fascinating and in-depth research into some of the key figures of Southern history; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Roper has awakened in countless students a keen interest in history and has helped them hone the critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed in their future endeavors while creating memorable classroom experiences; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Roper has expanded the body of knowledge about Southern history through extensive research that has resulted in the publication of several books; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Roper most recently completed an intellectual biography of theologian and civil rights leader Benjamin Elijah Mays, published by the University of South Carolina Press, and is currently working on a biography of South Carolina's Third District Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn; and

WHEREAS, in 1992, Dr. Roper was named the Richardson Professor of American History at Emory & Henry College; in 2006, he was named the Virginia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education; and

WHEREAS, a vital member of the Emory & Henry College community for 25 years, Dr. Roper models the important role that educators can play in the lives of their students; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Dr. John Herbert Roper hereby be commended on his distinguished career in education on the occasion of his retirement from Emory & Henry College; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. John Herbert Roper as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration and gratitude for his commitment to higher education in the Commonwealth.