WHEREAS, Dr. Alan Merten was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 27, 1941, to Gilbert and Ruth Merten; and WHEREAS, Alan Merten attended the elementary school of Jordan Lutheran Church and graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran High School in 1959; and WHEREAS, Alan Merten attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1963; and WHEREAS, in 1964, Alan Merten received his master's degree from Stanford University in Computer Science; and WHEREAS, Alan Merten received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin in 1970; and WHEREAS, Alan Merten was in the Air Force ROTC as an undergraduate and, after graduation, was sent to Stanford University by the Air Force and was later stationed at the Pentagon in the Air Force Data Services Center; and WHEREAS, while spending time at the Andrews Air Force Base Hospital, Alan Merten met his wife, Sally; they were married on January 28, 1967, at St. John's Lutheran Church; and WHEREAS, the Mertens' first child, Eric, was born in 1969 in Madison, Wisconsin, and a daughter, Melissa, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and WHEREAS, their son, Eric, and his wife Kristin Heineman Merten, are the parents of two sons, Ryan, seven, and Adam, five; and WHEREAS, their daughter, Melissa, is married to Bill Belleville, Jr., and they presented Alan and Sally with two more grandsons, Will, five, and Wyatt, three; and WHEREAS, Eric and Kristin live in Fairfax, Virginia, and Melissa and Bill live in New York City; and WHEREAS, after Alan Merten received his Ph.D. in 1970, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as an assistant professor in the College of Engineering; and WHEREAS, in 1974, Alan Merten was transferred to the College of Business as an associate professor and, over the next 12 years, he taught, served as department chair, and consulted outside the university; he rose to Associate Dean for Computing Services and Executive Education; and WHEREAS, in 1974, Alan Merten taught for the United Nations in Budapest, Hungary, and, from 1983 to 1984, lived in Fontainebleau, France, where he taught at INSEAD, an international business school; and WHEREAS, in 1986, Alan Merten was appointed Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Florida; in 1989, he departed for Cornell University to become Dean of the Johnson Graduate School of Management; and WHEREAS, Alan Merten was at Cornell until July 1996, when he accepted the presidency of George Mason University; and WHEREAS, while Alan Merten has been president of George Mason University, there has been incredible growth at the university, which has now become a world class institution of higher learning; and WHEREAS, everyone associated with George Mason University now speaks with a great sense of pride about the University, a fact that means a great deal to Alan Merten; and WHEREAS, Alan Merten has notified the University and the public that he will leave the University's presidency in 2012; however, he will continue working with the University in other capacities; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Alan Merten on the occasion of his retirement as president of George Mason University; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Alan Merten as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his many accomplishments at George Mason University. |