Bill Text: VA SR53 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Hampton University.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-07 - Bill text as passed Senate (SR53ER) [SR53 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-SR53-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Hampton University has set high standards for student achievement and unwavering excellence for 150 years; and
WHEREAS, Hampton University began with the vision of Brevet Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, son of missionaries and a hero in the Battle of Gettysburg, who was sent by the Freedmen's Bureau to educate thousands of ex-slaves who had gathered behind Union lines in Virginia; and
WHEREAS, General Armstrong founded Hampton Normal and Agricultural School and poured his heart and soul into molding productive citizens in post-war Virginia for 25 years, until his death; and
WHEREAS, General Armstrong built what is now Hampton University upon the tenets of education and character, with a particular emphasis on the latter; his boundless energy and commitment to serving and educating newly freed slaves laid a strong foundation for a world-class university; and
WHEREAS, Hampton University's American Indian Educational Opportunities Program educated more than 1,300 Native Americans from 65 different tribes over 55 years, emphasizing dignity, manual and academic training, and living a life of service; and
WHEREAS, 11 United States Presidents have associated with Hampton University, including William Howard Taft, who served as chair of the Board of Trustees while president and while Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, Hampton University counts among its alumni Booker T. Washington; Olympic track and field star Francena McCorory; mother of Martin Luther King, Jr., Alberta Williams King; comedienne Wanda Sykes; and Dr. Christine Darden, a former mathematician at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who was featured in the book Hidden Figures; and
WHEREAS, Hampton University is the only historically black college/university (HBCU) to have 100 percent control of a NASA satellite mission, with a total of four satellites in orbit; and
WHEREAS, Hampton University founded the nation's largest free-standing proton therapy treatment center, the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute, which is easing human misery and saving lives; and
WHEREAS, the Hampton University Pirates athletic programs have been recognized for excellence on and off the field, for academic performance as well as victories and championships in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and National Collegiate Athletics Association tournament appearances; and
WHEREAS, Hampton University has earned consistent annual national recognition from the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, The Princeton Review, and the HBCU Digest as one of the top universities in the country, the top university in the Hampton Roads region, and a top HBCU; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Hampton University hereby be commended on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Hampton University as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for the institution's storied history and contributions to higher education in the Commonwealth.
