HR0919 LRB094 19602 HSS 55815 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, State Representative Monique D. Davis and the
3 members of the House of Representatives of the State of
4 Illinois learned with regret of the death of Dr. James Walker,
5 the first African-American person to serve as president of the
6 two-campus, 35,000-student Southern Illinois University system
7 (SIU), on Sunday, February 5, 2006; and
 
8     WHEREAS, An Alabama native, Dr. Walker received his
9 bachelor's degree in biology from Alabama State University in
10 1963, his master's degree in special education from Atlanta
11 University in 1967, and his doctorate in education in 1972 from
12 Penn State University; he was also a graduate of the Harvard
13 University Institute for Educational Management; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Dr. Walker came to SIU from the president's job at
15 Middle Tennessee State University in 2000; he was recognized as
16 one of the most accomplished and dedicated higher education
17 professionals in this country; he is remembered by his
18 successor at SIU as a caring and decent man who accomplished a
19 great deal for Southern Illinois University through his
20 positive outlook on life and his wonderful sense of humor and
21 is credited with providing stable and experienced leadership to
22 the SIU system at a critical point in its history; and
 
23     WHEREAS, During his tenure, SIU received millions of
24 dollars in federal research grants involving coal,
25 agriculture, biofuels, health care, and education; he also
26 oversaw various big-money construction projects, including the
27 $40 million renovation of the Carbondale campus' Morris Library
28 and work toward the university's $21 million Cancer Institute
29 planned in Springfield; during his tenure at SIU, private
30 contributions to the university's foundation rose by 30
31 percent; and
 

 

 

HR0919 - 2 - LRB094 19602 HSS 55815 r

1     WHEREAS, He spent more than three decades in higher
2 education, his first job was as an assistant professor of
3 education at SIU in Edwardsville; before serving as Middle
4 Tennessee State's president for about a decade, he was provost
5 and vice president for academic affairs at the University of
6 Northern Colorado; therefore, be it
 
7     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9 we mourn the passing of Dr. James Walker, and we extend our
10 sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
11 and loved him; and be it further
 
12     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13 presented to his family as an expression of our deepest
14 sympathy.