Full Text of HR0271 102nd General Assembly
HR0271 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois State University (ISU) President Dr. | 3 | | Larry Dietz has announced he will retire as the University's | 4 | | 19th president on June 30, 2021, capping a higher education | 5 | | career surpassing 50 years; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz earned his bachelor's degree in | 7 | | political science from Southern Illinois University; he earned | 8 | | a master's degree in higher education and student personnel | 9 | | and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Iowa State | 10 | | University; he attended the Institute for Educational | 11 | | Management at Harvard University, a Fulbright International | 12 | | Education Seminar for Administrators in Germany, and the | 13 | | Harvard Management Development Program; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz served as vice chancellor for | 15 | | Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, among other | 16 | | leadership positions, at the University of Missouri-Kansas | 17 | | City and in leadership positions at Iowa State University; he | 18 | | then served as vice chancellor for Student Affairs at Southern | 19 | | Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) for 10 years; he also | 20 | | served as special assistant to the chancellor at SIUC and as a | 21 | | tenured associate professor in educational administration and | 22 | | higher education; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz arrived at ISU in June of 2011 as | 2 | | vice president for Student Affairs and as a tenured associate | 3 | | professor in the Department of Educational Administration and | 4 | | Foundations; he was appointed the University's 19th president | 5 | | in March of 2014; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, During Dr. Larry Dietz's tenure, ISU has enjoyed | 7 | | thriving enrollment and is continually ranked among the top | 8 | | universities in the United States for high graduation and | 9 | | retention rates and low student loan default rates; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz oversaw revisions of ISU's | 11 | | strategic plan and expanded on its core values, which are | 12 | | currently Learning and Scholarship, Diversity and Inclusion, | 13 | | Respect, Collaboration, Individualized Attention, Civic | 14 | | Engagement, and Integrity; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz secured the addition of a degree | 16 | | program in cybersecurity while paving the way for a new | 17 | | engineering program at ISU; his initiatives include opening | 18 | | the University's Center for Civic Engagement and Service | 19 | | Learning, renovating the Bone Student Center, creating a more | 20 | | international campus community, and shepherding plans for the | 21 | | new Multicultural Center; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, In 2016, Dr. Larry Dietz created the Campus |
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| 1 | | Climate Task Force to review diversity, equity, and inclusion | 2 | | needs on campus; he formed the President's Diversity and | 3 | | Inclusion Advisory Council and also hired the University's | 4 | | first assistant to the president for Diversity and Inclusion; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Fundraising under Dr. Larry Dietz's leadership | 7 | | reached record levels with gifts and commitments totaling more | 8 | | than $180 million through Redbirds Rising: The Campaign for | 9 | | Illinois State University; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz managed ISU through the 793 day | 11 | | Illinois budget impasse from July 1, 2015 to August 31, 2017; | 12 | | he often used the phrase "strong and stable" to define | 13 | | Illinois State's resiliency during those fiscally troubling | 14 | | years; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz has led ISU as it grapples with | 16 | | the COVID-19 pandemic; he has worked to ensure the health, | 17 | | safety, and well-being of the University community will remain | 18 | | Illinois State's top priority during his final months on | 19 | | campus; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Currently the longest serving of all Illinois | 21 | | public university presidents, Dr. Larry Dietz will complete | 22 | | his fourth year as the convener of the Illinois public |
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| 1 | | university presidents and chancellors group; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz has served on numerous local | 3 | | not-for-profit agency committees, many times jointly chairing | 4 | | community efforts with his wife, Marlene; their service has | 5 | | included co-chairing events benefiting the American Red Cross, | 6 | | Easter Seals, the March of Dimes, the Illinois Symphony, and | 7 | | Marcfirst; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Dietz's local and regional honors | 9 | | include the McLean County Chamber of Commerce Legacy of | 10 | | Excellence Award and the Outstanding Volunteer Mission Award | 11 | | from the American Heart and Stroke Association; he also earned | 12 | | the Missouri Valley Conference Outstanding Leadership Award as | 13 | | chair of the MVC President's Council; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 15 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we congratulate President Dr. Larry Dietz on his retirement | 17 | | from Illinois State University and his more than 50 years of | 18 | | service to the field of higher education, and we wish him the | 19 | | best in all his future endeavors; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to Dr. Larry Dietz as a symbol of our esteem and | 22 | | respect.
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