Full Text of HR0919 94th General Assembly
HR0919 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0919 |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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HR0919 |
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LRB094 19602 HSS 55815 r |
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| 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
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| 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
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 |
| presented to his family as an expression of our deepest | 14 |
| sympathy.
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