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SENATE RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, An exemplary life dedicated to educational |
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opportunity for all has drawn to a close with the death of The |
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University of Texas at El Paso president emerita Dr. Diana |
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Natalicio on September 24, 2021, at the age of 82; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in St. Louis on August 25, 1939, Diana |
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Natalicio received her bachelor's degree in Spanish from Saint |
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Louis University and her master's degree in Portuguese and |
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doctorate in linguistics from The University of Texas at Austin; |
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she joined UTEP as an assistant professor of linguistics in 1971, |
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and after serving as chair of the modern languages department, |
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dean of liberal arts, and vice president for academic affairs, |
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she became the 10th president of the university on February 11, |
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1988, and the first woman to hold the office; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of her extraordinary 31-year |
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tenure as president, Dr. Natalicio helped raise UTEP enrollment |
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from nearly 15,000 to more than 25,000 students, and she helped |
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increase the population of Mexican American students to 80 |
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percent of the student body; under her dynamic leadership, the |
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school's annual budget increased from $65 million to almost $450 |
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million, and she oversaw a tenfold increase in research spending; |
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the school also increased the number of its doctoral programs |
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from one in 1988 to 22 in 2019, and that same year, UTEP was named |
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a top-tier R1 doctoral research university by the Carnegie |
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Classification of Institutions of Higher Education; |
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Dr. Natalicio retired in August 2019; and |
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WHEREAS, A world-renowned leader in her profession, |
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Dr. Natalicio was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to the |
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Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic |
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Americans and by President Bill Clinton to the National Science |
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Board, which she served for 12 years, including three terms as |
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vice chair; she also sat on the boards of the Hispanic |
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Scholarship Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation, the American |
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Council on Education, the National Action Council for Minorities |
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in Engineering, the Association of Public and Land-grant |
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Universities, and the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, among |
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many others; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Natalicio's numerous honors included the |
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Conquistador Award from the City of El Paso, the Academic |
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Leadership Award from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Orden |
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Mexicana del águila Azteca from the president of Mexico, the |
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TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, |
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the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, and induction into |
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the Texas Women's Hall of Fame; in 2017, Fortune magazine named |
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her one of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders, and in 2016, she was |
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included in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential |
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People; she received honorary doctorates from universities |
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around the world; and |
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WHEREAS, Diana Natalicio earned the respect and admiration |
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of all who knew her for her vision, her dedication, and her |
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commitment to a high-quality education for every American, and |
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she leaves behind a legacy that will resonate in El Paso and |
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beyond for years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 87th Texas Legislature, |
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3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life and |
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achievements of Dr. Diana Natalicio and extend sincere |
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condolences to her family and to her many friends and colleagues; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns |
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this day, it do so in memory of Dr. Diana Natalicio. |