SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 490
 
 
  In Memory
  of
  Steve Murdock
 
         WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost an admired educator and
  demographer with the passing of former U.S. Census Bureau
  director Steven Harold Murdock on April 7, 2023, at the age of 74;
  and
 
         WHEREAS, The son of Lois and Raymond Murdock, Steve Murdock
  was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on June 2, 1948; after
  graduating from North Dakota State University, he went on to earn
  his doctoral degree in demography and sociology from the
  University of Kentucky; he taught for a quarter century at Texas
  A&M University, where he held a Regents Chair; for a decade, he
  held the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography and
  Organization Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio;
  in 2007, he joined Rice University as the Allyn and Gladys Cline
  Chair in Sociology, and he became the founding director of Rice's
  Hobby Center for the Study of Texas; he was the author of dozens
  of books and nearly 50 academic journal articles, and he was a
  caring mentor to his Ph.D. students; and
 
         WHEREAS, Dr. Murdock originated and institutionalized the
  position of Texas state demographer; for more than 25 years, he
  guided the Texas State Data Center and Texas Population Estimates
  and Projections Program, taking a leadership role in the state's
  efforts in the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses; he also
  made approximately 50 to 60 presentations each year on the
  changing size and distribution of the state's population at the
  request of groups such as legislators, school superintendents,
  and fellow academics; President George W. Bush nominated him as
  director of the U.S. Census Bureau in 2007, and his dedication to
  public service led him to accept, even though the job would last
  only a year until the next administration; he is credited with
  being the steady hand that kept the 2010 Census on course during a
  period of transition; and
 
         WHEREAS, Among numerous honors, Dr. Murdock received the
  Distinguished Alumni Award from North Dakota State University,
  the Faculty Distinguished Research Award from Texas A&M, and both
  the Distinguished Rural Sociologist and Excellence in Research
  Awards from the Rural Sociological Society; in 2005, he was named
  one of the 25 Most Influential Texans by Texas Monthly; and
 
         WHEREAS, Although Steve Murdock will be deeply missed, he
  left behind a legacy of scholarship and service that will be
  remembered and admired for years to come; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th
  Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of Steven Harold
  Murdock and extend sincere condolences to the members of his
  family: to his wife, Mary Zey; to his stepson, James Collins
  Ferrell; to his grandson, George Collins Ferrell; to his sister,
  Joann Lonbaken, and her husband, Roger, and his brother, Lee
  Murdock, and his wife, June; and to his other relatives and
  friends; and, be it further
 
         RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be
  prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns
  this day, it do so in memory of Steve Murdock.
 
  Eckhardt, Campbell
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
        President of the Senate
     
        I hereby certify that the
    above Resolution was adopted by
    the Senate on April 27, 2023, by a
    rising vote.
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
        Secretary of the Senate
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
         Member, Texas Senate
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
         Member, Texas Senate