| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
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 88th Texas 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. |