R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, The passing of nationally renowned pharmacologist
 1-2     Dr. Thomas F. Burks II of Houston on March 2, 2001, at the age of
 1-3     62, has greatly saddened the family and many friends of this
 1-4     beloved man and deprived academic medicine of one of its foremost
 1-5     leaders; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, An executive vice president at The University of
 1-7     Texas Houston Health Science Center (UT-Houston) since 1991, Dr.
 1-8     Burks headed research and academic affairs for the center's six
 1-9     constituent schools; in addition, he served as an active faculty
1-10     member in the department of integrative biology and pharmacology
1-11     and in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; and
1-12           WHEREAS, This highly respected scholar and scientist received
1-13     multiple National Institutes of Health research grants and sat on
1-14     the editorial boards of the leading journals in his field; he
1-15     served as president of the American Society for Pharmacology and
1-16     Experimental Therapeutics in 1990-1991, and at the time of his
1-17     passing he had been elected to serve as president of the 14th World
1-18     Congress of Pharmacology, a quadrennial conference scheduled for
1-19     2002 and the most comprehensive gathering of pharmacology
1-20     scientists in the world; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Before assuming his post at UT-Houston, Dr. Burks
1-22     was pharmacology professor, department chair, and associate dean
1-23     for research at the University of Arizona College of Medicine; he
1-24     began his teaching career at the University of New Mexico School of
 2-1     Medicine in 1967 and also taught at UT-Houston from 1971 to 1977;
 2-2     his effectiveness in the classroom won him numerous accolades,
 2-3     including UT-Houston's first John Freeman Award for Outstanding
 2-4     Teaching; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, Dr. Burks earned bachelor's and master's degrees at
 2-6     The University of Texas at Austin before taking  a doctorate at the
 2-7     University of Iowa College of Medicine; he then pursued
 2-8     postdoctoral studies in London at the National Institute for
 2-9     Medical Research; and
2-10           WHEREAS, An exemplary leader, gifted and conscientious
2-11     educator, and accomplished research scientist, Dr. Burks was deeply
2-12     esteemed by his colleagues at UT-Houston and throughout his
2-13     profession, and he is remembered warmly as a kind and patient man
2-14     whose spirit will long live on in the hearts of all who treasured
2-15     him; now, therefore, be it
2-16           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas
2-17     Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Dr. Thomas F. Burks
2-18     II and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family:  to
2-19     his wife, Dorothy Anne Travis Burks; to his children, Kathleen
2-20     Louise Burks and Thomas Franklin Burks III; to his parents, Jerry
2-21     Y. Burks and Goldie M. Riley Burks; to his brothers, Dr. Jerry Y.
2-22     Burks, Jr., and Michael R. Burks; and to his other relatives and
2-23     many friends; and, be it further    RESOLVED, That an official copy
2-24     of this resolution be prepared for the members of his family and
2-25     that when the Texas House of Representatives adjourns this day, it
2-26     do so in memory of Dr. Thomas F. Burks II.
                                                                    Hochberg
                                             _______________________________
                                                   Speaker of the House
               I certify that H.R. No. 689 was unanimously adopted by a
         rising vote of the House on April 27, 2001.
                                             _______________________________
                                                 Chief Clerk of the House