1-1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1-2 WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas takes pride in
1-3 congratulating Texas A&M University-Kingsville, formerly Texas A&I
1-4 University, Texas College of Arts and Industries, South Texas State
1-5 Teachers College, and South Texas State Normal College, on the
1-6 celebration of its 75th anniversary in the Year 2000 and on the
1-7 excellent educational opportunities it provides the young people of
1-8 our state, nation, and beyond; and
1-9 WHEREAS, Located in the heart of Kingsville and at the gate
1-10 of the legendary King Ranch, Texas A&M University-Kingsville opened
1-11 its doors in 1925 as "South Texas State Normal College" with an
1-12 emphasis on education and the teaching profession and has continued
1-13 to grow and expand its mission to meet the educational needs of the
1-14 region, today offering 56 bachelor's degrees in 52 fields of study
1-15 and 60 graduate degrees in 38 areas, enabling more than 50,000
1-16 students to achieve degrees over the past 75 years; and
1-17 WHEREAS, The Javelina was first adopted as mascot in August,
1-18 1926, and the spirit and tradition of the Javelina has been a
1-19 continuing presence at the university; and
1-20 WHEREAS, With teaching at the very heart of the institution
1-21 since its founding, the university established a bilingual
1-22 education program to work with students whose native language was
1-23 Spanish, leading the university in 1975 to become the first in the
1-24 nation to offer a doctoral degree program in bilingual education,
1-25 and later introduced a joint doctoral degree program in educational
2-1 leadership with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; and
2-2 WHEREAS, In 75 years, about one-third of the degrees awarded
2-3 by now Texas A&M University-Kingsville have been in the field of
2-4 education and many graduates remain in South Texas as teachers and
2-5 administrators, further serving the South Texas-Border area; and
2-6 WHEREAS, The School of Agriculture was created in 1930, which
2-7 established a citrus research center in the Rio Grande Valley
2-8 following World War II that developed the Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit
2-9 and, today, is conducting pioneering research in biotechnology
2-10 involving gene transfer; and
2-11 WHEREAS, The School of Liberal Arts was created in 1930,
2-12 which is now known as the College of Arts and Sciences and as the
2-13 university's most inclusive college, contributes the largest
2-14 dimension of academic course work and offers the most classes; and
2-15 WHEREAS, Texas A&M University-Kingsville's ROTC program
2-16 evolved from the special classes for the military offered by the
2-17 university in 1942, to the formation of the University ROTC Cadet
2-18 Corps in 1951 and presently the Reserve Officers Training Corps;
2-19 and
2-20 WHEREAS, Courses in business administration started in 1925,
2-21 and courses were added until the fall of 1930, when the curriculum
2-22 began to diversify and expand in 1948 as the School of Business
2-23 Administration added courses to prepare students for examinations
2-24 leading to professional certifications and in 1965 brought data
2-25 processing to its curriculum and in 1994 as the College of Business
2-26 Administration introduced computer information systems, offering 17
3-1 courses in computer programming and data base operations; and
3-2 WHEREAS, In 1930 an engineering program began to develop and
3-3 later through the efforts of the late Dr. Frank H. Dotterweich,
3-4 then "Texas A&I University" became the only institution in the
3-5 United States to offer a degree in petroleum and natural gas
3-6 engineering, and developed the odor that made natural gas a safe
3-7 fuel for home use; a new state-of-the-art $15 million Javelina
3-8 Engineering Complex will be open for classes in Fall, 2001, housing
3-9 most of the current engineering faculty, labs, and departments; and
3-10 WHEREAS, A new horticulture doctoral program began in Spring,
3-11 2001, and the university is currently awaiting approval of a new
3-12 doctorate in environmental engineering and a recent memorandum of
3-13 understanding with Texas A&M University strengthened the civil and
3-14 industrial engineering graduate degree offerings; and
3-15 WHEREAS, Texas A&M University-Kingsville's athletic program
3-16 can boast of a number of firsts that are not related to winning
3-17 games and meets, as the first integrated college in the State of
3-18 Texas with a black football player and among the first four-year
3-19 institutions in the state to have women's athletics; and their
3-20 outstanding intercollegiate athletic teams have brought national
3-21 prominence with a football program that has earned seven national
3-22 championships, as well as a women's basketball team that competed
3-23 this year in the prestigious Elite 8, Lone Star Conference
3-24 championships, and play-off invitations in women's and men's
3-25 basketball and baseball, national champions from track and field
3-26 and cross-country, and conference-competitive volleyball and
4-1 softball teams; and
4-2 WHEREAS, Texas A&M University-Kingsville currently boasts
4-3 seven alumni in the Texas Legislature, including Senator Carlos F.
4-4 Truan, Dean of the Texas Senate; Senator J.E. "Buster" Brown;
4-5 Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.; State Representative Irma Rangel; State
4-6 Representative Tom Uher; State Representative Dora Olivo; and State
4-7 Representative Ignacio Salinas, Jr.; and
4-8 WHEREAS, In 1989, Senate Bill 122 was filed in the Texas
4-9 Senate by Senator Truan, and sponsored by Representative Rangel in
4-10 the Texas House of Representatives, to unite Texas A&I University
4-11 with The Texas A&M University System; the bill was approved on May
4-12 17, 1989, and was effective September 1, 1989, and on that same day
4-13 four years later, September 1, 1993, the institution officially
4-14 became "Texas A&M University-Kingsville"; now, therefore, be it
4-15 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
4-16 hereby congratulates Texas A&M University-Kingsville for providing
4-17 an outstanding educational environment since 1925, and for its
4-18 innumerable contributions to the State of Texas; and, be it further
4-19 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for Marc
4-20 Cisneros, President, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, D.V. Guerra,
4-21 President, Javelina Alumni Association, and The Texas A&M
4-22 University System Board of Regents for their contributions to Texas
4-23 A&M University-Kingsville and as an expression of high regard from
4-24 the Texas Legislature.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 55 was adopted by the Senate
on May 10, 2001.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 55 was adopted by the House
on May 10, 2001.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
_______________________________
Date
_______________________________
Governor