1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 996 1-3 WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes great pride 1-4 in recognizing William H. "Bill" Cunningham for his eight years 1-5 of invaluable service as chancellor of The University of Texas 1-6 System; and 1-7 WHEREAS, He joined The University of Texas at Austin as 1-8 a professor of marketing and served as dean of the College of 1-9 Business Administration/Graduate School of Business from 1983 to 1-10 1985 before becoming the university's president; and 1-11 WHEREAS, After serving as president for seven years, 1-12 Dr. Cunningham assumed the duties of chancellor of the system 1-13 in 1992; as chancellor, he held the Lee Hage and Joseph D. Jamail 1-14 Regents Chair in Higher Education Leadership and was the chief 1-15 executive officer for nine academic institutions, four medical 1-16 schools, and two hospitals; and 1-17 WHEREAS, During his tenure, Dr. Cunningham skillfully 1-18 managed a complex system with a $5.4 billion annual operating 1-19 budget, $20 billion in total assets, and over 76,280 employees; 1-20 and 1-21 WHEREAS, Dedicated to the welfare of The University of Texas 1-22 System and its campuses, Dr. Cunningham was responsible for 1-23 the founding and maintenance of innumerable administrative and 2-1 educational programs and policies; one of his most notable 2-2 initiatives was his cost-cutting plan to save the university an 2-3 estimated $505 million during the period of 1999 to 2002; and 2-4 WHEREAS, Dr. Cunningham devoted much of his time and energy 2-5 to improving the educational opportunities in South Texas; 2-6 he strongly supported the expansion of the Texas/Border 2-7 Initiative, which resulted in funds of $440 million for five 2-8 University of Texas System institutions in South Texas and the 2-9 border region; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Other ventures in the border area under 2-11 Dr. Cunningham's leadership included the creation of a Regional 2-12 Academic Health Center in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and 2-13 an agreement between The University of Texas at El Paso and 2-14 Texas Tech University to operate a research center devoted to 2-15 border health issues; and 2-16 WHEREAS, In order to make The University of Texas System 2-17 available to more students, the UT TeleCampus was created, and 2-18 methods to increase minority enrollment were addressed; in addition, 2-19 Dr. Cunningham supported an initiative to increase the number of 2-20 minorities and women in the system's faculty and administrative 2-21 positions; and 2-22 WHEREAS, A strong proponent of the argument that an 2-23 investment in higher education has a positive effect on the 2-24 economic well-being of our state, Dr. Cunningham worked hard to 2-25 secure $1.2 billion in new funds for higher education in Texas 2-26 during 1999; and 3-1 WHEREAS, A prominent Texas citizen and a nationally 3-2 recognized leader in the field of education, Dr. Cunningham was 3-3 named an Outstanding Texas Leader by the John Ben Shepperd 3-4 Leadership Forum in 1987 and has been listed in Who's Who in the 3-5 World since 1989; he earned the Distinguished Alumnus Award and 3-6 an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Michigan State University 3-7 in 1993; and 3-8 WHEREAS, Throughout his 21 years of service to 3-9 The University of Texas System, Dr. Cunningham had a positive 3-10 influence on the lives of countless students, professors, and 3-11 staff members, and he earned a reputation as a superior 3-12 administrator; and 3-13 WHEREAS, As chancellor of The University of Texas System, 3-14 Dr. Cunningham played a major role in making the system's 3-15 universities the high-quality institutions they are today, and he 3-16 deserves legislative recognition for his exceptional achievements; 3-17 now, therefore, be it 3-18 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 3-19 77th Legislature, hereby express appreciation to 3-20 Dr. William H. Cunningham for his outstanding accomplishments 3-21 and leadership and his invaluable contributions to 3-22 The University of Texas System and extend best wishes to him 3-23 for the future; and, be it further 3-24 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for 3-25 him as an expression of highest regard from the Texas Senate. 3-26 Lucio 4-1 Armbrister Gallegos Shapiro 4-2 Barrientos Harris Shapleigh 4-3 Bernsen Haywood Sibley 4-4 Bivins Jackson Staples 4-5 Brown Lindsay Truan 4-6 Cain Madla Van de Putte 4-7 Carona Moncrief Wentworth 4-8 Duncan Nelson West 4-9 Ellis Ogden Whitmire 4-10 Fraser Zaffirini 4-11 Ratliff, President of the Senate 4-12 ______________________________________ 4-13 President of the Senate 4-14 I hereby certify that the above 4-15 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 4-16 on May 14, 2001. 4-17 ______________________________________ 4-18 Secretary of the Senate 4-19 ______________________________________ 4-20 Member, Texas Senate