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H.R. No. 1823
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The dedicated efforts of scholars such as Dr. Ian
Hancock have played a vital role in making Texans and citizens
around the world aware of important human rights issues; and
WHEREAS, A professor of language and linguistics at The
University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Hancock teaches courses in the
Department of English, the Department of Linguistics, and the
Department of Asian Studies; he is also an academic affiliate of the
Foreign Language Education Center and the Center for Russian, East
European, and Eurasian Studies at UT; and
WHEREAS, Born in London, this esteemed scholar earned his
Ph.D. at London University and has been a member of the UT faculty
since 1972; he is the author of innumerable articles, conference
papers, reviews, and monographs and more than 20 books, including
We Are the Romani People, A History of the Romanies, and A Grammar
of American Bashaldo Romani; moreover, he is a published poet; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Hancock's specialty is the study of the Romani
people, often referred to as Gypsies, and he is the director of the
Romani Archives and Documentation Center, the leading U.S. facility
for Romani studies; a member of the four-person delegation that
petitioned the United Nations for membership of the International
Romani Union in the 1970s, he was elected in 1990 as its U.N.
delegate, representing some 12 million Roma throughout the world
through their coordinating organizations in 32 countries; and
WHEREAS, Professor Hancock was asked to represent the U.S.
State Department at meetings with government officials in five
Eastern European countries, and in January 2005, he visited the
Czech Republic and Slovakia to advise on human rights issues
concerning the Roma minorities in those countries; he also serves
as chair of the Committee for the Disbursement of Looted Swiss
Assets to Roma Survivors and their descendants; and
WHEREAS, An expert on the Romani victims of the Holocaust,
Dr. Hancock was appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council as
its only Romani member and was invited, along with 48 heads of
state, to speak in Sweden at the Forum 2000 Conference on the
Holocaust; a member of the Anne Frank Institute of the Philadelphia
Center on the Holocaust, he was a much-sought-after interview
subject in the national and international press in the early 1990s
when he protested the forced deportation of Gypsies from Germany;
and
WHEREAS, Dr. Hancock has been deservedly recognized around
the world for his humanitarian efforts in behalf of the Romani
people; he has received the Rafto Human Rights Prize, the Baha'i
Church Peace Award, and the UT Humanities Award, to name but a few;
he has also been honored for his teaching with the prestigious UT
President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award; and
WHEREAS, Ian Hancock's work as an educator, scholar, and
human rights activist has significantly advanced the study of an
important culture and enhanced the lives of Romani people around
the world, and it is a pleasure to acknowledge his extraordinary
achievements; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature hereby commend Dr. Ian Hancock for his outstanding
academic career and honor him for his contributions to our
knowledge, understanding, and compassion for the plight of the
Romani people; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Dr. Hancock as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Rose
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1823 was adopted by the House on May
18, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House