H.R. No. 271

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, An esteemed educator and civil rights activist, Dr. Blandina Cardenas has rendered exceptional service to The University of Texas-Pan American; and

WHEREAS, Born and raised in the border community of Del Rio, Blandina Cardenas earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin; she returned to her hometown to teach preschool children from the migrant community and garnered national praise for the educational models she developed as a public school teacher; in 1977, she accepted a presidential appointment to serve as commissioner for children, youth, and families in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; she also completed her doctoral studies in education administration at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, Dr. Cardenas was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where she served for more than a decade; she went on to work closely with various advocacy groups, including the Inter-American Children's Institute, and she directed the Southwest Center on Values, Achievement and Community in Education at the LBJ Institute at Southwest Texas State University; she later joined The University of Texas at San Antonio as a professor before being named dean of its College of Education; she made further contributions to the field of education through her affiliation with the American Council on Education and through her work with Mexican universities, for which she received the highest honor bestowed on a noncitizen by the government of Mexico; and

WHEREAS, The first woman to lead The University of Texas-Pan American, Dr. Cardenas became its seventh president in 2004; in that role, she launched several initiatives aimed at establishing the university as a model of higher education for a diverse student population; she also worked to modernize the institution and raise its academic standards; continuing her efforts to encourage underrepresented groups to pursue higher education, she oversaw an increase in financial aid from $84 million to $111 million and provided much needed relief to many of the families from the neighboring communities who struggled to pay for college; and

WHEREAS, In nearly five years as president of UTPA, Dr. Cardenas helped raise the number of students receiving degrees, including significant increases in nursing and graduate degrees, as well as the number of internships and study abroad programs being offered to students; in addition, she supported the creation of collaborative partnerships with South Texas College and the addition of a doctoral program in rehabilitation counseling; she also ushered in a new era of research in such fields as economics, border life, medicine, and engineering; moreover, under her skilled leadership, UTPA saw increased faculty and student scholarly productivity, with more undergraduate students publishing or presenting their academic research and more students in master's programs writing theses; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Blandina Cardenas has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to making higher education more accessible to the residents of South Texas, and her work has benefited both UTPA and the surrounding community in myriad ways; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature hereby commend Dr. Blandina Cardenas for her notable contributions to The University of Texas-Pan American and extend to her sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Dr. Cardenas as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.

Pena Gonzales Guillen Martinez

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 271 was adopted by the House on February 9, 2009, by a non-record vote.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House