H.C.R. No. 155

	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, Shirley Bird Perry, whose association with The
	University of Texas at Austin spanned six decades and who made an
	incalculable contribution both to the university and to the UT
	System, passed away on May 4, 2011, at the age of 74; and
	WHEREAS, A fifth-generation Texan, Mrs. Perry was born to
	Homer and Laura Stevenson Bird near Stockdale in 1936; she arrived
	at UT as a freshman in 1954, and though the campus was vastly larger
	than the small-town high school she had attended, she thrived on the
	Forty Acres; while an undergraduate, she served on the Texas Union
	Board of Directors and was tapped for membership in the Orange
	Jackets and Mortar Board; her senior year, she was named Most
	Outstanding Woman Student by the Dads' Association; and
	WHEREAS, After graduating with a degree in education in 1958,
	Mrs. Perry worked as program director for the Texas Union before
	moving to California, where she found a teaching position; a year in
	the classroom with seventh-graders quickly persuaded her that her
	future lay elsewhere, and she returned as program director of the
	Texas Union in 1960; over the next decade, she focused on providing
	a diverse array of programs for UT students and organized
	appearances by such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert
	Kennedy, and Marianne Moore, while also earning a master's degree
	in educational psychology from UT in 1967; she became director of
	the union in 1972; and
	WHEREAS, During her time there, Mrs. Perry played an active
	role in the Association of College Unions--International, becoming
	the first woman to be elected to the group's executive committee and
	the first woman to serve as ACUI president; in 1976 she left the
	university for a brief period to serve as coordinator for ACUI
	educational programs and services; and
	WHEREAS, Shirley Bird Perry returned to The University of
	Texas in 1979, when Dr. Peter Flawn named her assistant to the
	president and coordinator of the university's centennial
	observance; her new responsibilities included overseeing the
	activities of the Centennial Commission, a series of commemorative
	events, and a capital campaign that substantially augmented faculty
	endowments and the funds for lectureships and scholarships; in 1981
	she was promoted to vice president, and in 1983, the culminating
	year of the centennial celebration, she became vice president for
	development and community relations; and
	WHEREAS, Mrs. Perry continued to serve in that capacity under
	Dr. William Cunningham, who followed Dr. Flawn as university
	president in 1985; when Dr. Cunningham stepped down in 1992 to
	become chancellor of the UT System, he was loathe to lose such a
	priceless asset and persuaded Mrs. Perry to accompany him, naming
	her vice chancellor for development and external relations; her
	duties with the UT System included directing fund-raising
	operations, public affairs programs, the management of estates and
	trusts, and event planning, among other activities; and
	WHEREAS, In 2004, Mrs. Perry resigned her office as vice
	chancellor to rejoin the administration at the university,
	accepting a position as senior vice president; in addition to
	overseeing the fund-raising efforts of the UT president and
	coordinating his visits to communities around the state, she worked
	with the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History to more fully
	document the history of the university she loved so well; and
	WHEREAS, Honored repeatedly throughout her career, Shirley
	Bird Perry received a Top Hand Award and a Distinguished Alumnus
	Award from the Texas Exes in 1984 and 2005, respectively, an Award
	of Distinction from the UT Parents' Association in 1992, and a
	Presidential Citation, the highest recognition conferred by The
	University of Texas, for 2010; in addition, the Texas Union has
	created the Shirley Bird Perry Leadership Award to salute
	outstanding students, and the UT presidents with whom she served
	have established the Shirley Bird Perry Endowment Fund for
	University History; Mrs. Perry also received accolades for her work
	from the Association of College Unions--International, the Council
	for the Advancement and Support of Education, and the National
	Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; and
	WHEREAS, Shirley Bird was married to Sam R. Perry, an equally
	fervent UT alum and an Austin attorney, in 1963, and they shared a
	devoted union until her passing; and
	WHEREAS, To her consummate skills as an administrator, Mrs.
	Perry added unfailing kindness, unerring instincts, inexhaustible
	energy, and a matchless knowledge of the university, its history,
	and its inner workings; over the years, her endeavors helped to
	build the foundation on which the reputation of the university
	rests, and her wise counsel informed myriad decisions by university
	and system leaders; she was, in the words of one, "the caretaker for
	UT's soul," and she will be deeply and sorely missed; now,
	therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby pay tribute to the life of Shirley Bird Perry and extend
	sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her husband, Sam
	R. Perry; to her sisters and brother-in-law, Mary Jane and Errol
	Jonsson, Virginia Bird Davis, and Patsy Bird Weber; to her nephew,
	Charles Cotter; to her great-nephews, Jake and Trevor Cotter; to
	her cousin, Betty Bird; to her sisters-in-law, Polly Perry-Vincent
	and her sons, Blair and Scott Franklin, and their families, and
	Jenny Kay Kubiak and her husband, L. B. Kubiak, and their children,
	Lindsay and Logan; and to her other relatives and many friends; and,
	be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
	Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of
	Shirley Bird Perry.
	Branch
	Howard of Travis
	Straus Gonzales of Williamson Morrison
	Aliseda Gonzalez Munoz, Jr.
	Allen Gooden Murphy
	Alonzo Guillen Naishtat
	Alvarado Gutierrez Nash
	Anchia Hamilton Oliveira
	Anderson of Dallas Hancock Orr
	Anderson of McLennan Hardcastle Otto
	Aycock Harless Parker
	Beck Harper-Brown Patrick
	Berman Hartnett Paxton
	Bohac Hernandez Luna Pena
	Bonnen Hilderbran Perry
	Branch Hochberg Phillips
	Brown Hopson Pickett
	Burkett Howard of Fort Bend Pitts
	Burnam Howard of Travis Price
	Button Huberty Quintanilla
	Cain Hughes Raymond
	Callegari Hunter Reynolds
	Carter Isaac Riddle
	Castro Jackson Ritter
	Chisum Johnson Rodriguez
	Christian Keffer Schwertner
	Coleman King of Parker Scott
	Cook King of Taylor Sheets
	Craddick King of Zavala Sheffield
	Creighton Kleinschmidt Shelton
	Crownover Kolkhorst Simpson
	Darby Kuempel Smith of Harris
	Davis of Dallas Landtroop Smith of Tarrant
	J. Davis of Harris Larson Smithee
	S. Davis of Harris Laubenberg Solomons
	Deshotel Lavender Strama
	Driver Legler Taylor of Collin
	Dukes Lewis Taylor of Galveston
	Dutton Lozano Thompson
	Eiland Lucio III Torres
	Eissler Lyne Truitt
	Elkins Madden Turner
	Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
	Farrar Margo Villarreal
	Fletcher Marquez Vo
	Flynn Martinez Walle
	Frullo Martinez Fischer Weber
	Gallego McClendon White
	Garza Menendez Woolley
	Geren Miles Workman
	Giddings Miller of Comal Zedler
	Gonzales of Hidalgo Miller of Erath Zerwas
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 155 was unanimously adopted by a
	rising vote of the House on May 11, 2011.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 155 was unanimously adopted by a
	rising vote of the Senate on May 11, 2011.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor