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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Dr. Robert S. Nelsen, the president of The |
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University of Texas-Pan American, is an outstanding educator and |
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administrator, and he is most deserving of special recognition for |
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his many notable accomplishments; and |
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WHEREAS, Raised on a cattle ranch in Montana, Robert Nelsen |
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was the first person in his family to attend college; in order to |
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pay his tuition, he held a variety of jobs and at one point worked |
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overnight as a janitor while attending classes during the day and |
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holding down another job at a sporting goods store; even then, he |
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was forced by financial difficulties to leave school for a year, but |
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his wife, Jody, helped convince him to return to his studies; he |
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went on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in political science |
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from Brigham Young University and received his doctorate from the |
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Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, studying |
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with Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow and specializing in modern |
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literature, modern philosophy, and modern political theory; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Nelsen is fluent in Spanish and has published |
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his fiction in numerous literary journals; a Texas resident since |
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1990, he was a professor at The University of Texas at Dallas, where |
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he initiated the school's creative writing program and nurtured the |
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development of an arts and humanities curriculum; in addition, he |
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won the Chancellor's Council Outstanding Teaching Award in 2005, |
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served five terms as head of the faculty senate, and held the |
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position of vice provost; he then accepted a position as the |
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associate vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M |
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University-Corpus Christi, where he also served as a professor of |
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English; and |
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WHEREAS, This respected scholar was appointed the eighth |
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president of The University of Texas-Pan American on January 1, |
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2010; with an academic philosophy devoted to transparency and |
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shared governance, he has laid out his goals for the university in |
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the coming years, focusing on advanced manufacturing and |
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engineering, bilingual education, border issues, entrepreneurship, |
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and research into health care disparities; and |
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WHEREAS, With his proven leadership ability and extensive |
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experience, Dr. Robert Nelsen is uniquely qualified to build on the |
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record of academic achievement established by The University of |
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Texas-Pan American and to further its enduring commitment to |
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excellence; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor Dr. Robert S. Nelsen, president of The |
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University of Texas-Pan American, for his contributions to higher |
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education in the Lone Star State and extend to him sincere best |
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wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Dr. Nelsen as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |