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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) will |
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celebrate its past accomplishments, showcase its present |
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strengths, and look forward to its future development throughout |
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2014 as it observes its centennial; and |
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WHEREAS, Established in 1914 with the support of local |
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residents and business owners, UTEP began as the Texas State School |
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of Mines and Metallurgy, a small mining school on the site of the |
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former El Paso Military Institute; in 1916, a fire destroyed the Old |
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Main building, and the school moved to its current location; at the |
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request of the wife of Dean S. H. Worrell, the new campus was |
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constructed to resemble fortresses in the Himalayan kingdom of |
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Bhutan, and it retains this distinctive style of architecture to |
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this day; and |
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WHEREAS, The university became the first branch in The |
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University of Texas System in 1919 and gradually began to encompass |
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additional areas of study; to better identify its status as a |
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regional university with an increasing number of liberal arts |
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programs, it was renamed Texas Western College in 1949; six years |
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later, it became the first public university in the state to |
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desegregate its undergraduate program; and |
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WHEREAS, A strong focus on athletics in the 1960s led to the |
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construction of the Sun Bowl stadium, home to the UTEP Miners |
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football team as well as the annual Sun Bowl game, and numerous |
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national championship wins in the decades that followed; perhaps |
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the most famous of these came in 1966, when the men's basketball |
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team faced the heavily favored Kentucky Wildcats; Coach Don Haskins |
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started an all-African American lineup, the first time any school |
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had done so in the finals, and the Miners went on to an upset 72-65 |
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win; and |
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WHEREAS, Now looking to its 100th year, UTEP has seven |
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academic colleges and an enrollment of more than 22,600 students; |
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it is a nationally recognized research institution with |
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expenditures of nearly $70 million annually to support a broad |
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array of studies in such areas as drug development, Hispanic health |
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disparities, nanotechnology, and space exploration; the Texas |
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Higher Education Coordinating Board has named it one of the state's |
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emerging Tier One universities, and it was designated as a minority |
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research center of excellence by the National Science Foundation |
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and as a doctoral/research intensive institution by the Carnegie |
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Foundation; and |
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WHEREAS, In addition, UTEP boasts a number of acclaimed |
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programs designed to equip students with the tools necessary to |
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succeed professionally; 90 percent of the graduates of its Law |
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School Preparation Institute are accepted to law school, a figure |
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well above the national average, and its Medical Professions |
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Institute has helped make it one of the top universities for Mexican |
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American graduates accepted to medical school; moreover, its |
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Executive MBA program attracts professionals from both sides of the |
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U.S.-Mexico border; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of an eventful century, The |
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University of Texas at El Paso has enriched the lives of countless |
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students while making impressive strides in research and academic |
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innovation, and in so doing, it has made a positive impact on the |
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Lone Star State and the world beyond; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor The University of Texas at El Paso for its |
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10 decades of outstanding service and extend to the university's |
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administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni sincere best |
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wishes for a successful and memorable centennial celebration; and, |
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be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for The University of Texas at El Paso as an expression of |
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high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |