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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Dr. Edward B. Burger, a nationally renowned scholar |
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and educator, has been named the 15th president of Southwestern |
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University; and |
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WHEREAS, A native of New York State, Dr. Burger graduated |
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summa cum laude from Connecticut College in 1985 and earned a |
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doctorate in mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin in |
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1990; shortly thereafter, he joined the faculty of Williams College |
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in Massachusetts, where he has since served in several leadership |
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roles and where he presently holds the title of Francis Christopher |
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Oakley Third Century Professor of Mathematics; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Burger has earned widespread acclaim for his |
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groundbreaking approach to teaching, which is guided by an |
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educational philosophy that emphasizes failure as a valuable |
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learning tool; a former stand-up comic and comedy writer, he has |
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used his trademark wit to make mathematics come alive in the |
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classroom, and he has written and appeared in hundreds of |
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instructional math videos that have been seen by people around the |
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world; and |
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WHEREAS, In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Burger has |
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authored and coauthored more than 35 research articles and a dozen |
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books, including The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to |
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Effective Thinking, for which he won a Robert W. Hamilton Book |
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Award in 2001; his most recent publication, The 5 Elements of |
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Effective Thinking, has led to speaking invitations from Microsoft, |
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the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the |
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U.S. Department of the Interior, and other organizations; he has |
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delivered more than 400 lectures worldwide and appeared in over 40 |
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radio and television broadcasts, among them NBC's Science of the |
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Winter Olympics series, where he had a starring role that earned him |
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a 2010 Telly Award; and |
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WHEREAS, This exceptional educator has been appointed as a |
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visiting scholar and professor at numerous institutions, including |
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Baylor University, which in 2010 bestowed on him its prestigious |
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national accolade, the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great |
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Teaching; after subsequently teaching in residence for a semester |
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at Baylor, he was appointed vice provost for strategic educational |
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initiatives at that university; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Burger's myriad honors also include several |
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awards from the Mathematical Association of America and induction |
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into the Fellows of the American Mathematical Society; he was the |
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2007 recipient of the Award of Excellence from Technology & |
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Learning magazine, and he was named "Best Math Teacher" in the 2006 |
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Reader's Digest "100 Best of America" issue; in 2010, the |
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Huffington Post designated him a "Game Changer" in the field of |
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education, making note of his contributions to the academic |
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dialogue on the nature of creativity; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of his career, Dr. Edward Burger has |
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established himself as a world-class scholar and an educator of |
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immense talent and insight, and Southwestern University is indeed |
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fortunate to have this visionary leader at its helm; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Dr. Edward B. Burger on his |
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appointment as the 15th president of Southwestern University and |
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extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success in his new |
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post; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Dr. Burger as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |