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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Reverend Theodore Martin Hesburgh, former |
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president of the University of Notre Dame, passed away on February |
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26, 2015, at the age of 97, bringing a great loss to higher |
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education; and |
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WHEREAS, One of the foremost educators of the past century, |
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Father Hesburgh guided Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987; he transformed |
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an institution once only known for its football team, improving |
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academic rigor by recruiting highly regarded deans and top |
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scholars; benefactors were energized by his vision of "a Catholic |
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Princeton," and he raised funds to endow professorships and |
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substantially expand the campus, doubling enrollment in the |
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process; and |
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WHEREAS, Father Hesburgh led the way for a movement among |
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Catholic colleges in the 1960s, transferring governance from the |
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church hierarchy to the laity and rebuffing attempts to abridge |
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academic freedom; he helped coordinate a "Statement on the Nature |
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of the Contemporary Catholic University" that was signed by notable |
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Catholic educators, and under his leadership, Notre Dame admitted |
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its first female students in 1972; "Father Ted" remained |
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approachable throughout his tenure, and even had chats with |
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undergraduates who climbed a fire escape to tap on his office window |
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after dark; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower named Father |
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Hesburgh as a founding member of the United States Civil Rights |
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Commission, which investigated the suppression of the African |
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American vote and other injustices; he joined hands with the |
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Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. at a rally in advance of a landmark |
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civil rights bill, and in 1970, he was chair of the commission when |
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it reported severe deficiencies in the enforcement of |
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antidiscrimination laws; as a result, aides of President Richard M. |
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Nixon pressured him to resign from the commission, but he went on to |
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serve by presidential appointment again in the Ford and Carter |
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administrations; and |
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WHEREAS, This respected moral leader was influential in |
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matters from human rights to nuclear proliferation, and he held |
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numerous papal appointments; as the Vatican's representative to the |
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International Atomic Energy Agency, he at times acted as a broker |
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between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War; |
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he was the recipient of two of this nation's highest honors, the |
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Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Syracuse, New York, on May 25, 1917, |
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Theodore Hesburgh recognized his calling early and enrolled in a |
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seminary at Notre Dame in 1934; he was ordained four years after |
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graduating from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and |
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then completed a doctorate in sacred theology at Catholic |
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University before returning to Notre Dame to teach religion; and |
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WHEREAS, Father Hesburgh built Notre Dame's reputation for |
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excellence, and he was a strong voice for positive change on the |
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national and world stage; although he will be deeply missed, his |
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enormous accomplishments will continue to resonate in the years to |
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come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Reverend Theodore |
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M. Hesburgh and extend sincere condolences to his loved ones and the |
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University of Notre Dame community; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of the |
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Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh. |
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Márquez |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1884 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 7, 2015. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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