|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, William M. Peña, a 1942 graduate of Texas A&M |
|
University, was presented with the school's Distinguished Alumnus |
|
Award at a ceremony in College Station in March 2015; and |
|
WHEREAS, Born in Laredo in 1919, William Merriweather Peña |
|
graduated from high school in 1937 and followed his older brother, |
|
Gustavo, to Texas A&M, where he earned his bachelor's degree; an |
|
active member of the university's Corps of Cadets, he quickly |
|
answered his nation's call to duty in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor; |
|
he graduated on a Friday, was sworn into the U.S. Army on Saturday, |
|
and reported for duty at Fort Sam Houston on Sunday; and |
|
WHEREAS, Lieutenant Peña served as a training officer in |
|
California and Georgia before joining the fight in Europe in August |
|
1944; he took part in the legendary Battle of the Bulge in the |
|
Ardennes in December of that year, and as his unit pushed into |
|
Germany that winter, he sustained serious injuries from a land |
|
mine; promoted to captain, he spent two years recovering in |
|
hospitals, and he earned the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart; and |
|
WHEREAS, In 1947, Mr. Peña resumed his studies at Texas A&M |
|
and earned a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1948; he went to |
|
work for Caudill Rowlett Scott in College Station, and by the |
|
following year, he was a partner in the firm; he moved to Houston |
|
with CRS in 1959 and played a leading role in its growth from its |
|
four original partners to more than 3,000 employees in 32 offices |
|
around the world; he took an active part in the design and |
|
construction of many community schools and auditoriums, including |
|
over two dozen educational and civic buildings in his native |
|
Laredo; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Peña quickly became known as one of the foremost |
|
experts in architectural programming, the process by which |
|
architects systematically evaluate a client's values, goals, |
|
facts, and needs in order to provide an appropriate and |
|
well-conceived design; in 1969, he coauthored Problem Seeking: New |
|
Directions in Architectural Programming, which was followed by |
|
Problem Seeking: An Architectural Programming Primer, now in its |
|
fifth edition and still the standard text on the subject; by the |
|
time he retired in 1984, he had directed the programming for more |
|
than 400 projects in 38 states and nine foreign countries, and he |
|
has instructed and mentored countless young architects; and |
|
WHEREAS, The William M. Peña Professorship in Information |
|
Management was endowed in his name at Texas A&M in 1990, and his |
|
many other honors include recognition as an Outstanding |
|
Architecture Alumnus in 1998 and receipt of the first Thomas |
|
Jefferson Award in 2000 from the Houston Chapter of the American |
|
Institute of Architects; in November 2013, he was appointed a |
|
chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, and he was one of the |
|
veterans of the Battle of the Bulge honored by the "Texas Aggies Go |
|
to War" exhibition in Bastogne, Belgium, in 2014; and |
|
WHEREAS, Over the course of a remarkable life, this |
|
accomplished man has earned great distinction for himself, his |
|
profession, and his alma mater, and he is truly deserving of this |
|
prestigious award; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby congratulate William M. Peña for receiving a |
|
2015 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Texas A&M University and |
|
extend to him sincere best wishes for continued happiness; and, be |
|
it further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for Mr. Peña as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
House of Representatives. |