SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 262

WHEREAS, Dr. Tatcho Mindiola Jr. is retiring from the University of Houston in May 2015, drawing to a close a pioneering career as a scholar, educator, and administrator; and

WHEREAS, Born and raised in Houston, Tatcho Mindiola grew up in the Sunset Heights neighborhood, and after graduating from John H. Reagan High School in 1957, he continued his studies at South Texas Junior College while working full-time for Houston Lighting and Power; he subsequently joined the United States Army and served in Virginia and Greenland; and

WHEREAS, After his discharge in 1961, he enrolled at the University of Houston under the G.I. Bill and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in sociology; during his student years, he also helped establish the campus's first Mexican American student organization, worked to increase the number of Hispanic faculty members, and built coalitions with African American students; he continued his student activism while he earned his doctorate in sociology at Brown University; and

WHEREAS, In 1974, Dr. Mindiola returned to the University of Houston to take a joint appointment as a professor of sociology and Mexican American studies, and in 1980 he became director of the Center for Mexican American Studies; under his leadership, it has become one of the leading centers of its type in the nation, offering a minor in Mexican American studies and research and graduate fellowships as well as a visiting scholar's program and recruitment and retention efforts; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mindiola's own scholarly work has focused on race as it pertains to Mexican Americans, with particular emphasis on the relationship between Mexican and African Americans, the experience of Mexican Americans in the public school system, and the image of Mexican Americans in film; he is the coauthor of Black-Brown Relations and Stereotypes, published in 2002 by The University of Texas Press; his research and activism have earned him a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Houston, the Hispanic Heritage Award from the office of the city's mayor, and the Ally Award from the Center for the Healing of Racism; and

WHEREAS, For four decades, Dr. Tatcho Mindiola has been a prominent figure in his academic discipline as well as an inspiring teacher and mentor to a new generation of Mexican American scholars, and he may indeed reflect with pride on his many notable achievements; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 84th Legislature, hereby congratulate Dr. Tatcho Mindiola Jr. on his retirement from the University of Houston and extend to him sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be prepared for Dr. Mindiola as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate. Garcia

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President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on February 25, 2015.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate