SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 291

WHEREAS, A number of proud Texans are visiting Austin on March 2, 2015, to celebrate Texas Southern University Day at the State Capitol; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 1927, with a loan from the Houston Public School Board, Texas Southern University opened its doors as Houston Colored Junior College; the school was highly successful and enrollment grew quickly, leading to the transition to a four-year institution in 1934, with a graduate program added in 1943; the Texas Legislature appropriated $2 million in 1947 to buy the campus of what was then Houston College for Negroes in order to create a new state-supported university, and four years later the school assumed the name Texas Southern University; and

WHEREAS, Today, Texas Southern University is one of the largest of the historically black colleges and universities in the United States; located in Houston's Third Ward, it enrolls more than 9,600 students from throughout the country and around the world, and it employs some 1,300 faculty and staff; it is composed of 10 schools and colleges that offer 45 baccalaureate academic majors, as well as 29 master's and eight doctoral degree programs; and

WHEREAS, Texas Southern University is committed to serving students of diverse cultural, religious, educational, and economic backgrounds and to preparing them for future leadership roles; the university trains the majority of African American lawyers in Houston and African American teachers in the Houston Independent School District, and it has historically graduated more than 27 percent of the African American pharmacists in the United States; in addition, the university's Thurgood Marshall School of Law has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the most diverse law school in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Throughout its history, Texas Southern University has provided its students with a solid foundation for achievement, and it has been a powerful force for social progress and economic development in the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 84th Legislature, hereby recognize March 2, 2015, as Texas Southern University Day at the State Capitol and extend to all those associated with this notable institution sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for Texas Southern University as an expression of the high regard of the Texas Senate. Ellis

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President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 2, 2015.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate