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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Diana Natalicio announced her retirement as |
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president of The University of Texas at El Paso in May 2018, and as |
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she prepares to conclude her remarkable three-decade tenure in |
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office, it is indeed fitting to recognize her enormous |
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accomplishments; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Natalicio joined the UTEP faculty as an |
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assistant professor of linguistics in 1971; she rose to become |
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chair of the modern languages department, dean of the College of |
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Liberal Arts, and vice president for academic affairs before her |
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appointment as president in 1988; and |
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WHEREAS, Committed to expanding access to higher education, |
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Dr. Natalicio has skillfully guided the growth of enrollment from |
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15,000 to more than 25,000; the school's demographics now reflect |
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those of the predominantly Hispanic Paso del Norte region, and many |
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students are the first in their families to attend college; over the |
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past 30 years, UTEP's budget has increased from $65 million to more |
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than $500 million; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Natalicio has also focused on improving the |
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quality and breadth of academics and research; when she took the |
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helm, UTEP had a single doctoral program; today, it offers 22, and |
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the institution's reputation for excellence has helped capture |
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significant research funding, including more than $94 million |
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annually from such agencies as the U.S. Department of Energy, the |
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National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Environmental |
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Protection Agency; the university has designated nearly $400 |
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million to build and renovate facilities for science, engineering, |
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and health sciences, as well as infrastructure related to student |
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quality of life; in 2018, UTEP launched a new binational academic |
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partnership with a leading research institution in Mexico, the |
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Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez; and |
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WHEREAS, An acclaimed leader in higher education, |
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Dr. Natalicio was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the |
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National Science Board and by President George H. W. Bush to the |
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Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic |
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Americans; she has served on the boards of numerous organizations, |
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among them the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Rockefeller |
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Foundation, Trinity Industries, Sandia Corporation, the |
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U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, and the American Council on |
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Education; in 2017, she was named one of Fortune magazine's Top 50 |
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World Leaders, and the previous year, Time magazine ranked her |
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among the 100 most influential people in the world; her other honors |
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include the Academic Leadership Award from the Carnegie Corporation |
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of New York and the Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca, the highest |
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recognition Mexico accords foreign nationals; she holds a |
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bachelor's degree from St. Louis University and both a master's |
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degree in Portuguese and a doctoral degree in linguistics from The |
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University of Texas at Austin; and |
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WHEREAS, Diana Natalicio has elevated the national profile of |
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UTEP while making the university more responsive to the needs of |
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residents of the Paso del Norte region, striking a balance few |
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institutions have achieved, and her tremendous contributions to |
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higher education will continue to resonate for decades to come; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commend Diana Natalicio for her exemplary |
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service as president of The University of Texas at El Paso and |
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extend to her sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Dr. Natalicio as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |