H.R. No. 489

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Dr. Raymund A. Paredes is concluding an outstanding
	15-year tenure as Texas commissioner of higher education on August
	31, 2019; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes is an alumnus of The University of Texas
	at Austin, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and a
	doctoral degree in American civilization, and the University of
	Southern California, where he earned a master's degree in American
	studies; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes joined the Texas Higher Education
	Coordinating Board as commissioner of higher education in July
	2004; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has a long and broad range of experience
	in public higher education; he served for 30 years as a professor of
	English at the University of California, Los Angeles, and he also
	served as department chair, dean, vice chancellor, and special
	assistant to the president of the University of California System;
	and
	WHEREAS, In his role as commissioner of higher education,
	Dr. Paredes serves as the chief executive officer for the
	coordinating board and manages staff and resources to achieve the
	goals for Texas higher education as established by the board, the
	governor, and the Texas legislature; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes tirelessly advocates for the importance
	of higher education in maintaining economic competitiveness and
	quality of life in Texas; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has had national influence on higher
	education by effectively serving on the boards of various national
	organizations, such as the American Association of Colleges and
	Universities, the College Board, and the Education Commission of
	the States, and he is the longest-serving current member of the
	State Higher Education Executive Officers, the national
	association of the chief executives of statewide governing, policy,
	and coordinating boards of postsecondary education; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has worked effectively with
	institutions of higher education, the legislature, the governor's
	office, the business community, and primary school and secondary
	school educational leaders to develop and implement higher
	education policies that have improved student access and success,
	raised educational excellence, and promoted efficient use of state
	resources; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has focused on the importance of both
	increasing access to postsecondary education and helping students
	complete their certificates and degrees, and this has led to Texas
	dramatically exceeding the student completion goal of the state's
	previous higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has served as the primary advocate for
	60x30TX, the state's current higher education plan, and he has
	consistently sought to expand public support for the plan and
	identified and implemented strategies and practices to achieve its
	goals; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes adheres to the highest standards of
	integrity and ethical behavior and is an educational leader of
	passion and vision who is fully committed to expanding educational
	opportunity and success to Texans of all backgrounds; and
	WHEREAS, His many accomplishments as commissioner of higher
	education include the reinvention of developmental education and
	the implementation of an outcomes-based funding model for two-year
	colleges that focuses on student success; he also worked to
	establish the tri-agency partnership under Governor Greg Abbott
	that includes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the
	Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Workforce Commission; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes came from a family of limited means
	where the number-one priority was always education, and due to his
	upbringing, he has been passionate his entire adult life about
	extending educational opportunity to children from all
	backgrounds; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has advocated tirelessly for increased
	funding for, and efficiencies in, the TEXAS Grant program, the
	state's largest need-plus-merit grant program, which has grown by
	142 percent since 2004; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has also promoted other models for
	financial aid, such as expanded work-study and paid internships, to
	help the state achieve the marketable skills and student debt goals
	of 60x30TX; and
	WHEREAS, Dr. Paredes has spearheaded the growth of the Texas
	Affordable Baccalaureate to make college more affordable to
	students by securing private grants to support the start-up of
	these programs; as a result of his efforts, Texas now has 10
	institutions participating in this program; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
	Legislature hereby recognize Dr. Raymund A. Paredes for his 15-year
	tenure as Texas commissioner of higher education and extend to him
	sincere best wishes for continued success as he embarks on the next
	chapter of his life; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for Dr. Paredes as an expression of high regard by the
	Texas House of Representatives.
	Howard
	Turner of Tarrant
	Zerwas
	Bonnen of Galveston
	Lozano
	Bonnen of Brazoria Guerra Oliverson
	Allen Guillen Ortega
	Allison Gutierrez Pacheco
	Anchia Harless Paddie
	Anderson Harris Parker
	Ashby Hefner Patterson
	Bailes Hernandez Paul
	Beckley Herrero Perez
	Bell of Kaufman Hinojosa Phelan
	Bell of Montgomery Holland Price
	Bernal Howard Ramos
	Biedermann Huberty Raney
	Blanco Hunter Raymond
	Bohac Israel Reynolds
	Bonnen of Galveston E. Johnson of Dallas Rodriguez
	Bowers J. Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr.
	Buckley Johnson of Harris Rose
	Bucy Kacal Rosenthal
	Burns King of Hemphill Sanford
	Burrows King of Parker Schaefer
	Button King of Uvalde Shaheen
	Cain Klick Sheffield
	Calanni Krause Sherman, Sr.
	Canales Kuempel Shine
	Capriglione Lambert Smith
	Clardy Landgraf Smithee
	Cole Lang Springer
	Coleman Larson Stephenson
	Collier Leach Stickland
	Cortez Leman Stucky
	Craddick Longoria Swanson
	Cyrier Lozano Talarico
	Darby Lucio III Thierry
	Davis of Dallas Martinez Thompson of Brazoria
	Davis of Harris Martinez Fischer Thompson of Harris
	Dean Metcalf Tinderholt
	Deshotel Meyer Toth
	Dominguez Meza Turner of Dallas
	Dutton Middleton Turner of Tarrant
	Farrar Miller VanDeaver
	Fierro Minjarez Vo
	Flynn Moody Walle
	Frank Morales White
	Frullo Morrison Wilson
	Geren Muñoz, Jr. Wray
	Gervin-Hawkins Murphy Wu
	Goldman Murr Zedler
	González of Dallas Neave Zerwas
	González of El Paso Nevárez Zwiener
	Goodwin Noble
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 489 was adopted by the House on March 6,
	2019, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House