86R14786 SME-D

By: Bell of Montgomery H.R. No. 541

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Students, faculty, and members of the administration of Prairie View A&M University are visiting the State Capitol on February 25, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Prairie View A&M University dates back to 1876, during the Reconstruction Era, when the 15th Texas Legislature established a school known as the "Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth"; the first students enrolled in 1878, and a normal school for training teachers, the state's first coeducational public institution of higher learning, was created by the legislature the following year; the normal school and the agricultural and mechanical college were combined by the 20th Legislature in 1887; and

WHEREAS, The institution expanded its curriculum to four years in 1901 and began offering intercollegiate athletics three years later; a cooperative agricultural extension program was added in 1914, and establishment of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps followed in 1917; during the 1920s, the school introduced the first baccalaureate degrees and a school of nursing, took part in the organization of the Southwest Athletic Conference, and initiated the Prairie View Interscholastic League for African American high schools, which later merged with the University Interscholastic League; and

WHEREAS, In 1937, a graduate school was established at Prairie View; the school began a program for commissioning U.S. Army officers in 1943 and naval reserve officers in 1968; five commissioned officers from the school's army training corps have gone on to become three-star generals, and three officers from its navy training corps have become admirals; and

WHEREAS, Voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 1984 that recognized Prairie View A&M as "an institution of the first class" and restructured the state's Permanent University Fund to include Prairie View as a beneficiary; in addition, the legislature established the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture at Prairie View in 1999; the school launched its first doctoral program, in juvenile justice, in 2001 and has since added others in electrical engineering, juvenile forensic psychology, and education leadership; and

WHEREAS, With the administration now led by president Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, the university serves an enrollment of over 9,000 students, and Texas benefits from the contributions of the school's 70,000 alumni; and

WHEREAS, Dedicated to achieving excellence in teaching, research, and service, Prairie View A&M seeks to provide students with a quality educational experience that reflects its values of access, accountability, diversity, leadership, relevance, and social responsibility; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby recognize February 25, 2019, as Prairie View A&M University Day at the State Capitol and extend to all those associated with the university sincere best wishes for the future.