|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, Former state senator Robert Duncan concluded his |
|
noteworthy tenure as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System |
|
on August 31, 2018; and |
|
WHEREAS, Appointed in 2014, Chancellor Duncan guided the |
|
system through a period of tremendous growth, with record levels of |
|
student enrollment and degrees awarded; he also fostered a culture |
|
of sustained philanthropy, and fund-raising surpassed $615 million |
|
while the endowment grew by over $150 million to a total of $1.3 |
|
billion; and |
|
WHEREAS, Chancellor Duncan collaborated closely with |
|
institution presidents to support system expansion in West Texas; |
|
he worked tirelessly toward the goal of establishing a veterinary |
|
school in Amarillo to meet the growing need for large-animal vets, |
|
and he oversaw efforts to build a new dental school in El Paso; in |
|
addition, he addressed the acute shortage of mental health care in |
|
the region by creating the Texas Tech Mental Health Institute to |
|
increase collaboration and spur faculty innovation; and |
|
WHEREAS, Previously, Chancellor Duncan served in the state |
|
legislature for more than two decades; first elected to the house in |
|
1992, he won a senate seat in a special election four years later, |
|
and he represented Senate District 28 for nearly 18 years; admired |
|
for cooperating across the aisle to find solutions to the |
|
challenges facing rural Texas, he took an active role in reforming |
|
the Texas Department of Insurance and resurrected the boll weevil |
|
eradication program; a champion of higher education, he was |
|
instrumental in the development of such programs as the National |
|
Research University Fund and the Texas Research Incentive Program; |
|
over the course of his tenure, Senator Duncan chaired the State |
|
Affairs Committee for a decade, and he also led the Jurisprudence |
|
and Long Term Care Legislative Oversight Committees; moreover, he |
|
was repeatedly named one of the state's 10 best legislators by Texas |
|
Monthly as well as a Texas Super Lawyer; and |
|
WHEREAS, Chancellor Duncan holds both a bachelor's degree in |
|
agricultural economics and a law degree from TTU, and he was a law |
|
partner at Crenshaw, Dupree & Milam in Lubbock for more than 25 |
|
years; in all his endeavors, he has enjoyed the love and support of |
|
his wife, Terri, and his children, Lindsey and Matthew; and |
|
WHEREAS, Through his visionary leadership, Robert Duncan |
|
significantly advanced the mission of the Texas Tech University |
|
System, and over the course of his long career in public service, he |
|
has made lasting contributions to higher education and to the Lone |
|
Star State; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby commend the Honorable Robert Duncan for his |
|
accomplishments as chancellor of the Texas Tech University System |
|
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 Chancellor Duncan as an expression of high regard by |
|
the Texas House of Representatives. |