88R25094 CW-D
 
  By: Eckhardt, Campbell S.R. No. 490
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost an admired educator and
  demographer with the passing of former U.S. Census Bureau director
  Steven Harold Murdock on April 7, 2023, at the age of 74; and
         WHEREAS, The son of Lois and Raymond Murdock, Steve Murdock
  was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on June 2, 1948; after
  graduating from North Dakota State University, he went on to earn
  his doctoral degree in demography and sociology from the University
  of Kentucky; he taught for a quarter century at Texas A&M
  University, where he held a Regents Chair; for a decade, he held the
  Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography and Organization
  Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio; in 2007, he
  joined Rice University as the Allyn and Gladys Cline Chair in
  Sociology, and he became the founding director of Rice's Hobby
  Center for the Study of Texas; he was the author of dozens of books
  and nearly 50 academic journal articles, and he was a caring mentor
  to his Ph.D. students; and
         WHEREAS, Dr. Murdock originated and institutionalized the
  position of Texas state demographer; for more than 25 years, he
  guided the Texas State Data Center and Texas Population Estimates
  and Projections Program, taking a leadership role in the state's
  efforts in the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses; he also made
  approximately 50 to 60 presentations each year on the changing size
  and distribution of the state's population at the request of groups
  such as legislators, school superintendents, and fellow academics;
  President George W. Bush nominated him as director of the U.S.
  Census Bureau in 2007, and his dedication to public service led him
  to accept, even though the job would last only a year until the next
  administration; he is credited with being the steady hand that kept
  the 2010 Census on course during a period of transition; and
         WHEREAS, Among numerous honors, Dr. Murdock received the
  Distinguished Alumni Award from North Dakota State University, the
  Faculty Distinguished Research Award from Texas A&M, and both the
  Distinguished Rural Sociologist and Excellence in Research Awards
  from the Rural Sociological Society; in 2005, he was named one of
  the 25 Most Influential Texans by Texas Monthly; and
         WHEREAS, Although Steve Murdock will be deeply missed, he
  left behind a legacy of scholarship and service that will be
  remembered and admired for years to come; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature
  hereby pay tribute to the life of Steven Harold Murdock and extend
  sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his wife, Mary
  Zey; to his stepson, James Collins Ferrell; to his grandson, George
  Collins Ferrell; to his sister, Joann Lonbaken, and her husband,
  Roger, and his brother, Lee Murdock, and his wife, June; and to his
  other relatives and friends; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
  prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this
  day, it do so in memory of Steve Murdock.