SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 26
         WHEREAS, The University of Texas at Dallas has greatly
  benefited from the visionary leadership of President Richard
  C. Benson, who has guided the institution over the past eight
  years; and
 
         WHEREAS, In his role at UTD's helm, Dr. Benson has launched
  ambitious fundraising endeavors, including the New Dimensions
  campaign, which has amassed more than $415 million to date; he
  has also overseen tens of millions of dollars in research
  expenditures, and his tenure has coincided with the advancement
  of several significant campus projects, including the opening of
  the Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences
  Building and the breaking of ground on the 12-acre Athenaeum
  cultural district; and
 
         WHEREAS, Dr. Benson earned his bachelor's degree in
  aerospace and mechanical science from Princeton University in
  1973, his master's degree in mechanical engineering from the
  University of Virginia in 1974, and his doctorate in mechanical
  engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in
  1977; prior to the start of his career in higher education, he was
  employed with the Xerox Corporation; in 1980, he became a
  professor of mechanical engineering at the University of
  Rochester, where he later served as an associate dean and chair
  of the Department of Mechanical Engineering; and
 
         WHEREAS, While at Penn State from 1995 to 2005, Dr. Benson
  headed the Department of Mechanical Engineering, later renamed
  the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering; he also
  served as dean of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech
  from 2005 to 2016, during which time that department achieved
  record growth; and
 
         WHEREAS, Dr. Benson has been honored on many occasions by
  the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, of which he has
  been a Fellow since 1998; he received ASME's Henry Hess Award in
  1984, and in 2009, he was elected to a three-year term on the
  organization's board of governors; he has further held editorial
  positions with several ASME publications, including its Journal
  of Applied Mechanics; and
 
         WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure as president, Dr. Richard
  Benson has worked tirelessly to elevate UTD's status as a
  first-rate research university and a premier institution of
  higher learning, and his achievements will continue to be
  appreciated for many years to come; now, therefore, be it
 
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 89th
  Legislature, hereby honor President Richard C. Benson for his
  outstanding service to The University of Texas at Dallas and the
  field of higher education 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 Dr. Benson as an expression of high regard from the
  Texas Senate.
 
  Johnson, Hall, Hancock
  Parker, Paxton, West
 
 
 
 
  ____________________________________________________________ 
       Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate
 
 
 
  ____________________________________________________________ 
       Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate
 
 
 
  ____________________________________________________________ 
       Member, Texas Senate               Member, Texas Senate
   
   
   
    ______________________________ 
       President of the Senate
     
         I hereby certify that the
    above Resolution was adopted by
    the Senate on February 4, 2025.
   
   
   
    ______________________________ 
       Secretary of the Senate