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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The students, faculty, and staff of Our Lady of the |
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Lake University in San Antonio are celebrating the school's 130th |
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anniversary on February 22, 2025; and |
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WHEREAS, Founded by the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine |
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Providence, OLLU was built on a parcel of land gifted to the order |
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by Mayor Henry Elmendorf; construction on its main building broke |
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ground on August 14, 1895, and it opened a year later as Our Lady of |
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the Lake Academy, an all-girls high school; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1911, the school transitioned into Our Lady of |
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the Lake College, a two-year program for women; it awarded its first |
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bachelor's degree in 1912, and by 1919, it had expanded into a |
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four-year program and earned membership in the Texas Association of |
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Colleges; over the course of the ensuing decade, it became the first |
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San Antonio institution of higher education to receive regional |
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accreditation and the third Texas school to be approved by the |
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American Association of Universities; and |
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WHEREAS, The college's programs were made fully |
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coeducational in 1969, and it was renamed Our Lady of the Lake |
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University of San Antonio in 1975; the school introduced its |
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weekend college program that same decade, becoming the first in the |
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region to offer adult students the option to complete a degree while |
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maintaining full-time employment; the program was later expanded to |
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the university's Houston and Rio Grande Valley campuses; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 2000s, OLLU saw the establishment of its |
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first athletic programs, as well as renovations to its main |
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building and the adjacent Lake Elmendorf Park; the school was |
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designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber |
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Defense Education in 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Our Lady of the Lake serves nearly 2,000 |
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students and offers more than 70 undergraduate, 15 graduate, and 4 |
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doctoral programs across its three campuses; it benefits from the |
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leadership of President Abel A. Chávez, and since his appointment |
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in 2022, the school has raised more than $31 million, launched new |
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programs, and created additional scholarships; and |
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WHEREAS, For well over a century, Our Lady of the Lake |
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University has provided its students with an education that has |
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enriched them both academically and personally, and in so doing, it |
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has made important contributions to Texas and the world beyond; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature |
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hereby commemorate the 130th anniversary of Our Lady of the Lake |
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University and extend to all those associated with the institution |
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sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for OLLU as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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Senate. |