HR0350 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Dr. Larry Mortier, Vice President for Advancement and Public Services at Western Illinois University, is retiring on August 1, 2005, by which time he will have completed 34 years in higher education, including 28 years at WIU; and

WHEREAS, He has served as executive director for the WIU Foundation since 1987 and was named vice president for advancement and public services in 1994; he provides administrative leadership for Western's development office, alumni programs, university relations, visual production center, scholarship office, marketing communications, and intercollegiate athletics; and

WHEREAS, He served as the University's chief development officer during the Centennial Campaign For Western (1995-2000) which generated $24.8 million in private gift support; private contributions to the Foundation in support of the University's programs and services totaled $6.2 million in fiscal year 2003-04, and the assets of the Foundation have more than doubled during his tenure as vice president, currently exceeding $20.2 million; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Mortier has been instrumental in the University and community's relationship with the National Football League's St. Louis Rams, who have held summer training camp at WIU for nine years; he has been Western's representative to the Macomb Area Economic Development Corporation (MAEDCO) since 1994 and currently serves as MAEDCO's vice president; and

WHEREAS, His 11-year tenure as vice president included the expansion of WIU Alumni Association programming and services, the growth of the WIU Foundation's scholarship program, the development of the University's official web site, the Visual Production Center transition of photographic services to digital format and enhanced large format display capability, and a year-long Centennial Celebration; he established the University's first governmental relations office and led the adoption of a formal integrated marketing approach to University communications; and

WHEREAS, Western athletics programs won five Mid-Continent Conference Commissioners Cups for overall program excellence, including 24 team championships, during Dr. Mortier's administration; the football program won five Gateway Conference titles and made six NCAA Division 1AA National Playoff appearances; he has strongly supported the institution's commitment to gender equity in athletics, which included the addition of women's soccer and golf; and

WHEREAS, Before being named vice president, he served as director of development at Western from 1986 to 1994 and as associate director of admissions for community college relations from 1983 to 1984; he was a member of Western's football coaching staff as assistant head coach from 1979 to 1983; and

WHEREAS, He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in education at Western in 1970 and 1971 and his doctorate in educational administration from Southern Illinois University in 1995; and

WHEREAS, His wife Sandy earned her bachelor's and master's degree at Western; she has been a teacher at St. Paul's Grade School for more than 25 years; the Mortiers have a daughter, Nicole, who is a physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and a son, Joe, who is a teacher and coach at El Dorado High School in Las Vegas, Nevada; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Larry Mortier on the occasion of his retirement and we thank him for his dedication and commitment to higher education and his outstanding leadership at Western Illinois University; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to him as an expression of our respect and esteem.