Full Text of HR0363 99th General Assembly
HR0363 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Robert A. Easter on the | 4 | | occasion of his retirement as President of the University of | 5 | | Illinois system, with main campuses in Urbana-Champaign, | 6 | | Chicago, and Springfield and programs that touch nearly every | 7 | | corner of the State of Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's distinguished service as the 19th | 9 | | President of the University of Illinois capped a nearly 40-year | 10 | | career at the State's flagship university, a global leader in | 11 | | education and research, and one of the nation's original | 12 | | land-grant universities; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's long association with the | 14 | | University of Illinois dates back even further, to 1973, when | 15 | | he left his native Texas to begin doctoral studies on the | 16 | | Urbana-Champaign campus after earning a bachelor's degree in | 17 | | agricultural education and a master's in animal nutrition from | 18 | | Texas A & M University, where he earned membership in the Phi | 19 | | Kappa Phi Honor Society; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter completed his doctorate in animal | 21 | | sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in | 22 | | 1976, and was immediately hired to begin his academic and |
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| 1 | | research career as an assistant professor in the Department of | 2 | | Animal Sciences, conducting research on and teaching about | 3 | | livestock feeding; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's teaching excellence earned | 5 | | numerous awards, including the Young Animal Scientist Award for | 6 | | Outstanding Teacher from the Midwest Section of the American | 7 | | Society of Animal Science, along with awards at the | 8 | | departmental and college levels at the University of Illinois | 9 | | at Urbana-Champaign; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's pioneering research has made him | 11 | | an internationally known expert in livestock feeding; he has | 12 | | participated in lectures, academic programs, and private | 13 | | consulting on swine-related topics across the United States and | 14 | | in 30 foreign countries; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's scholarship has advanced science, | 16 | | contributing to a book he co-authored on livestock production; | 17 | | he also wrote more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book | 18 | | chapters, and numerous papers for conferences and industry | 19 | | publications; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's expertise earned an appointment | 21 | | by President George W. Bush in 2006 to the Board for | 22 | | International Food and Agricultural Development, which advises |
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| 1 | | the United States Agency for International Development on | 2 | | issues relating to food insecurity in developing nations; he | 3 | | also served a term as chair during his service from 2006 to | 4 | | 2011; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's scholarship has earned him | 6 | | membership in prestigious professional societies, including | 7 | | the American Society of Animal Science and the British Society | 8 | | of Animal Science; he was also appointed to serve on the | 9 | | Illinois Council for Food and Agricultural Research, the | 10 | | Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation, and the | 11 | | Governor's Committee on China; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter has served the interests of the | 13 | | State of Illinois, the nation, and the world through his | 14 | | agricultural expertise; his contributions have been recognized | 15 | | with the Award in Nonruminant Nutrition Research from the | 16 | | American Society of Animal Sciences, the University of Illinois | 17 | | at Urbana-Champaign College of Agriculture's prestigious Paul | 18 | | A. Funk Award for contributions to Illinois agriculture, the | 19 | | Illinois Pork Producers Industry Spotlight and Industry | 20 | | Service Awards, and the Illinois Farm Bureau Charles Schumann | 21 | | Award, the Farm Bureau's highest honor and given in recognition | 22 | | of lifelong support for agriculture in Illinois and across the | 23 | | nation; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter shared his talents in leadership at | 2 | | the University of Illinois, serving as head of the Department | 3 | | of Animal Sciences from 1996 to 2001; he was also dean of the | 4 | | nationally-ranked College of Agricultural, Consumer, and | 5 | | Environmental Sciences from 2002 to 2009; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter's planned retirement in 2009 marked | 7 | | the beginning of a new chapter in his career that reflects the | 8 | | commitment and loyalty that stand as the hallmark of his | 9 | | service to the University of Illinois and the people of the | 10 | | State; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter delayed his retirement to answer the | 12 | | call when the University of Illinois needed his wisdom and | 13 | | steady hand during difficult times, serving as interim provost | 14 | | and chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus from 2009 to | 15 | | 2011; he later stepped out of retirement to serve as the 19th | 16 | | President of the University from July of 2012 to May of 2015; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter is the only person in the 148 years | 19 | | since the founding of the University of Illinois to serve in | 20 | | each of those critical leadership roles; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Under Robert Easter's leadership as President, | 22 | | the University of Illinois has continued its rise as one of the |
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| 1 | | world's premier universities, growing to a record 78,000 | 2 | | students across its 3 campuses, awarding more than 20,000 | 3 | | degrees annually, and increasing research funding to nearly $1 | 4 | | billion; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter has sought to expand the world-class | 6 | | facilities at the University of Illinois, playing a key role in | 7 | | projects that include the launch of Blue Waters, the fastest | 8 | | supercomputer on any college campus in the world; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter has been a steadfast advocate for | 10 | | the University of Illinois' land-grant mission of student | 11 | | access and affordability, holding tuition increases to their | 12 | | lowest levels in 2 decades during his term as President, | 13 | | including a tuition freeze for incoming, in-state freshmen for | 14 | | the 2015-2016 academic year; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter has been a champion for serving the | 16 | | needs of not only the students but the people of Illinois, | 17 | | seeking to drive progress and economic growth through the | 18 | | University's graduates and the innovation spawned by its | 19 | | research discoveries; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter served his country as an officer in | 21 | | the United States Army Reserve for 2 decades, retiring at the | 22 | | rank of Major; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, During his long, decorated career, Robert Easter | 2 | | has been supported by his loving family, including his wife, | 3 | | Cheryl; a son, Brian; a daughter, Johanna Robinson; his late | 4 | | son, Aaron; and 6 grandchildren, T.J. and Brennan Easter and | 5 | | Katelyn, Andrew, Olivia, and Josie Robinson, with whom he | 6 | | anticipates spending much more of his time; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Robert Easter embodies the qualities that the | 8 | | University of Illinois seeks to instill in every graduate - | 9 | | wisdom and integrity, leadership, a strong work ethic, | 10 | | respectfulness and thoughtfulness, loyalty and commitment, and | 11 | | deep devotion to serving the people of Illinois and our nation; | 12 | | therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 15 | | congratulate Robert A. Easter on the occasion of his retirement | 16 | | and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and | 17 | | be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to Robert A. Easter as a symbol of our esteem and | 20 | | respect.
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