Full Text of HR0129 101st General Assembly
HR0129 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Southern Illinois | 4 | | University on the occasion of its sesquicentennial | 5 | | anniversary; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1868, educators in southern Illinois held | 7 | | meetings throughout the area to discuss the need for a teacher | 8 | | training school in the lower half of Illinois; the General | 9 | | Assembly passed the charter establishing Southern Illinois | 10 | | Normal University on March 9, 1869, and the charter was signed | 11 | | by Governor John Palmer on April 9, 1869; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, The University opened in 1874, and the first class | 13 | | had 54 students; the first graduating class consisted of 143 | 14 | | students, including two African-American students; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Southern Illinois Normal University's enrollment | 16 | | grew, and by the late 1930s, the administration and alumni | 17 | | began petitioning the Governor and the General Assembly to | 18 | | expand the university's offerings to include liberal arts | 19 | | degrees in anticipation of increased enrollment following the | 20 | | conclusion of World War II; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, On June 30, 1943, the General Assembly granted |
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| 1 | | Southern Illinois Normal University the ability to grant | 2 | | liberal arts degrees and master's degrees in education; in | 3 | | 1947, the 65th General Assembly dropped "Normal" from the | 4 | | university's name, and it became known as Southern Illinois | 5 | | University; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Over the next few decades, enrollment and academic | 7 | | programs grew substantially, and university officials took | 8 | | notice of the lack of opportunities for higher education in the | 9 | | Metro East area; in 1957, the university purchased the defunct | 10 | | Shurtleff College and began enrolling and educating students; | 11 | | in 1960, land was purchased, and classes began at the Southern | 12 | | Illinois University at Edwardsville campus in 1965; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The University continued to expand and | 14 | | established the Southern Illinois University School of | 15 | | Medicine in Springfield in 1970; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Today, Southern Illinois University is a strong, | 17 | | diverse, student-centered, research-intensive, comprehensive | 18 | | university that embraces a unique tradition of inclusive | 19 | | excellence, innovation, and outstanding teaching to transform | 20 | | the lives of students; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University's 150th anniversary | 22 | | celebration includes a Day of Giving on March 6, 2019; |
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| 1 | | throughout the year, the University will celebrate with special | 2 | | exhibits, lecture series, and campus and community events; | 3 | | therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 5 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we congratulate Southern Illinois University on 150 years of | 7 | | service to southern Illinois and beyond; we admire their | 8 | | commitment to excellence in teaching and research and to | 9 | | providing a transformative educational experience for all | 10 | | students; we wish them 150 more years of excellence; and be it | 11 | | further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to President J. Kevin Dorsey as an expression of our | 14 | | esteem and respect.
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