Full Text of SR0217 101st General Assembly
SR0217 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In 1868, educators in southern Illinois held | 3 | | meetings throughout the area to discuss the need for a teacher | 4 | | training school in the lower half of Illinois; the General | 5 | | Assembly passed the charter establishing Southern Illinois | 6 | | Normal University on March 9, 1869, and the charter was signed | 7 | | by Governor John Palmer on April 9, 1869; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The University opened in 1874, and the first class | 9 | | had 54 students; the first graduating class consisted of 143 | 10 | | students, including two African-American students; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Southern Illinois Normal University's enrollment | 12 | | grew, and by the late 1930s, the administration and alumni | 13 | | began petitioning the Governor and the General Assembly to | 14 | | expand the university's offerings to include liberal arts | 15 | | degrees in anticipation of increased enrollment following the | 16 | | conclusion of World War II; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, On June 30, 1943, the General Assembly granted | 18 | | Southern Illinois Normal University the ability to grant | 19 | | liberal arts degrees and master's degrees in education; in | 20 | | 1947, the 65th General Assembly dropped "Normal" from the | 21 | | university's name, and it became known as Southern Illinois | 22 | | University; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Over the next few decades, enrollment and academic | 2 | | programs grew substantially, and university officials took | 3 | | notice of the lack of opportunities for higher education in the | 4 | | Metro East area; in 1957, the university purchased the defunct | 5 | | Shurtleff College and began enrolling and educating students; | 6 | | in 1960, land was purchased, and classes began at the Southern | 7 | | Illinois University at Edwardsville campus in 1965; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The University continued to expand and | 9 | | established the Southern Illinois University School of | 10 | | Medicine in Springfield in 1970; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Today, Southern Illinois University is a strong, | 12 | | diverse, student-centered, research-intensive, comprehensive | 13 | | university that embraces a unique tradition of inclusive | 14 | | excellence, innovation, and outstanding teaching to transform | 15 | | the lives of students; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, This year, Southern Illinois University | 17 | | celebrates its sesquicentennial anniversary; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Southern Illinois University's 150th anniversary | 19 | | celebration included a Day of Giving on March 6, 2019; | 20 | | throughout the year, the University will celebrate with special | 21 | | exhibits, lecture series, and campus and community events; |
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| 1 | | therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 3 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 9, | 4 | | 2019 as Southern Illinois University Day in honor of its 150 | 5 | | years of service to southern Illinois and beyond; and be it | 6 | | further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That we admire their commitment to excellence in | 8 | | teaching and research and to providing a transformative | 9 | | educational experience for all students and wish them 150 more | 10 | | years of excellence; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the SIU System Board of Trustees, Interim | 13 | | President J. Kevin Dorsey, and Interim Chancellor John Dunn as | 14 | | an expression of our esteem and respect.
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