Bill Text: TX SR46 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Diana Natalicio.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-10-14 - Printed in full [SR46 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SR46-Enrolled.html
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| In Memory | ||
| of | ||
| Diana Natalicio | ||
| WHEREAS, An exemplary life dedicated to educational | ||
| opportunity for all has drawn to a close with the death of The | ||
| University of Texas at El Paso president emerita Dr. Diana | ||
| Natalicio on September 24, 2021, at the age of 82; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Born in St. Louis on August 25, 1939, Diana | ||
| Natalicio received her bachelor's degree in Spanish from Saint | ||
| Louis University and her master's degree in Portuguese and | ||
| doctorate in linguistics from The University of Texas at Austin; | ||
| she joined UTEP as an assistant professor of linguistics in 1971, | ||
| and after serving as chair of the modern languages department, | ||
| dean of liberal arts, and vice president for academic affairs, | ||
| she became the 10th president of the university on February 11, | ||
| 1988, and the first woman to hold the office; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Over the course of her extraordinary 31-year | ||
| tenure as president, Dr. Natalicio helped raise UTEP enrollment | ||
| from nearly 15,000 to more than 25,000 students, and she helped | ||
| increase the population of Mexican American students to 80 | ||
| percent of the student body; under her dynamic leadership, the | ||
| school's annual budget increased from $65 million to almost $450 | ||
| million, and she oversaw a tenfold increase in research spending; | ||
| the school also increased the number of its doctoral programs | ||
| from one in 1988 to 22 in 2019, and that same year, UTEP was named | ||
| a top-tier R1 doctoral research university by the Carnegie | ||
| Classification of Institutions of Higher Education; | ||
| Dr. Natalicio retired in August 2019; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A world-renowned leader in her profession, | ||
| Dr. Natalicio was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to the | ||
| Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic | ||
| Americans and by President Bill Clinton to the National Science | ||
| Board, which she served for 12 years, including three terms as | ||
| vice chair; she also sat on the boards of the Hispanic | ||
| Scholarship Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation, the American | ||
| Council on Education, the National Action Council for Minorities | ||
| in Engineering, the Association of Public and Land-grant | ||
| Universities, and the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science, among | ||
| many others; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Dr. Natalicio's numerous honors included the | ||
| Conquistador Award from the City of El Paso, the Academic | ||
| Leadership Award from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Orden | ||
| Mexicana del águila Azteca from the president of Mexico, the | ||
| TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, | ||
| the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, and induction into | ||
| the Texas Women's Hall of Fame; in 2017, Fortune magazine named | ||
| her one of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders, and in 2016, she was | ||
| included in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential | ||
| People; she received honorary doctorates from universities | ||
| around the world; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Diana Natalicio earned the respect and admiration | ||
| of all who knew her for her vision, her dedication, and her | ||
| commitment to a high-quality education for every American, and | ||
| she leaves behind a legacy that will resonate in El Paso and | ||
| beyond for years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th | ||
| Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life | ||
| and achievements of Dr. Diana Natalicio and extend sincere | ||
| condolences to her family and to her many friends and colleagues; | ||
| and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be | ||
| prepared for her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns | ||
| this day, it do so in memory of Dr. Diana Natalicio. | ||
| Blanco | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| President of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that the | ||
| above Resolution was adopted by | ||
| the Senate on October 14, 2021, by | ||
| a rising vote. | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| ________________________________ | ||
| Member, Texas Senate | ||
