H.R. No. 1227

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice
	University in Houston is marking its 25th anniversary in 2019; and
	WHEREAS, Founded in 1993, the nonprofit nonpartisan think
	tank is dedicated to building a bridge between "the world of ideas
	and the world of action"; it bears the name of James A. Baker III, a
	native Texan who served as White House chief of staff and secretary
	of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan and as secretary of
	state and White House chief of staff under President George H. W.
	Bush; and
	WHEREAS, The institute has been led since 1994 by director
	Edward P. Djerejian; a diplomat under eight administrations, he
	held such key posts as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern
	affairs and ambassador to Syria and Israel; and
	WHEREAS, In the institute's early years, its research agenda
	was informed by Rice's geographic proximity to Mexico, the Texas
	Medical Center, and the global capital of the energy industry;
	Ambassador Djerejian's expertise led to the creation of the Center
	for the Middle East, and the institute's focus continued to expand
	significantly over the years; today, it encompasses 16 research
	centers and programs, and more than 50 research fellows, scholars,
	and other staff members work from the Rice campus headquarters,
	while dozens of faculty members also hold appointments with the
	center; and
	WHEREAS, Through research, analysis, and advocacy, the
	institute's scholars and fellows have sought answers to the world's
	most daunting policy issues, and their expertise has been sought
	after by journalists and decision-makers alike; Baker fellows met
	more than a dozen times last year with representatives from state
	and federal agencies, as well as with legislators and their staffs,
	and they testified at state and federal committee hearings;
	moreover, local, state, and national reporters turn to Baker
	Institute scholars for informed commentary on and context for the
	news of the day, and in the last fiscal year, the think tank tallied
	some 20,000 media citations; and
	WHEREAS, Recognizing its impact and public engagement, the
	University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies
	Program has ranked the Baker Institute third among all the world's
	university-affiliated think tanks; Rice students benefit from the
	presence of a policy-oriented "thought factory" on campus, and the
	institute's dynamic, wide-ranging speaker series is a boon to the
	public; a host of prominent statesmen, diplomats, religious
	leaders, writers, scientists, and artists have been invited to
	speak on campus, including Palestine Liberation Organization
	Chairman Yasser Arafat, Russian President Vladimir Putin, former
	Israeli President Shimon Peres, former Pakistani President Pervez
	Musharraf, former South African President Nelson Mandela, and the
	Dalai Lama; since its inception, the institute has hosted every
	living former president of the United States; and
	WHEREAS, For 25 years, the Baker Institute has been deeply
	immersed in our national conversations, providing scholarly
	expertise, empirical research, and insights born of firsthand
	experience on the issues that define our time and shape our world;
	now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas
	Legislature hereby commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding
	of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and honor
	its namesake, former secretary of state James A. Baker III, for his
	long and distinguished career in public service; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
	for Secretary Baker and Ambassador Djerejian as an expression of
	high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
	Davis of Harris
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1227 was adopted by the House on April
	17, 2019, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House