TITLE: Recognizing President William Powers, Jr., of The University of Texas at Austin.

SUMMARY: Recognizing President William Powers, Jr., of The University of Texas at Austin.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes pride in recognizing William Powers, Jr., president of The University of Texas at Austin, who has recently been honored in diverse areas of endeavor including winning an award for legal scholarship and being elected vice chair of an association of preeminent research universities; and WHEREAS, Bill Powers is a 2012 corecipient of the prestigious John G. Fleming Memorial Prize for Torts Scholarship; widely recognized as a leading American legal scholar, he was awarded the prize for his definitive interpretations of juridical concepts and for coauthoring a treatise on the general principles of tort law; his extensive writing on personal injury and emotional damages is considered one of the major achievements of modern jurisprudence; and WHEREAS, President Powers is highly respected for his leadership on issues related to higher education, and he was recently elected vice chair of the Association of American Universities; the association's programs encourage improved funding for research to enable leading universities to continue functioning as centers of innovation and scientific advancement; with his successful record as an advocate for undergraduate and graduate education, he enriches the association, bringing his expertise and keen intellect to bear on the critical task of maintaining financial resources for programs of advanced learning; and WHEREAS, President Powers has also been appointed as a member of a group of senior advisors to guide a new initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences entitled the Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education; this initiative seeks to advocate for the importance of public colleges and universities; as key engines of economic growth, innovation, and upward mobility, these schools are facing fundamental challenges from cutbacks in government support, competition from for-profit education providers and foreign universities, and emerging technological changes; and WHEREAS, Since 2010, President Powers has also worked to develop the Texas Higher Education Leadership Consortium with other key leaders from two-year and four-year Texas public higher education institutions and system offices, state policymakers and senior staff, and leading national experts in higher education policy, with the core purpose of cultivating effective collaborations and a sense of shared responsibility for increased higher education excellence, opportunity, and productivity in Texas; and WHEREAS, President Powers graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law Review;he joined the faculty at The University of Texas School of Law in 1977 and taught with distinction before being appointed as dean in 2000; he has been named to the university's Academy of Distinguished Teachers, is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and holds the Hines H. Baker and Thelma Kelley Baker Chair in Law; on February 1, 2006, he took office as president of The University of Texas at Austin; and WHEREAS, President Powers is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the author of dozens of books and articles on legal philosophy and the nuances of tort law; and WHEREAS, His dedication to a clear understanding of legal principles and the means by which they are translated into law has made Bill Powers a well-known and admired figure in the world of jurisprudence, and his commitment to the betterment of higher education through student diversity, increased funding, and curriculum innovation establishes him as a pacesetter in the realm of public university leaders; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 83rd Legislature, hereby congratulate William Powers, Jr., of The University of Texas at Austin on his many recent accomplishments and honors and extend to him sincere appreciation for his outstanding leadership; and, be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for President Powers as an expression of esteem from the Texas Senate. Eltife Hegar Nelson Whitmire Hinojosa Seliger Williams Huffman Watson Zaffirini Birdwell Estes Paxton Campbell Fraser Rodriguez Carona Hancock Schwertner Davis Lucio Taylor Deuell Nichols Uresti Duncan Patrick Van de Putte Ellis West Dewhurst, President of the Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on February 18, 2013.