TITLE: Honoring Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier for her service as president of Texas A&M University--San Antonio.

SUMMARY: Honoring Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier for her service as president of Texas A&M University--San Antonio.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Texas A&M University--San Antonio has greatly benefited from the dynamic leadership of Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, the institution's inaugural president; and WHEREAS, Dr. Ferrier assumed the presidency on February 12, 2010, having served for two years as executive director and interim president during A&M--San Antonio's transition from a system center to a stand-alone university; in addition to guiding the campus through that transformative period, she has provided effective stewardship of institutional resources and has nurtured strategic partnerships with businesses and community members as well as with local, state, and national leaders; committed to serving the needs of area students, she has worked to promote A&M--San Antonio's expansion from a center offering only upper-level courses to a comprehensive four-year undergraduate school; and WHEREAS, This esteemed administrator is a graduate of Our Lady of the Lake University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in speech and a master's degree in guidance and counseling; she went on to complete her doctorate in educational administration at Texas A&M and spent 20 years working as a counselor and speech therapist in San Antonio schools; and WHEREAS, In 1992, after working for the Corporation for National and Community Service under President George H. W. Bush, Dr. Ferrier was named Director of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs for the U.S. Department of Education; President George W. Bush appointed her in 2002 to direct an office within the department that focused on students with limited English proficiency; accepting increasing responsibility through the years, she was eventually named assistant deputy secretary of the department, and in that role, she served as a principal advisor to the secretary and as a liaison between the department and the business community; and WHEREAS, Dr. Ferrier's other accomplishments include helping to develop and implement such programs as City Year, a national service organization that became the model for AmeriCorps, and Partners in Pride, the first in-school mentoring program in Texas; moreover, she initiated the first elementary school chapter of Students Against Driving Drunk; and WHEREAS, Highly active in professional and civic groups, Dr. Ferrier has shared her expertise as a member of the Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors and as co-chair of the National Leadership Team for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; she currently holds seats on the boards of a variety of organizations, among them the Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio, the United Way of San Antonio, Southwest General Hospital, and the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce; and WHEREAS, Dr. Ferrier is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a 2011 Golden Deeds Award from the Administrative Leadership Institute, a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and a 2003 Hispanic Heritage Award from the Department of Labor; in 1999, she was selected as the first distinguished visiting professor for the doctoral program of the Center for Leadership Studies at Our Lady of the Lake University; and WHEREAS, Dr. Maria Ferrier has rendered outstanding service to A&M--San Antonio, and her vision and acumen are certain to be of tremendous value as the institution continues to build on its record of excellence; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby commend Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier on her contributions to Texas A&M University--San Antonio and extend to her sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Dr. Ferrier as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Farias Straus M. Gonzalez of El Paso Oliveira Allen N. Gonzalez of El Paso Orr Alonzo Gooden Otto Alvarado Guerra Paddie Anchia Guillen Parker Anderson Gutierrez Patrick Ashby Harless Perez Aycock Harper-Brown Perry Bell Hernandez Luna Phillips Bohac Herrero Pickett Bonnen of Brazoria Hilderbran Pitts Bonnen of Galveston Howard Price Branch Huberty Raney Burkett Hughes Ratliff Burnam Hunter Raymond Button Isaac Reynolds Callegari Johnson Riddle Canales Kacal Ritter Capriglione Keffer Rodriguez of Bexar Carter King of Hemphill Rodriguez of Travis Clardy King of Parker Rose Coleman King of Taylor Sanford Collier King of Zavala Schaefer Cook Kleinschmidt Sheets Cortez Klick Sheffield of Bell Craddick Kolkhorst Sheffield of Coryell Creighton Krause Simmons Crownover Kuempel Simpson Dale Larson Smith Darby Laubenberg Smithee Davis of Dallas Lavender Springer J. Davis of Harris Leach Stephenson S. Davis of Harris Lewis Stickland Deshotel Longoria Strama Dukes Lozano Taylor Dutton Lucio III Thompson of Brazoria Eiland Marquez Thompson of Harris Elkins Martinez Toth Fallon Martinez Fischer Turner of Collin Farias McClendon Turner of Harris Farney Menendez Turner of Tarrant Farrar Miles Villalba Fletcher Miller of Comal Villarreal Flynn Miller of Fort Bend Vo Frank Moody Walle Frullo Morrison White Geren Munoz, Jr. Workman Giddings Murphy Wu Goldman Naishtat Zedler Gonzales Nevarez Zerwas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1372 was adopted by the House on April 24, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House