TITLE: Congratulating Dr. Edward B. Burger on his appointment as president of Southwestern University.

SUMMARY: Congratulating Dr. Edward B. Burger on his appointment as president of Southwestern University.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Dr. Edward B. Burger, a nationally renowned scholar and educator, has been named the 15th president of Southwestern University; and WHEREAS, A native of New York State, Dr. Burger graduated summa cum laude from Connecticut College in 1985 and earned a doctorate in mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin in 1990; shortly thereafter, he joined the faculty of Williams College in Massachusetts, where he has since served in several leadership roles and where he presently holds the title of Francis Christopher Oakley Third Century Professor of Mathematics; and WHEREAS, Dr. Burger has earned widespread acclaim for his groundbreaking approach to teaching, which is guided by an educational philosophy that emphasizes failure as a valuable learning tool; a former stand-up comic and comedy writer, he has used his trademark wit to make mathematics come alive in the classroom, and he has written and appeared in hundreds of instructional math videos that have been seen by people around the world; and WHEREAS, In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Burger has authored and coauthored more than 35 research articles and a dozen books, including The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking,for which he won a Robert W. Hamilton Book Award in 2001; his most recent publication, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking,has led to speaking invitations from Microsoft, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and other organizations; he has delivered more than 400 lectures worldwide and appeared in over 40 radio and television broadcasts, among them NBC's Science of the Winter Olympics series, where he had a starring role that earned him a 2010 Telly Award; and WHEREAS, This exceptional educator has been appointed as a visiting scholar and professor at numerous institutions, including Baylor University, which in 2010 bestowed on him its prestigious national accolade, the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching; after subsequently teaching in residence for a semester at Baylor, he was appointed vice provost for strategic educational initiatives at that university; and WHEREAS, Dr. Burger's myriad honors also include several awards from the Mathematical Association of America and induction into the Fellows of the American Mathematical Society; he was the 2007 recipient of the Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine, and he was named "Best Math Teacher" in the 2006 Reader's Digest "100 Best of America" issue; in 2010, the Huffington Post designated him a "Game Changer" in the field of education, making note of his contributions to the academic dialogue on the nature of creativity; and WHEREAS, Over the course of his career, Dr. Edward Burger has established himself as a world-class scholar and an educator of immense talent and insight, and Southwestern University is indeed fortunate to have this visionary leader at its helm; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby congratulate Dr. Edward B. Burger on his appointment as the 15th president of Southwestern University and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued success in his new post; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Dr. Burger as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Farney Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 991 was adopted by the House on March 27, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House