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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, William Powers, Jr., president of The University of |
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Texas at Austin, has been honored in two diverse areas of endeavor, |
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winning an award for legal scholarship as well as being elected vice |
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chair of an association of preeminent research universities; and |
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WHEREAS, Widely recognized as a leading American legal |
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scholar, Bill Powers is a 2012 corecipient of the prestigious John |
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G. Fleming Memorial Prize for Torts Scholarship; he was awarded the |
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prize for his definitive interpretations of juridical concepts and |
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for coauthoring a treatise on the general principles of tort law; |
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his extensive writing on personal injury and emotional damages is |
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considered one of the major achievements of modern jurisprudence; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Respected for his leadership on issues related to |
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higher education, President Powers was recently elected vice chair |
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of the Association of American Universities; programs developed by |
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the AAU encourage improved funding for research to enable leading |
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universities to continue functioning as centers of innovation and |
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scientific advancement; with his successful record as an advocate |
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for undergraduate and graduate education, he enriches the AAU, |
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bringing his expertise and keen intellect to bear on the critical |
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task of maintaining financial resources for programs of advanced |
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learning; and |
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WHEREAS, President Powers graduated magna cum laude from |
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Harvard Law School, where he was managing editor of the Harvard Law |
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Review; he joined the faculty at The University of Texas School of |
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Law in 1977 and taught with distinction before being appointed as |
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dean in 2000; he has been named to UT's Academy of Distinguished |
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Teachers, is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and |
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holds the Hines H. Baker and Thelma Kelley Baker Chair in Law; on |
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February 1, 2006, he took office as president of The University of |
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Texas at Austin; and |
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WHEREAS, A Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the |
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author of dozens of books and articles on legal philosophy and the |
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nuances of tort law, he has shared his considerable skills while |
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serving on the boards of the National Center for Educational |
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Accountability, the Council of Public University Presidents and |
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Chancellors, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, and the Big 12 |
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Conference; and |
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WHEREAS, His dedication to a clear understanding of legal |
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principles and the means by which they are translated into law has |
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made Bill Powers a well-known and admired figure in the world of |
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jurisprudence; moreover, his commitment to the betterment of higher |
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education through student diversity, increased funding, and |
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curriculum innovation establishes him as a pacesetter in the realm |
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of public university leaders; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate William Powers, Jr., of The |
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University of Texas at Austin on his receipt of the John G. Fleming |
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Memorial Prize for Torts Scholarship and on his election as vice |
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chair of the Association of American Universities and extend to him |
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sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for President Powers as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |