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2012 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 389
Commending the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 17, 2012
Agreed to by the Senate, February 23, 2012

 

WHEREAS, in 2011 the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science celebrated its 175th anniversary of educating innovative engineering leaders and creating knowledge through research that significantly benefits the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819 as the first nonsectarian university in the United States and the first to use the elective course system; and

WHEREAS, in response to the needs of a nation embracing the Industrial Revolution, the Board of Visitors established civil engineering as a formal course of study in 1836, nine years after the first class was taught at the University of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, the creation of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia was a milestone in higher education as the fourth engineering program in the country, the first engineering school in the South, and the first successfully established engineering school at a comprehensive university in the nation; and

WHEREAS, the engineering program began with two faculty members and 50 students and has grown to 139 faculty members, 2,400 undergraduates, and 616 graduate students; and

WHEREAS, the School of Engineering and Applied Science now includes 10 undergraduate and graduate programs, four off-Grounds and collaborative programs, and eight minors; and

WHEREAS, students come to the School of Engineering and Applied Science from the top of their classes in the nation’s best high schools; and

WHEREAS, the School of Engineering and Applied Science provides a comprehensive educational experience for its students, 15 percent of whom study abroad, 30 percent of whom pursue a business minor, and 23 percent of whom hold minors in other areas; and

WHEREAS, research conducted by faculty and graduate students provides solutions to societal challenges including improving health, advancing the cyber and physical infrastructure, creating a sustainable future, and providing personal and societal security; and

WHEREAS, twenty-five percent of the 95 patents issued by the University of Virginia Patent Foundation between 2006 and 2010 were issued to the faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science; and

WHEREAS, the alumni of the School of Engineering and Applied Science have assumed leadership positions in engineering, business, public policy, education, and myriad other areas, and are leaders of Fortune 500 companies, deans of schools of higher education, astronauts, and successful technology and business entrepreneurs; and

WHEREAS, the School of Engineering and Applied Science has a history of supporting and promoting diversity: Robert A. Bland, the first African American undergraduate to graduate from the University of Virginia in 1959, holds an electrical engineering degree; Jill Tietjen, an alumna of the Engineering School who was recently inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, was among the first women to graduate from the University’s School of Engineering in 1976; Doris Kuhlmann Wilsdorf began her tenure at the University in 1963 as an engineering physics professor and became the first woman University Professor outside of the School of Nursing; the Center for Diversity in Engineering was established in 1986 as the Office of Minority Programs to provide support to K-12 prospective students, undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty; and about 30 percent of the undergraduate students are women; and

WHEREAS, on November 18, 2011, the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia dedicated the Rice Hall Information Technology Engineering Building, which will facilitate research and learning in information technology engineering; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend and congratulate the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science on the occasion of its 175th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude to the school for its commitment to preparing engineers for the Commonwealth and best wishes for continued success in the future.