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2018 SESSION

18106748D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 380
Offered February 27, 2018
Commending David T. Gies.
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Patron-- Toscano
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WHEREAS, David T. Gies, the Commonwealth Professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia who has enriched cultural life at the institution as a professor of Spanish and an expert on Spanish literature and contemporary Spanish film, retires in May 2018; and

WHEREAS, David Gies holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh; and

WHEREAS, a longtime professor at the University of Virginia, David Gies received the university’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 1992 and the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award in 2000; he is a former chair of the Faculty Senate and the former chair of the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; and

WHEREAS, David Gies was the first dean when the University of Virginia became the academic sponsor of the Semester at Sea program in 2007 and was dean on two subsequent voyages in 2010 and 2014; he has also lectured at universities throughout the United States, Canada, England, Italy, Germany, France, Argentina, and Spain; and

WHEREAS, David Gies has published 15 books and critical editions of Spanish literature and authored hundreds of articles and book reviews; he edits Dieciocho, a scholarly journal dedicated to the study of the Hispanic Enlightenment in the 18th century, and he created the Spanish cinema website Cine Con Clase; and

WHEREAS, David Gies has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, and the Spanish Ministry of Culture; he served as president of the Asociación Internacional de Hispanists from 2013 to 2016, when he was elected Presidente de Honor; and

WHEREAS, David Gies has received many awards and accolades for his contributions to academia and for his work to promote Spanish language and culture; in 2007, he was knighted by Juan Carlos I of Spain as a member of the Order of Isabella the Catholic; and

WHEREAS, throughout his 39-year career at the University of Virginia and 49 years overall in academia, David Gies has helped countless students expand their knowledge of other languages and cultures and become better citizens of the Commonwealth and the world; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend David T. Gies on the occasion of his retirement as Commonwealth Professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to David T. Gies as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his commitment to academic excellence and his work to provide unique educational opportunities to students.