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2020 SESSION

20108344D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 146
Offered February 24, 2020
Commending Theodore C. DeLaney, Jr.
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Patrons-- Deeds; Delegate: Campbell, R.R.
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WHEREAS, Theodore C. DeLaney, Jr., a highly admired professor of history at Washington and Lee University, enlightened countless young minds over the course of his distinguished 35-year career in education; and

WHEREAS, a native of Lexington, Theodore “Ted” DeLaney attended the Lylburn Downing School in 1961 and subsequently began working in the facilities and maintenance department of Washington and Lee University, which did not admit African American students at the time; and

WHEREAS, Ted DeLaney later joined the institution’s Biology Department as a lab technician and benefited from a policy that allowed employees to take one class per semester for credit; he ultimately graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in American history in 1985 after becoming a full-time student at age 40; and

WHEREAS, Ted DeLaney taught at the Asheville School, a residential secondary school in North Carolina, then served as an instructor at his alma mater, Washington and Lee University, after receiving a doctoral degree from The College of William and Mary; and

WHEREAS, Ted DeLaney finished his dissertation while working at State University of New York at Genesco before returning to Washington and Lee University for the remainder of his career; he served as head of the History Department from 2008 to 2013, cofounded the Africana Studies Program, and offered his expertise to numerous committees, including the Commission on Institutional History and Community; and

WHEREAS, Ted DeLaney taught courses on Colonial North America, slavery in the Western Hemisphere, African American history, the civil rights movement, and LGBTQ rights in the 20th century, as well as a class on the bold idealism of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, one of his favorites; and

WHEREAS, in 2004, Ted DeLaney coordinated a symposium with prominent scholars to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education; and

WHEREAS, the following year, Ted DeLaney organized an event for local community members in the City of Lexington and Rockbridge County to share their personal experiences with desegregation that subsequently evolved into a series of oral history projects in other localities; and

WHEREAS, generous with both his time and wisdom, Ted DeLaney demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to and engagement with his students, and during his 55-year affiliation with Washington and Lee University, he was both a trusted mentor to his fellow educators and a vital source of institutional knowledge; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Theodore C. DeLaney, Jr., on the occasion of his retirement from Washington and Lee University; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Theodore C. DeLaney, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his contributions to the study of American history and service to generations of Washington and Lee University students.