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1996 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 263
Commending Dr. Dana B. Hamel.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 26, 1996
Agreed to by the Senate, February 1, 1996

WHEREAS, Dana B. Hamel, executive director of the Virginia Center for Public/Private Initiatives located at Virginia Commonwealth University and chancellor emeritus of the Virginia Community College System, retired on December 31, 1995; and

WHEREAS, this distinguished Virginian has tirelessly served the Commonwealth for nearly 40 years, advancing the cause of higher education and economic development throughout his career; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hamel has most recently dedicated his considerable talents to bringing together public and private resources with higher education and to promoting economic growth opportunities through joint ventures among the private sector, the institutions of higher education and the government; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hamel is recognized throughout the Commonwealth for his distinguished leadership in the formative years of the Virginia Community College System, serving as its director and then chancellor from 1966 to 1979, when he was appointed chancellor emeritus; and

WHEREAS, even before his appointment to his critical role in the development of the Virginia Community College System, Dr. Hamel served as director of the State Department of Technical Education, which later became the Virginia Department of Community Colleges; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hamel led the Community College System from its developmental years to its place as a significant segment of higher education in Virginia, with 23 comprehensive community colleges located throughout the Commonwealth enrolling nearly half of all students attending public higher education and providing access to quality educational programs to virtually every citizen of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, the present Virginia Community College System continues to reflect the mission, the structure and the policies of his extraordinary vision; and

WHEREAS, his signature saying, "It's a great day to be alive in the Commonwealth," has come to represent his own unflagging spirit of dedicated service, for which the Commonwealth is truly grateful; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Dr. Dana B. Hamel on the conclusion of his illustrious career of service to the Commonwealth; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Dana B. Hamel as an expression of the General Assembly's gratitude and best wishes for a long, fulfilling and well-earned retirement.