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1996 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 358
Commending George W. Johnson.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 7, 1996
Agreed to by the Senate, March 8, 1996

WHEREAS, George W. Johnson, the president of George Mason University since 1978, will retire on June 30, 1996; and

WHEREAS, when George Johnson was appointed president, George Mason was a young college of approximately 6,000 students located in the booming suburbs of Fairfax County; and

WHEREAS, under George Johnson?s energetic and creative leadership, George Mason University has experienced exponential growth in size, academic reputation, and impact on Northern Virginia and the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, now enrolling over 23,000 students in 103 degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, George Mason University is widely recognized for the excellence of its programs and the innovative spirit fostered so successfully by its president, George Johnson; and

WHEREAS, shortly after George Johnson?s arrival, George Mason was accorded Division 1 status by the National Collegiate Athletics Association and was granted approval by the General Assembly for a law school and doctoral programs; and

WHEREAS, by the mid-1980s, George Mason University had attracted the Center for the Study of Public Choice, headed by a Nobel laureate in economics; founded the first of its eleven doctoral programs; and established its innovative School of Information Technology and Engineering, the first school in the nation to award a doctorate in the burgeoning field of information technology; and

WHEREAS, George Mason?s explosive growth during the early 1980s, expertly managed by George Johnson, continued with the opening of the Patriot Center, a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment arena; and

WHEREAS, more recent changes at George Mason University include the establishment of the Institute of the Arts in 1990, the opening of the New Century College and the new University Learning Center in 1995; and

WHEREAS, the University Learning Center, a unique and creative blend of library and student center, will be named the George W. Johnson Learning Center in April 1996, in honor of the man whose untiring efforts and remarkable vision did so much to bring it to fruition; and

WHEREAS, during his 17 years at George Mason University, George W. Johnson has wrought astonishing change, and the extraordinary institution that is George Mason University today exists largely due to the tireless efforts, prescient decisions and inspired leadership of George W. Johnson; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend George W. Johnson on the completion of a peerless career of service to the cause of higher education in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to George W. Johnson as an expression of the General Assembly?s heartfelt gratitude for his exceptionally successful tenure as president of George Mason University.