SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

1998 SESSION

984302152
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 132
Offered January 23, 1998
Commending James I. Robertson, Jr.
----------

Patrons-- Clement, Abbitt, Albo, Almand, Armstrong, Baker, Barlow, Behm, Bennett, Bloxom, Callahan, Christian, Councill, Cox, Cranwell, Croshaw, Darner, Day, Deeds, Diamonstein, Dickinson, Dillard, Drake, Dudley, Grayson, Griffith, Guest, Hall, Hamilton, Hargrove, Howell, Hull, Jackson, Joannou, Johnson, Keating, Kilgore, Marshall, May, McDonnell, Moran, Morgan, Moss, Murphy, O'Brien, Orrock, Parrish, Phillips, Plum, Puller, Putney, Rhodes, Robinson, Rollison, Ruff, Rust, Scott, Sherwood, Shuler, Stump, Tata, Tate, Thomas, Van Landingham, Wardrup, Ware, Watts, Weatherholtz, Wilkins and Woodrum; Senators: Chichester, Edwards, Gartlan, Hanger, Hawkins, Holland, Howell, Lambert, Marye, Miller, K.G., Reasor, Reynolds, Trumbo, Walker, Watkins and Whipple
----------

WHEREAS, James I. Robertson, Jr., for three decades a professor of history at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, has established a reputation as one of the leading Civil War scholars in the nation; and

WHEREAS, that reputation was enhanced with the recent publication of Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Soldier, The Legend, a work hailed nationwide as the definitive biography of the legendary Civil War general; and

WHEREAS, a native of Danville, James Robertson earned his undergraduate degree at Randolph Macon College and his masters' degree at Emory University; and

WHEREAS, Professor Robertson's first job, following completion of his doctorate at Emory University, was editing Civil War History, at the time the only scholarly journal devoted to the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, in 1961, Professor Robertson was appointed by President Kennedy to head the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission, the federal agency entrusted with commemorating nationwide the 100th anniversary of the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, a professor of history at Virginia Tech for 30 years, Professor Robertson combines his unmatched scholarship with an innate talent for teaching and has been for many years among the most popular teachers on the Tech campus; and

WHEREAS, over the years, Professor Robertson has provided to over 13,000 students a unique and invaluable understanding of one of the seminal events in the history of this country, and most of those students remember his classes with great fondness and gratitude; and

WHEREAS, in addition to his extraordinary teaching abilities, Professor Robertson has built an enviable national reputation as a scholar, publishing 13 books and innumerable articles in both scholarly and popular journals; and

WHEREAS, his books and articles, combined with numerous appearances on television and radio and with his summer education programs, have made Professor Robertson one of the most recognizable and popular of historians and have earned him the unofficial but highly appropriate title of the "People's Historian"; and

WHEREAS, the acclaim surrounding the publication of the Stonewall Jackson biography has brought Professor Robertson to the forefront among Civil War scholars once again, but his decades of award-winning teaching and writing are clear indications that he has been there all along; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend James I. Robertson, Jr., for his sterling career of service to Virginia Tech, to the Commonwealth, and to the nation; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to James I. Robertson, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration and gratitude for his extraordinary career as scholar, teacher, and gentleman.