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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Al Bowman on the occasion
4of his retirement as President of Illinois State University;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Al Bowman earned his bachelor's degree in speech
7pathology from Augustana College and his master's degree in
8speech-language pathology from Eastern Illinois University; he
9later chose the University of Illinois-Urbana for his graduate
10work, where he earned his Ph.D. in speech and hearing science;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, Al Bowman served as a staff speech pathologist at
13the Veterans Administration Hospital in Danville prior to
14joining Illinois State University in 1978 as a faculty member
15in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology; in 1994,
16he was appointed to serve as chairperson of the department; he
17held the position for 8 years, while also serving as director
18of the Down Syndrome Speech-Language Clinic and continuing to
19teach a course each semester; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Under Al Bowman's leadership, the Department of
21Speech Pathology and Audiology (now the Department of
22Communication Sciences and Disorders) was awarded

 

 

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1accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the
2American Speech-Language Hearing Association, faculty and
3staff scholarly productivity doubled, and the master's program
4rose in prestige to its current ranking as number 1 in
5Illinois; a doctoral program in audiology was added to the
6program during Bowman's presidency, one of only 5 in the State
7of Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In the 2002-2003 academic year, Al Bowman left the
9chair position to serve as ISU's interim provost; he served as
10interim president of ISU from June 2003 until he became
11Illinois State University's 17th president on March 1, 2004;
12and
 
13    WHEREAS, Under Al Bowman's leadership, ISU has been
14transformed into a first-choice Illinois public university,
15ranking in the top 100 public universities nationally according
16to U.S. News & World Report; during his tenure as president,
17ISU achieved historic highs in freshman ACT average (24.3),
18freshman-to-sophomore retention rate (85%), and standard
19measure graduation rate (70.4%); ISU also constructed a $50
20million Student Fitness Center/McCormick Hall, opened a new
21Alumni Center, renovated many classroom buildings, and
22completely remodeled 6 residence halls; he initiated the
23University's first-ever public/private student housing
24partnership, leading to a 900-bed, privately-owned, student

 

 

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1apartment complex constructed on University-owned land; he
2instituted a salary enhancement plan in September of 2005 to
3close the gap with peer institution salaries in order to
4recruit and retain high quality faculty and staff at Illinois
5State University; since 2005, more than $3.7 million has gone
6into the initiative, on top of annual merit-based salary
7increases; privately raised funds and grant funding have also
8increased dramatically during Bowman's tenure; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Al Bowman was honored with the Distinguished
10Alumni Award from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the
11University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Al Bowman is an avid outdoorsman; he enjoys
13mountain climbing, hiking, skiing, golf, and running 5 miles
14every day; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Al Bowman and his loving wife, Linda, have 2
16daughters, Natalie and Laura; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Al Bowman serves as a model of hard work,
18integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of
19Illinois; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that

 

 

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1we congratulate Al Bowman on the occasion of his retirement and
2wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be
3it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
5presented to Al Bowman as a symbol of our esteem and respect.