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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
| 3 | to learn of the death of William M. Patterson, Ph.D., who | ||||||
| 4 | passed away on April 2, 2024; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson, a native of Urbana, earned his | ||||||
| 6 | Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson worked as a clinical associate | ||||||
| 9 | professor in the School of Music, College of Fine & Applied | ||||||
| 10 | Arts at UIUC, and he also served as an adjunct lecturer in the | ||||||
| 11 | School of Information Sciences and the College of | ||||||
| 12 | Engineering's Technology Entrepreneurship Center; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson was heavily involved with Illinois | ||||||
| 14 | Public Media, serving on the Community Advisory Board for | ||||||
| 15 | Illinois Soul, the Black-focused radio service from Illinois | ||||||
| 16 | Public Media that launched in February 2024; he also | ||||||
| 17 | co-created Illinois Public Media's Youth Media Workshop, | ||||||
| 18 | providing instruction to local Black youth on how to turn | ||||||
| 19 | interviews with their elders into stories for WILL radio and | ||||||
| 20 | television; and | ||||||
| 21 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson served in many other positions | ||||||
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| 1 | around the Champaign-Urbana area, including associate director | ||||||
| 2 | of the Bruce Nesbitt African American Cultural Center on the | ||||||
| 3 | UIUC campus and chief teen officer at the Don Moyer Boys and | ||||||
| 4 | Girls Club in Champaign; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson was the recipient of a number of | ||||||
| 6 | accolades; at the time of his passing, he was to receive the | ||||||
| 7 | Distinguished Alumni Award from the Champaign Urbana Schools | ||||||
| 8 | Foundation; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson, affectionately known as "Dr. P", | ||||||
| 10 | was an educator who worked tirelessly to bring STEAM (science, | ||||||
| 11 | technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education to | ||||||
| 12 | under-resourced Black neighborhoods and to empower students to | ||||||
| 13 | tell their own stories through his Hip Hop Xpress Double Dutch | ||||||
| 14 | Boom Bus Innovation Lab & Data Center; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson will be remembered for his | ||||||
| 16 | contributions to youth education and the arts; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Dr. Patterson is survived by his wife, Lori Gold | ||||||
| 18 | Patterson; three children; a grandchild; and a sister; | ||||||
| 19 | therefore, be it | ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 21 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
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| 1 | William M. Patterson, Ph.D. and extend our sincere condolences | ||||||
| 2 | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be | ||||||
| 3 | it further | ||||||
| 4 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 5 | presented to the family of Dr. Patterson as an expression of | ||||||
| 6 | our deepest sympathy. | ||||||