HR1369 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1369 LRB097 23695 GRL 72769 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Al Bowman on the occasion of his retirement as President of Illinois State University; and

WHEREAS, Al Bowman earned his bachelor's degree in speech pathology from Augustana College and his master's degree in speech-language pathology from Eastern Illinois University; he later chose the University of Illinois-Urbana for his graduate work, where he earned his Ph.D. in speech and hearing science; and

WHEREAS, Al Bowman served as a staff speech pathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Danville prior to joining Illinois State University in 1978 as a faculty member in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology; in 1994, he was appointed to serve as chairperson of the department; he held the position for 8 years, while also serving as director of the Down Syndrome Speech-Language Clinic and continuing to teach a course each semester; and

WHEREAS, Under Al Bowman's leadership, the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology (now the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders) was awarded accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, faculty and staff scholarly productivity doubled, and the master's program rose in prestige to its current ranking as number 1 in Illinois; a doctoral program in audiology was added to the program during Bowman's presidency, one of only 5 in the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In the 2002-2003 academic year, Al Bowman left the chair position to serve as ISU's interim provost; he served as interim president of ISU from June 2003 until he became Illinois State University's 17th president on March 1, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Under Al Bowman's leadership, ISU has been transformed into a first-choice Illinois public university, ranking in the top 100 public universities nationally according to U.S. News & World Report; during his tenure as president, ISU achieved historic highs in freshman ACT average (24.3), freshman-to-sophomore retention rate (85%), and standard measure graduation rate (70.4%); ISU also constructed a $50 million Student Fitness Center/McCormick Hall, opened a new Alumni Center, renovated many classroom buildings, and completely remodeled 6 residence halls; he initiated the University's first-ever public/private student housing partnership, leading to a 900-bed, privately-owned, student apartment complex constructed on University-owned land; he instituted a salary enhancement plan in September of 2005 to close the gap with peer institution salaries in order to recruit and retain high quality faculty and staff at Illinois State University; since 2005, more than $3.7 million has gone into the initiative, on top of annual merit-based salary increases; privately raised funds and grant funding have also increased dramatically during Bowman's tenure; and

WHEREAS, Al Bowman was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Al Bowman is an avid outdoorsman; he enjoys mountain climbing, hiking, skiing, golf, and running 5 miles every day; and

WHEREAS, Al Bowman and his loving wife, Linda, have 2 daughters, Natalie and Laura; and

WHEREAS, Al Bowman serves as a model of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Al Bowman on the occasion of his retirement and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Al Bowman as a symbol of our esteem and respect.