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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Barbara Whitney
4 Carr, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago
5 Botanic Garden, for her many years of service, on the occasion
6 of her retirement; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Barbara Whitney Carr has a Bachelor of Arts degree
8 from Denison University; prior to her tenure at the Chicago
9 Botanic Garden, she worked at the Lincoln Park Zoological
10 Society, where she was President from 1990-1994 and Executive
11 Director from 1975-1989; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Barbara Whitney Carr has been President and CEO of
13 the Chicago Botanic Garden since 1995; under her direction,
14 attendance at the garden has increased to 760,000 visitors
15 annually, and membership has reached 47,000, the largest
16 membership of any botanic garden in the United States; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Ms. Carr led a 10-year master development plan
18 which called for the construction and renovation of new
19 gardens, including the Buehler Enabling Garden, Spider Island,
20 the Esplanade and Waterside Terrace, Gardens of the Great
21 Basin, and the restoration of more than three miles of
22 shoreline; other capital projects completed during her tenure

 

 

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1 include the Botanic Garden Center, the 1.25 mile Garden Wall,
2 the Children's Learning Center, the renovation of the
3 100,000-square foot Regenstein Center, and the dedication of
4 the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic
5 Garden; and
 
6     WHEREAS, She initiated the creation of an Academic Affairs
7 program that offers a Master of Science in plant biology and
8 conservation through a partnership with Northwestern
9 University, a Master of Landscape Architecture through a
10 partnership with the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a
11 bachelor's degree in horticulture from the University of
12 Illinois-Champaign; she was instrumental in fostering a
13 partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to preserve
14 seeds of North American prairie flora and has launched a major
15 science initiative including collaborations with leading
16 institutions and the National Science Foundation that will have
17 global impact; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Ms. Carr oversees one of America's preeminent
19 public gardens that was the winner of Horticulture Magazine's
20 2006 Award for Garden Excellence, honoring the public garden
21 that best exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural
22 practices and techniques; she is this year's recipient of the
23 American Public Gardens Association's most prestigious award,
24 the 2007 Award of Merit, which recognizes an individual who has

 

 

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1 performed with distinction in the field of public horticulture;
2 and
 
3     WHEREAS, Ms. Carr is a member of the American Association
4 of Museums, the American Public Gardens Association, The
5 Chicago Network, The Economic Club of Chicago, The Commercial
6 Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Region Biodiversity Council;
7 she is on the Board of Directors of Ox-Bow (the Summer School
8 of The Art Institute of Chicago), Chicago Wilderness Magazine,
9 Lake Forest Open Lands Association, and Lake Forest College,
10 and has served on the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and
11 The Lincoln Academy of Illinois; therefore, be it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
14 congratulate Barbara Whitney Carr on her retirement, thank her
15 for her many years of service to the citizens of Illinois, and
16 wish her a happy and fulfilling retirement; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to Barbara Whitney Carr as an expression of our
19 respect and esteem.