HR0467 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0467 LRB101 12880 ALS 61715 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Governors State University was established on July 17, 1969 by Governor Richard B. Ogilvie as a bold, new model for transforming lives through education in Chicago's South Suburbs; and

WHEREAS, Governors State University was initially known as the "university without walls" to reflect its unlimited potential and to commemorate opening the same week the United States sent Apollo 11 to the moon; and

WHEREAS, Over two decades, Governors State University transformed itself into a university with classrooms, structured programs, and letter grades while staying true to its version of serving nontraditional students; and

WHEREAS, Governors State University has since created a national model for serving adults and returning adults whose contributions as graduates and working professionals stimulate local, regional, and global communities; and

WHEREAS, Between 2011 and 2014, Governors State University reinvented itself once again with the creation of an award-winning, structured, four-year undergraduate program, the admittance of freshmen, the development of the Dual Degree Program (DDP), a nationally-recognized partnership with 17 Chicagoland community colleges, the building of the University's first living-learning community, Prairie Place, and the addition of NAIA intercollegiate athletics; and

WHEREAS, As the only public university in the area south of Chicago, Governors State University is an educational and cultural destination and serves nearly 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students who reflect the nation's new student majority, first-generation students, students of color, adults, and military veterans; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare July 17, 2019 as Governors State University Day in the State of Illinois and commend the University on 50 years of leadership, innovation, education, and excellence in the Chicagoland region, the nation, and the world; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Governors State University as an expression of our esteem and respect.