HR1546 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1546 LRB094 20739 HSS 59057 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate Lake Land College President Robert K. Luther on the occasion of his retirement; and

WHEREAS, President Robert K. Luther will retire on June 30, 2006, after 18 years of service at the college; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Luther led a community college with a divided staff at a school with a declining enrollment, a large deficit, and a deteriorating campus to become a respected community college that is fiscally sound; the faculty and board of trustees are united, the school is now known for its beauty, and it is one of the fastest growing community colleges in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, During his tenure, enrollment at the college has increased by approximately 118 percent; this is due in part to Dr. Luther leading the charge for Lake Land to be one of the first community colleges in Illinois to incorporate distance learning into its offerings and to implement an online course delivery system that includes more than 160 courses developed by Lake Land faculty; the school is also the largest provider of postsecondary education to correctional centers in the State, serving inmates at eight correctional centers in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Luther provided the leadership to develop an Illinois Employment and Training Center/Workforce Development Center that has been hailed by Illinois officials as the State model; he is the recipient of numerous awards including the Agriculture Education Advocacy Award of Illinois and the Coles Together Person of the Year Award, and he was named the Mattoon Chamber Citizen of the Year in 2005; and

WHEREAS, He previously served as president of Columbia-Greene Community College in New York and was acting president and vice president of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg; he holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Illinois University and a doctorate from the University of Michigan; he and his wife, Judy, live in Mattoon and have two grown daughters and four grandsons; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Dr. Robert K. Luther on the occasion of his retirement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Luther as an expression of our esteem.