HR 9053

1	House Resolution
2	A resolution commending Dr. Walter L. Smith for his
3	accomplishments in the field of education.
4
5	WHEREAS, each year, the National Education Association's
6	Applegate-Dorros Peace and International Understanding Award is
7	presented to an individual whose activities in education
8	contribute to international understanding and cooperation among
9	people and nations of the world, and
10	WHEREAS, this year's recipient of the award, Dr. Walter L.
11	Smith, has spent decades as a champion for education both at
12	home and abroad, and
13	WHEREAS, with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree
14	from Florida A & M University, Dr. Smith became a leader in
15	education, serving as Chairman of the Science Department at
16	Hillsborough County's Marshall High School, bringing about the
17	involvement of the first Black students in the Kennedy Space
18	Center programs, and assisting the United States Office of
19	Education in developing school district desegregation plans and
20	graduate education training centers for Black administrators,
21	and
22	WHEREAS, after receiving his Ph.D. in Higher Education
23	Organization and Management from Florida State University, Dr.
24	Smith became President of Roxbury Community College in Boston,
25	Massachusetts, and in 1977 became the seventh President of
26	Florida A & M University and served until 1985, and
27	WHEREAS, under Dr. Smith's presidency at Florida A & M
28	University, new colleges and graduate education programs were
29	established, the Presidential Scholars Program was created to
30	recruit some of the best and brightest students, student
31	services were improved, and major construction projects were
32	implemented in academic and athletic areas, and
33	WHEREAS, after leaving the presidency, Dr. Smith was
34	selected as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and, through his research
35	at the University of Malawi in Central Africa, brought about
36	innovation in graduate education at the university, and
37	WHEREAS, as an outgrowth of his work in Malawi, Dr. Smith
38	established an educational "think tank" at Florida A & M
39	University, called "Peoples and Places Around the World," and
40	WHEREAS, in 1987, Dr. Smith began providing educational
41	orientation to South African educators in preparation for the
42	transition from apartheid to democracy and led efforts in
43	developing a master plan for the implementation of community
44	colleges in the Republic of South Africa, NOW, THEREFORE,
45
46	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
47	Florida:
48
49	That Dr. Walter L. Smith is commended for his
50	accomplishments in the field of education and congratulated as
51	the recipient of the National Education Association's 2009
52	Applegate-Dorros Peace and International Understanding Award.
53	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
54	presented to Dr. Walter L. Smith as a tangible token of the
55	sentiments expressed herein.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.