2007-2008 Bill 5174: Dr. Andrew A. Sorensen - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 117th Session, 2007-2008 3 4 H. 5174 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 House Resolution 9 Sponsors: Reps. Harrell, Merrill, Bingham, Agnew, Alexander, Allen, Anderson, Anthony, Bales, 10 Ballentine, Bannister, Barfield, Battle, Bedingfield, Bowen, Bowers, Brady, Branham, Brantley, 11 Breeland, G. Brown, R. Brown, Cato, Chalk, Clemmons, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Coleman, Cooper, 12 Cotty, Crawford, Daning, Dantzler, Davenport, Delleney, Duncan, Edge, Erickson, Frye, Funderburk, 13 Gambrell, Govan, Gullick, Hagood, Haley, Hamilton, Hardwick, Harrison, Hart, Harvin, Haskins, Hayes, 14 Herbkersman, Hiott, Hodges, Hosey, Howard, Huggins, Hutson, Jefferson, Jennings, Kelly, Kennedy, 15 Kirsh, Knight, Leach, Limehouse, Littlejohn, Loftis, Lowe, Lucas, Mack, Mahaffey, McLeod, Miller, 16 Mitchell, Moody-Lawrence, Moss, Mulvaney, J.H. Neal, J.M. Neal, Neilson, Ott, Owens, Parks, Perry, 17 Phillips, Pinson, E.H. Pitts, M.A. Pitts, Rice, Rutherford, Sandifer, Scarborough, Scott, Sellers, 18 Shoopman, Simrill, Skelton, D.C. Smith, F.N. Smith, G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, J.E. Smith, J.R. Smith, 19 W.D. Smith, Spires, Stavrinakis, Stewart, Talley, Taylor, Thompson, Toole, Umphlett, Vick, Viers, 20 Walker, Weeks, Whipper, White, Whitmire, Williams, Witherspoon and Young 21 Document Path: l:\council\bills\rm\1473dw08.doc 22 Companion/Similar bill(s): 1388 23 24 Introduced in the House on May 21, 2008 25 Adopted by the House on May 21, 2008 26 27 Summary: Dr. Andrew A. Sorensen 28 29 30 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 31 32 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 33 5/21/2008 House Introduced and adopted HJ-12 34 35 36 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 37 38 5/21/2008 39 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A HOUSE RESOLUTION 10 11 TO CONGRATULATE DR. ANDREW A. SORENSEN, 12 PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 13 UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT, TO 14 COMMEND HIM FOR HIS SIX YEARS OF DEDICATED 15 SERVICE, AND TO WISH HIM MUCH SUCCESS AND 16 FULFILLMENT IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS. 17 18 Whereas, it is with great pleasure that the South Carolina House of 19 Representatives honors those individuals who give tirelessly of 20 themselves to the welfare of this great State’s citizenry; and 21 22 Whereas, Dr. Andrew A. Sorensen, retiring president of the 23 University of South Carolina, stands among their number as an 24 outstanding public benefactor, one much admired in his role as 25 both teacher and administrator; and 26 27 Whereas, in preparation for his life’s work, he earned a bachelor’s 28 degree in ethics and master’s and doctoral degrees in medical 29 sociology at Yale University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in 30 history from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in 31 public health from the University of Michigan; and 32 33 Whereas, prior to being named the twenty-seventh president of the 34 University of South Carolina in May 2002, Dr. Sorensen served as 35 president of the University of Alabama, provost and vice president 36 for academic affairs at the University of Florida, executive director 37 of the AIDS Institute at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 38 and dean of the School of Public Health at the University of 39 Massachusetts at Amherst. He also has served as a visiting faculty 40 member at the Harvard University School of Medicine and the 41 University of Cambridge School of Medicine; and 42

1 [5174] 1 1 Whereas, author or editor of eight books and more than one 2 hundred articles, this Pittsburgh native has garnered numerous 3 awards during a long and illustrious career, including Yale 4 University Divinity School’s Alumni Association Award for 5 Distinguished Community Service, the Greater Columbia Chamber 6 of Commerce Ambassador of the Year Award, and honorary 7 degrees from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign and the 8 Medical University of South Carolina; and 9 10 Whereas, among his many other contributions to the State of South 11 Carolina and beyond are service as president of the Southeastern 12 Conference, chair of the Health Sciences South Carolina board, 13 and member of the National Board of Public Health Examiners; 14 and 15 16 Whereas, known among University of South Carolina students for 17 his signature bow tie, Dr. Sorensen has endeared himself to them 18 through his willingness to listen to their concerns. This genuine 19 caring and his well-known skill as an administrator have enabled 20 him to accomplish much in his six-year tenure at the university; 21 and 22 23 Whereas, he has pushed for research projects that have built USC’s 24 academic credentials, and his vision of Innovista, “the research 25 district of the next 100 years,” is attracting internationally 26 renowned scientists. An acknowledged bridge builder, he has 27 forged new relationships with sister research institutions in this 28 great State, as well as with local authorities, that have benefited all 29 concerned. As a result of his unceasing labors, the university is 30 more focused, energized, and ambitious than ever before; and 31 32 Whereas, at home, he and his wife, Donna, raised a fine family of 33 two sons, Aaron and Benjamin, and now enjoy the pleasure of a 34 grandson, Art. When leisure time offers, Dr. Sorensen sails, skis, 35 bicycles, and reads stories with his grandson. The Sorensens are 36 members of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia; and 37 38 Whereas, during his well-earned retirement, while the House 39 knows Dr. Sorensen will be teaching at the University of South 40 Carolina School of Medicine, the members hope he will find 41 himself bicycling more frequently with Art, whom he taught to 42 ride a couple of summers ago while on a family vacation in 43 Chautauqua, New York; and

1 [5174] 2 1 2 Whereas, having created a worthy legacy for his successor and set 3 the bar of achievement extraordinarily high, Dr. Sorensen will be 4 remembered with affection and gratitude by colleagues, faculty, 5 students, alumni, legislative friends, and the citizens of South 6 Carolina at large for years to come. Now, therefore, 7 8 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives: 9 10 That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, 11 by this resolution, congratulate Dr. Andrew A. Sorensen, president 12 of the University of South Carolina, upon the occasion of his 13 retirement, commend him for his six years of dedicated service, 14 and wish him much success and fulfillment in all his future 15 endeavors. 16 17 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to 18 Dr. Andrew Sorensen. 19 ----XX---- 20

1 [5174] 3