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Texas Tech University
Senate Resolution 47.01
(Stating the sentiments of the Student Senate to honor Captain Charles Bassett, Dr. Bernard
Harris, Colonel Rick Husband, and Colonel Paul Lockhart at Texas Tech University.)
WHEREAS, United States Air Force Colonel Richard “Rick” Douglas Husband was born on
July 12, 1957, in Amarillo, Texas, and from his childhood, dreamed of becoming an
astronaut, and
WHEREAS, Husband attended Texas Tech University where he was a member of the Air
Force ROTC, Tau Beta Pi, and ASME and received a Bachelor of Science degree in
mechanical engineering in 1980, and
WHEREAS, Husband flew on STS-96 and STS-107 and logged a total of 617 hours and 33
minutes in space, and
WHEREAS, on February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry
killing all 7 astronauts on the STS-107 mission, and
WHEREAS, Husband was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor
on February 3, 2004 by President George W. Bush – one of only 28 people to receive the
highest award given within NASA, and
WHEREAS, Husband was also posthumously awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal, the
NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, and
WHEREAS, Texas Tech University has not sufficiently paid respect to our own national
hero, and
WHEREAS, United States Air Force Captain Charles Arthur Bassett, II was born on
December 30, 1931 in Dayton, Ohio, and
WHEREAS, Bassett attended Texas Tech University (then Texas Technological College)
where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering with honors in
1960, and
WHEREAS, Bassett was selected as pilot of the Gemini 9 mission but died on February 28,
1966 in the crash of a T-38 trainer jet and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, and
WHEREAS, in 1996, Texas Tech University dedicated an electrical engineering research
laboratory in Bassett’s honor, and
WHEREAS, Dr. Bernard Anthony Harris, Jr. was born on February 9, 1995, in Temple,
Texas, and
WHEREAS, Harris attended the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of
Medicine where he received a MD degree in 1982, and
WHEREAS, Harris, on his second mission – STS-63, became the first African American to
perform an extra-vehicular activity (spacewalk) and logged a total of 438 hours and 8
minutes in space, and
WHEREAS, United States Air Force (Retired) Colonel Paul Scott Lockhart was born on
April 28, 1956, in Amarillo, Texas, and
WHEREAS, Lockhart attended Texas Tech University and he received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in mathematics in 1978, and
WHEREAS, Lockhart flew on both STS-111 and STS-113 to the International Space Station
and logged a total of 663 hours and 23 minutes in space, and
WHEREAS, Lockhart is a distinguished airman and astronaut and recipient of numerous
awards and medals, and
WHEREAS, the Texas Tech University tradition of astronauts has not been honored.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of Texas Tech University
supports and encourages the university administration to honor Colonel Husband by naming
the department of Mechanical Engineering the “Richard D. Husband Department of
Mechanical Engineering”, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of Texas Tech University supports
and encourages the university administration to honor Captain Bassett, Dr. Harris, Colonel
Husband, Colonel Lockhart through the creation of a memorial in the Engineering Key, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution be spread upon the Journal and that
copies be sent to the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents; Dr. Guy Bailey,
President of Texas Tech University; Mr. Kent Hance, Chancellor of the Texas Tech
University System; Dr. Bob Smith, Provost and Senior Vice President; Dr. Albert Sacco,
Jr., Dean of the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering; Dr. Jharna Chaudhuri,
Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering; Allyson Keslin, Public Art Manager at
Facilities Planning and Construction; Dr. Juan Muñoz, Vice President for Institutional
Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement and Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Education and Student Affairs; Kevin Cullen, Editor of The Daily Toreador, and to the
students of Texas Tech University.
Authors: PIPPEN
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
21 April 2011
CC: Journal
____________________________
Alex Moore
President, Student Senate