A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO CONGRATULATE DR. EVANS P. WHITAKER, PRESIDENT OF ANDERSON UNIVERSITY, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY AT THE HELM OF ANDERSON AND TO THANK HIM FOR HIS TWO DECADES OF DEDICATED SERVICE.

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is pleased to learn that Dr. Evans P. Whitaker recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his service as president of Anderson University; and

Whereas, a native of Shelby, North Carolina, President Whitaker earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Gardner-Webb University, followed by a master's degree in education from the George Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt University and a doctorate from the Vanderbilt University Graduate School. As the twelfth president of Anderson University, Dr. Whitaker has led Anderson since 2002 to be an academically selective and premier comprehensive university that transforms the lives of its students and equips them for leadership in the 21st century; and

Whereas, under his leadership, Anderson University has increased its enrollment by 164%, from 1,608 to 4,050. The school also has increased academic selectivity to the #3 spot among twenty-one private universities in South Carolina (Princeton Review). The campus has grown from sixty-eight to four hundred acres, and twenty-six graduate programs have been implemented, along with six graduate certificate programs. The school also has founded the South Carolina School of the Arts; and

Whereas, further, Dr. Whitaker has led Anderson through more than one hundred million dollars in capital improvements, including five residence halls, athletic facilities, two new academic buildings, a new library, and a new student center. He has seen Anderson recognized multiple times by Apple, Inc., as an Apple Distinguished School and has overseen the school as it initiated five new major academic units: the College of Health Professions, College of Engineering, College of Public Service and Administration, Center for Leadership and Organizations, and Center for Cybersecurity. Also under his leadership, Anderson has founded the Anderson University Undergraduate Center for Cancer Research and has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report in the top tier of America's Best Colleges and Most Innovative Schools; and

Whereas, Dr. Evans Whitaker serves or has served in numerous leadership capacities, including as a trustee for AnMed Health (Anderson's health system); chair of the Presidents' Council of South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities and of the Presidents' Council of the South Atlantic Conference; and member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities Board of Directors, Brookgreen Gardens Board of Trustees, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and Leadership South Carolina Board of Directors, among other positions of service; and

Whereas, the General Assembly, grateful for the legacy of consistent commitment and excellence Dr. Whitaker has upheld as president of Anderson University, takes great pleasure in wishing him well as he continues to lead this fine institution. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, congratulate Dr. Evans P. Whitaker, president of Anderson University, on the occasion of his twentieth anniversary at the helm of Anderson and thank him for his two decades of dedicated service.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Evans P. Whitaker.

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