IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 844 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 20, 2009 Ms. Waters submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor RESOLUTION Honoring Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson for 31 years of service in Academia at Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC), in the Los Angeles Community College District, the largest community college district in the Nation.

Whereas, on November 5, 2009, Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson will officially retire from the Los Angeles Community College District; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson has provided over 31 years of service to the Los Angeles Community College District, the County of Los Angeles, international, national, and civic organizations; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson recognizes the importance of involvement by the community in cultivating integrity, commitment, and education within the Nation’s youth; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson’s dedicated service and commitment to the development and education of Los Angeles youth earned her the honor of being named recipient of the Esteemed Instructor Award as well as Outstanding Administrator Award for three consecutive years; Whereas during her tenure, Earnestine Thomas-Robertson has been a mentor, community organizer, and an inspiration to students, faculty members, and college staff; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson served 10 years as Professor of Political Science and International Relations, and Department Chair of the Behavioral and Social Sciences; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson conceptualized and developed innovative campus programs for students, such as the Business Opportunities Day, Vocational Education Day, Mock Trial, Women in Engineering Seminar Series, and the First and Second Annual Computer Integrated Manufacturing Conferences; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson authored the proposal and managed the College Workforce Competencies Program designed to prepare students with workforce competencies and entry-level job skills; Whereas in 2001, Earnestine Thomas-Robertson earned her Ed.D. in Institutional Management focusing her dissertation on Globalizing Community College Curricula; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson organized and developed 14 Strategies for The Development of the African American Manchild Conferences (at Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Compton Community College, El Camino College, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, and the University of Southern California) and 8 International Education Day forums with campus-wide participation at Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC); Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson served 5 years as Dean and Associate Dean of Vocational and Technical Education; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson established the Los Angeles Southwest College Council on Vocational Education to empower the community and promote responsibility and accountability; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson authored LASC’s first Tech Prep proposal and organized the Tech Prep Consortium in collaboration with four feeder high schools, the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Program, and local business and industry partners; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson managed two $5,000,000 grants in Special Funds, separate from the college academic budget, including a Department of Education Title III Grant; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson chaired the executive committee for the African American Civil Rights Complete Count Committee for the 2000 Census; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson received a commendation from the Los Angeles City Council for outstanding contributions to the City of Los Angeles and higher education; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson served 15 years as Curriculum Dean in Academic Affairs and facilitated the progressive Pan-American Studies Program; Whereas Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson provided 15 years of direct faculty supervision and consultation with department chairs regarding the preparation of the College Schedule, development of the College Operational Plan, and curriculum, academic, and budget management to ensure that college needs and resources were matched; Whereas in her capacity as Dean of Academic Affairs for Los Angeles Southwest College, Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson developed and presented a series of informative presentations on Performance Based Funding and California’s Partnership for Excellence Program for the College Council of Instruction; Whereas as Dean of Academic Affairs at Los Angeles Southwest College, Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson was instrumental in the relocation of instructional programs to new facilities (classrooms and labs) and the development of a new communications and technology infrastructure; and Whereas in her retirement, Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson will scribe two books and expand her role as servant leader to the Los Angeles-Lusaka Sister City Committee and the International Sister Cities Organization of Los Angeles with a particular emphasis on Africa and in that capacity she will continue to work with world leaders to promote the concept of interdependence among nations to further advance the art of negotiation and citizen diplomacy: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives honors Dr. Earnestine Thomas-Robertson for 31 years of service in academia in the Los Angeles Community College District.