[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E29]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING TEXAS-24 HOMETOWN HERO DR. RICHARD BENSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETH VAN DUYNE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 14, 2025

  Ms. VAN DUYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor our Texas-24 Hometown 
Hero, Dr. Richard Benson, president of The University of Texas at 
Dallas. In 1980, Dr. Benson began his career in higher education as an 
assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of 
Rochester. He quickly progressed, serving as the dean for graduate 
studies in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the chair 
of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. After, he spent 10 years 
heading the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical and 
Nuclear Engineering at Penn State, as well as 11 years as dean of 
Virginia Tech's College of Engineering. In 2016, Dr. Benson became the 
fifth president of The University of Texas at Dallas and has spent the 
past eight years overseeing monumental campus and academic growth.
  His tenure at UT Dallas has seen the construction of two million 
square feet of new buildings, including the Callier Center for 
Communication Disorders, Engineering and Computer Science West, 
Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, Brain Performance Institute, and two new 
student housing complexes. Additionally, Dr. Benson has elevated the 
university's innovative research by expanding its partnership with UT 
Southwestern Medical Center and opening a 150,000 square foot Texas 
Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building. Under his 
leadership, UT Dallas has experienced record enrollments, expanded its 
sports program, and has been recognized as a top value college by The 
Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, and Forbes, enhancing the 
university's reputation as an educational powerhouse in North Texas.
  I thank Dr. Benson for consistently leading with integrity and 
passion during his more than four decades of guiding and inspiring 
young minds.

                          ____________________