The History Department unanimously approved the following resolution on October 4, 2000, and recommends it to the Faculty Senate:

WHEREAS Dr. Thomas Tirado has retired from the History Department after 35 years of exemplary service; and

WHEREAS he is a specialist in Latin American studies, but also taught the history of the ancient world and was instrumental in incorporating non-European elements in Civilization survey courses; and

WHEREAS he emerged as one of the most dedicated and conscientious faculty members in devoting attention to departmental curricular and other business, serving on and in many cases chairing essential departmental committees dealing with promotion, tenure, curriculum, and assessment, combining this with service to the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and to the university community; and

WHEREAS from his first visits to Mexico he has been interested in the way in which peasant societies in that land were affected by forces of modernization. and as a result of numerous trips and interviews, utilizing the cultural anthropological skills he earlier developed, he published the highly acclaimed Celsa's World: Conversations with a Mexican Peasant Woman (1991; reissued 1995); and

WHEREAS with the approach of the 500" anniversary of Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas, Dr. Tirado began to devote his primary teaching and research interests to the period of early contact between the cultures of the Atlantic community, he designed, gained support for, and implemented a computerized Information Retrieval System (CIRS) on Columbus and the Age of Discovery, creating a massive data base of documents and secondary literature that became an indispensable tool for anyone studying the subject, which won numerous national awards and recognition as an exceptional web site, and Dr. Tirado became more prominent nationally and internationally, receiving speaking invitations, writing academic articles and reviews, critiquing book manuscripts, and participating in panels; and

WHEREAS the expertise with computer technology that he acquired in developing the system made him an invaluable resource to colleagues as they worked to master the technologies of the new millennium,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the History Faculty of Millersville University thanks and acknowledges its debt to him, and wishes him much continued success and happiness; and further,

BE IT RESOLVED that the History Department recommends that Thomas Tirado be granted the rank of Professor Emeritus.