Bill Text: FL S1282 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Seminole State College of Florida

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-04-08 - Adopted [S1282 Detail]

Download: Florida-2015-S1282-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2015                            (NP)    SR 1282
       
       
        
       By Senator Simmons
       
       
       
       
       
       10-00388-15                                           20151282__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution congratulating Seminole State College of
    3         Florida on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary, which
    4         will be celebrated on June 4, 2015.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, legislation creating a junior college in Seminole
    7  County was approved by the Legislature and signed into law by
    8  Governor W. Haydon Burns on June 4, 1965, and
    9         WHEREAS, on March 27, 1966, land was purchased for the
   10  first permanent campus of Seminole Junior College, as it was
   11  then known, and classes began 6 months later, on August 29, in
   12  22 portable buildings, and
   13         WHEREAS, reflecting its evolving mission, Seminole Junior
   14  College was renamed Seminole Community College on July 1, 1975,
   15  and Seminole State College of Florida on September 21, 2009, and
   16         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida has grown from
   17  its first enrollment of 754 students, and now serves more than
   18  30,000 students at campuses and sites in Sanford/Lake Mary,
   19  Altamonte Springs, Geneva, Heathrow, Oviedo and the Port of
   20  Sanford, and
   21         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida today offers
   22  more than 198 programs of study, including an Associate in Arts
   23  degree with 91 programs of study, 24 Associate in Science and
   24  Associate in Applied Science degrees, 64 college credit
   25  certificates and Applied Technology diplomas, 16 postsecondary
   26  adult vocational programs, a high school diploma program, adult
   27  basic education and GED programs, English language studies,
   28  apprenticeships and other workforce development programs, and 5
   29  bachelor’s degrees, and
   30         WHEREAS, in addition to its diverse program offerings,
   31  Seminole State College of Florida has a diverse student body
   32  that is 55 percent women, nearly 50 percent minorities, 42
   33  percent nontraditional students aged 25 and older, and 22
   34  percent first-generation college students, and
   35         WHEREAS, more than 50 percent of Seminole County Public
   36  School District students who go on to postsecondary education
   37  enroll at Seminole State College of Florida, and nearly 1,000
   38  military servicemen and servicewomen, veterans, and their
   39  dependents attend annually, and
   40         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida now draws
   41  students from 23 states and 75 countries and is ranked 15th
   42  among 1,167 colleges in the nation for the number of Associate
   43  in Arts degrees awarded annually, and
   44         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida has served more
   45  than 1 million student enrollments since its founding 50 years
   46  ago, growing from a graduating class of 112 students in 1967
   47  1968 to a graduating class of 5,955 in the 2013-2014 academic
   48  year, now with a total of more than 80,000 degrees and
   49  certificates awarded, and
   50         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida has established
   51  dynamic business, industry, and educational partnerships that
   52  enhance the region’s economic development and vitality, and
   53         WHEREAS, since 2006, Seminole State College of Florida has
   54  partnered with the University of Central Florida to offer
   55  DirectConnect to UCF, an award-winning program that provides a
   56  pathway to guaranteed entry to their hometown university for
   57  more than 9,000 qualified students at the college, and
   58         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida’s partnership
   59  with the Seminole County Public Schools is a national model for
   60  degree completion and provides pathways from high school to
   61  higher education and careers, and
   62         WHEREAS, over the past 9 years, alumni of Seminole State
   63  College of Florida’s Art and Phyllis Grindle Honors Institute
   64  include an Intel Science Talent Search finalist, a Truman
   65  Scholar, a New Century Scholar, and eight Jack Kent Cooke
   66  Undergraduate Transfer Scholars who have collectively received
   67  more than $1 million in scholarships, and
   68         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida has helped to
   69  develop and enhance the small-business community of Seminole
   70  County through its Center for Economic Development at Heathrow,
   71  supporting more than 4,000 clients since 2007 and adding more
   72  than $300 million to the economy of Seminole County, and
   73         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida has remained a
   74  distinctive cultural center that provides diverse professional
   75  and academic courses, programs, and events, and
   76         WHEREAS, Seminole State College of Florida awards nearly
   77  $80 million in financial aid annually, is the third-largest
   78  employer in Seminole County, and has an estimated $430 million
   79  positive annual economic impact in the county, NOW, THEREFORE,
   80  
   81  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   82  
   83         That Seminole State College of Florida be recognized for
   84  its outstanding service to the residents of Seminole County and
   85  this state and congratulated on the occasion of its 50th
   86  anniversary, which will be celebrated on June 4, 2015.
   87         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
   88  presented to the District Board of Trustees of Seminole State
   89  College of Florida as a tangible token of the sentiments
   90  expressed herein.