Bill Text: FL S1726 | 2023 | Regular Session | Introduced

Florida Senate Resolution 1726 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Florida Gulf Coast University Day

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-29 - Adopted [S1726 Detail]

Download: Florida-2023-S1726-Introduced.html

       Florida Senate - 2023                            (NP)    SR 1726
       
       
        
       By Senator Martin
       
       
       
       
       
       33-02346-23                                           20231726__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing March 28, 2023, as “Florida
    3         Gulf Coast University Day” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, in May 1991, then-Governor Lawton Chiles signed
    6  into law a bill passed by the Florida Legislature authorizing
    7  the creation of Florida’s 10th public university, Florida Gulf
    8  Coast University (FGCU), to provide higher education
    9  opportunities and workforce development in the previously
   10  underserved region of Southwest Florida, and
   11         WHEREAS, FGCU opened its doors to 2,584 students on August
   12  25, 1997, and held its first commencement of 81 graduates in May
   13  1998, and
   14         WHEREAS, FGCU has been led by four outstanding and dynamic
   15  presidents: Roy McTarnaghan, William C. Merwin, Wilson G.
   16  Bradshaw, and Michael V. Martin, and
   17         WHEREAS, with the leadership and vision of current
   18  President Michael V. Martin and the FGCU Board of Trustees, FGCU
   19  students have a clear pathway to success and an academic home
   20  that embraces college affordability for all students, and
   21         WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, with
   22  internships, credentialing opportunities, and a focus on
   23  providing the necessary academic resources and laboratory
   24  facilities to allow students to timely complete degrees from one
   25  of the six colleges providing essential programs, and
   26         WHEREAS, FGCU has an accomplished faculty and a dedicated
   27  staff who help students gain necessary skills and abilities to
   28  meet regional and statewide workforce needs, and
   29         WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically grown into a regional
   30  university of more than 16,000 students and today offers 63
   31  undergraduate, 26 graduate, and 7 doctoral programs and 18
   32  academic certificates, and
   33         WHEREAS, FGCU’s pathways to student success have led to
   34  national prominence in academics, environmental sustainability,
   35  and student service learning, with 4.4 million hours contributed
   36  to the Southwest Florida community since 1997, and
   37         WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
   38  learning, using the region as a living laboratory while offering
   39  students diverse opportunities to participate in meaningful
   40  research led by their professors, and
   41         WHEREAS, in 2022, The Water School opened its doors to
   42  create a University of Distinction program that will provide
   43  FGCU the foundation to pursue designation as a recognized state
   44  and national leader in the area of water, focusing on local
   45  issues to address challenges throughout the world, and
   46         WHEREAS, FGCU continues to work collaboratively with the
   47  State University System to meet regional and statewide workforce
   48  needs by graduating career-ready students from Marieb College’s
   49  School of Nursing, which has one of the highest first-time
   50  passage rates in the State University System on the required
   51  nursing licensure examination, and
   52         WHEREAS, FGCU has established the Daveler & Kauanui School
   53  of Entrepreneurship, where students chart their paths to career
   54  success, whether it be securing great jobs after graduation,
   55  creating startup companies, transitioning into family
   56  businesses, or starting artistic careers, leading the Princeton
   57  Review to recognize the school as the highest-ranked
   58  undergraduate entrepreneurship program in Florida and 15th in
   59  the nation, and
   60         WHEREAS, with more than 20 chapters around the nation, the
   61  FGCU Alumni Association has more than 42,822 members, with 70
   62  percent of graduates working in their respective fields of study
   63  and with more than 2,000 businesses started by graduates in
   64  Southwest Florida, and
   65         WHEREAS, FGCU strives to bring diversification of the
   66  economy to the region through innovation in agribusiness,
   67  construction management, environmental engineering, and public
   68  health, and
   69         WHEREAS, FGCU serves and engages its surrounding community,
   70  offering a wealth of enrichment opportunities, including visual
   71  arts, music, theater, and public radio and television, and
   72         WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletics programs continue to be a growing
   73  source of pride for their loyal fans, with student-athletes
   74  continuing to also demonstrate their academic strengths, and
   75         WHEREAS, the collegiate experience enriches the lives of
   76  FGCU students and serves the surrounding community through
   77  “Turning Ideas into Impact” and the university’s longstanding
   78  commitment to service, NOW, THEREFORE,
   79  
   80  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   81  
   82         That March 28, 2023, is recognized as “Florida Gulf Coast
   83  University Day” in Florida.
   84         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   85  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Michael V.
   86  Martin, Ph.D., president of Florida Gulf Coast University, as a
   87  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.