Florida Senate - 2019                            (NP)    SR 1868
       
       
        
       By Senator Braynon
       
       
       
       
       
       35-04987-19                                           20191868__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution commending the leadership, faculty,
    3         staff, and students of Miami Dade College for their
    4         long-standing commitment to excellence and for
    5         receiving the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College
    6         Excellence.
    7  
    8         WHEREAS, the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
    9  is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and
   10  performance among state community colleges and is awarded every
   11  2 years to colleges chosen from a field of more than 1,000
   12  institutions nationwide, and
   13         WHEREAS, Miami Dade College was 1 of 3 Florida College
   14  System institutions selected from among the 10 finalists for the
   15  2019 prize, demonstrating that Miami Dade College is
   16  acknowledged as a national leader in higher education
   17  excellence, and
   18         WHEREAS, the Aspen Institute recognized Miami Dade
   19  College’s Student Achievement Initiative and Guided Pathways
   20  programs to align institutional practices and policies to
   21  student success, which have led to an overall
   22  graduation/transfer rate above the national average, with no
   23  attainment gap for students of color, who make up the majority
   24  of the student body, and
   25         WHEREAS, over the past 50 years, Miami Dade College has
   26  admitted more than 2 million South Florida residents and ranks
   27  first nationally in the total number of degrees awarded and in
   28  the number of degrees awarded to minority students, and
   29         WHEREAS, through innovative and trendsetting programs and
   30  academic pathways, Miami Dade College is preparing a skilled
   31  workforce ready to tackle in-demand jobs for the 21st century
   32  economy, and
   33         WHEREAS, recent economic impact studies show that Miami
   34  Dade College, its employees, and its alumni contribute more than
   35  $6 billion annually to the South Florida economy, NOW,
   36  THEREFORE,
   37  
   38  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   39  
   40         That the leadership, faculty, staff, and students of Miami
   41  Dade College are commended for their long-standing commitment to
   42  excellence and for receiving the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community
   43  College Excellence.
   44         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   45  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Eduardo J.
   46  Padrón, president of Miami Dade College, as a tangible token of
   47  the sentiments of the Florida Senate.