Florida Senate - 2021                            (NP)    SR 2022
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodrigues
       
       
       
       
       
       27-02691-21                                           20212022__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing March 23, 2021, 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 tenth 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 students on August 25,
   12  1997, and held its first commencement in May 1998 with 81
   13  graduates, and
   14         WHEREAS, FGCU has been led by outstanding and dynamic
   15  presidents Dr. Roy McTarnaghan, Dr. William C. Merwin, Dr.
   16  Wilson G. Bradshaw, and Dr. Michael V. Martin, and
   17         WHEREAS, with the leadership and vision of current
   18  President Martin and the FGCU Board of Trustees, FGCU students
   19  have a clear pathway to success and the university is
   20  maintaining affordability for all students, and
   21         WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, evidenced
   22  by the university’s strong focus on providing the necessary
   23  academic resources and laboratory facilities for students to
   24  timely complete degrees from one of the university’s six
   25  colleges, and
   26         WHEREAS, FGCU boasts accomplished faculty members and
   27  dedicated staff who help students prepare for successful careers
   28  and meet regional and statewide workforce needs, and
   29         WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically grown into a regional
   30  university of nearly 15,000 students and today offers 63
   31  undergraduate, 26 master’s, and 7 doctoral programs; has 37,200
   32  alumni worldwide; and leads the State University System in the
   33  percentage of alumni employed in this state after graduation,
   34  and
   35         WHEREAS, FGCU has climbed 11 spots to No. 17 in the U.S.
   36  News and World Report Top Public School-Regional University
   37  South rankings and increased 4-year graduation rates by 13
   38  percentage points from 2013 to 2015, and
   39         WHEREAS, FGCU’s pathways to student success have led it to
   40  achieve national prominence in academics, environmental
   41  sustainability, and student service learning, with more than 3
   42  million service hours contributed by students to the Southwest
   43  Florida regional community since 1997, and
   44         WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
   45  learning, using the region as a living laboratory while offering
   46  students diverse opportunities to participate in meaningful
   47  research led by their professors while earning a ranking among
   48  the Top 50 Green Colleges, making it the only university in this
   49  state to make the list, and
   50         WHEREAS, FGCU has established The Water School, breaking
   51  ground on the new academic building in November 2019, to create
   52  a University of Distinction Program that will provide FGCU the
   53  foundation to pursue the designation of a recognized state and
   54  national leader in the area of water studies, focusing on local
   55  issues to address challenges throughout the world, and
   56         WHEREAS, FGCU has established the Daveler & Kauanui School
   57  of Entrepreneurship, bringing together students from all
   58  disciplines to develop products and business plans in a real
   59  world setting, leading to recognition by the Princeton Review,
   60  which named it the best such school in Florida and 29th in the
   61  nation, and more than 400 businesses have been started by FGCU
   62  students and alumni since August 2016, and
   63         WHEREAS, FGCU’s School of Nursing has 98 percent to 100
   64  percent certification pass rates and 100 percent postgraduate
   65  employment, and develops engaged leaders who deliver
   66  transformative care, conduct research, and promote evidence
   67  based practice through academic and community partnerships, and
   68         WHEREAS, FGCU’s Lutgert College of Business and Marieb
   69  College of Health and Human Services have launched Restart SWFL
   70  to help businesses respond to the impact of COVID-19 and get
   71  back on their feet and to improve consumer confidence, 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 demonstrate their academic strengths, and
   75         WHEREAS, the collegiate experience continues to enrich the
   76  lives of FGCU students and serve the surrounding communities
   77  through “The FGCU Effect” and the university’s longstanding
   78  commitment to promoting racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity
   79  on campus, NOW, THEREFORE,
   80  
   81  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   82  
   83         That March 23, 2021, is recognized as “Florida Gulf Coast
   84  University Day” in Florida.
   85         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   86  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Michael V.
   87  Martin, Ph.D., president of Florida Gulf Coast University, as a
   88  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.