Senate Bill sb2586

    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 2586

    By Senators Smith, Laurent, Campbell, Mitchell, Wasserman
    Schultz, Holzendorf and Dyer




    5-1978-02

  1                    Senate Resolution No. ____

  2         A resolution recognizing the University of

  3         Florida and celebrating March 6, 2002, as

  4         University of Florida Day.

  5

  6         WHEREAS, the University of Florida was the first

  7  institution in this state to achieve university status, and

  8         WHEREAS, the University of Florida is the state's

  9  largest university, and one of the top five universities in

10  North America, with more than 46,000 students, and

11         WHEREAS, the University of Florida is the most

12  comprehensive university in the state and one of the three

13  most academically diverse universities in the nation, and

14         WHEREAS, the University of Florida has earned

15  increasing prominence among nationally recognized research

16  universities since its admission nearly two decades ago to the

17  prestigious Association of American Universities, and remains

18  the only Florida institution so affiliated, and

19         WHEREAS, the University of Florida has awarded more

20  than 300,000 degrees and has more than 150,000 alumni living

21  in Florida, and

22         WHEREAS, the University of Florida has more National

23  Merit Scholars than any other institution in this state and

24  ranks in the top five in attracting these scholars among

25  public universities in the nation, and

26         WHEREAS, 17 University of Florida graduate or

27  undergraduate programs made a top-ten national ranking in the

28  latest U.S. News & World Report assessments, and

29         WHEREAS, the University of Florida was awarded $379

30  million in funding for sponsored research, and

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 2586
    5-1978-02




  1         WHEREAS, among many endeavors, University of Florida

  2  researchers are integral participants in the international

  3  search for a cure for cancer, the effort to unlock the

  4  mysteries of the brain, the designing of the world's next

  5  generation of microelectronics, and the building of bridges of

  6  understanding between peoples of our world, and

  7         WHEREAS, the University of Florida Health Science

  8  Center is the most comprehensive academic health center in the

  9  Southeast, encompassing six colleges, including Dentistry,

10  Health Professions Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary

11  Medicine and a statewide network of affiliated hospitals and

12  clinics, including Shands Hospital as the flagship teaching

13  hospital and the neighboring Veterans Affairs Medical Center

14  of Gainesville, and

15         WHEREAS, the University of Florida is the state's

16  oldest land-grant university and is the only university with

17  extension programs in every county, plus at the Seminole

18  Tribe, and

19         WHEREAS, the University of Florida, through the

20  Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences maintains an

21  active, people-directed program network reaching 1.5 million

22  participants and engaging almost 50,000 volunteers in urban

23  horticulture, youth and family development, nutrition

24  education, and natural resource enhancement throughout the

25  state, and

26         WHEREAS, the University of Florida has a total annual

27  economic impact of almost $3.2 billion, more than six times

28  the state investment of $511 million, and

29         WHEREAS, the University of Florida is one of this

30  state's leading cultural centers, which includes the Phillips

31  Center for the Performing Arts, the Samuel P. Harn Museum of

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2002        (NP)                      SR 2586
    5-1978-02




  1  Art, and the Florida Natural History Museum, which now is

  2  hosting the hugely popular "A Tyrannosaurus Named Sue"

  3  exhibit, and

  4         WHEREAS, the Northeastern area of the University of

  5  Florida campus is listed as a Historic District on the

  6  National Register of Historic Places, and

  7         WHEREAS, the faculty and staff of the University of

  8  Florida have recently shattered the initial 2001 University of

  9  Florida Community Campaign goal by donating more than $822,737

10  to local charities, NOW, THEREFORE,

11

12  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

13

14         That March 6, 2002, is celebrated as University of

15  Florida Day in recognition of the University of Florida's

16  academic achievements, outstanding private support, and

17  service to the state.

18         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution,

19  with the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the

20  University of Florida as a tangible token of the sentiments of

21  the Florida Senate.

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.