HR 9121 2003
1	House Resolution
2	A resolution recognizing April 15, 2003, as
3	"University of Florida Day" in Tallahassee.
4
5	WHEREAS, the University of Florida, Florida's largest and
6	oldest land-grant institution, a leading institution of higher
7	learning in the state, and the only Florida university honored
8	by membership in the prestigious Association of American
9	Universities, is celebrating its 150th anniversary during 2003,
10	and
11	WHEREAS, the university, Florida's largest, ranks third in
12	the nation of all AAU universities in bachelor's degrees awarded
13	to both African-American and Latino students and enrolls more
14	than 47 thousand students from all of Florida's 67 counties, all
15	50 states, and more than 100 countries, making it the fourth
16	largest campus in the country and one of cultural and
17	intellectual diversity, while also significantly extending the
18	ideals of the American and Florida higher education system
19	worldwide, and
20	WHEREAS, the university ranks first among all public
21	universities in the number of National Achievement Scholars
22	enrolled in the fall 2002 freshman class and second in enrolling
23	National Merit Scholars in that same class, and its outstanding
24	freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of 93 percent underlines
25	the outstanding quality of its entire academic experience,
26	including several top-20-ranked academic programs, personal
27	academic and career advising, and sophisticated online programs
28	that provide self-tracking of academic progress, and
29	WHEREAS, a center of distinguished colleges and highly
30	advanced liberal arts and sciences programs, the university has
31	been classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a top "Research
32	Extensive" institution, and its fine faculty, staff, and student
33	body have accomplished world-class results in numerous areas of
34	healthcare research, including dentistry, disease-combatting
35	genes, and a vaccine designed to defeat the spread of feline
36	immunodeficiency virus; in food and agricultural sciences, where
37	a product has been developed to more effectively reduce termite
38	devastation; in physical sciences, where a challenge is being
39	dared to develop the next-generation near-space transport
40	system; and in engineering, where efforts are being made to
41	apply computerized strategies to designing newer and safer
42	structures such as bridges and piers, and
43	WHEREAS, the University of Florida consistently excels in
44	its student athletics programs, creating exceptional
45	opportunities for young men and women to experience the joy and
46	rugged self-discipline of student athleticism, with results that
47	rank the school's overall intercollegiate sports programs as one
48	of the top five in the country, NOW, THEREFORE,
49
50	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
51	Florida:
52
53	That the House of Representatives recognizes the singular
54	contributions made by the University of Florida to the state, to
55	the nation, and throughout the world since its inception 150
56	years ago and enthusiastically recognizes April 15, 2003, as
57	"University of Florida Day" in Tallahassee.
58	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
59	presented to Dr. Charles E. Young, President of the University
60	of Florida, as a tangible token of the sentiments expressed
61	herein.