Florida Senate - 2013                            (NP)    SR 1758
       
       
       
       By Senator Bean
       
       
       
       
       4-01732B-13                                           20131758__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing April 11, 2013, as “Higher
    3         Education Day” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Florida’s public higher education institutions
    6  educate more than 310,000 students annually in diverse fields,
    7  from archaeology to zoology, and prepare them for careers of
    8  accomplishment and service, and
    9         WHEREAS, the State University System of Florida is one of
   10  the largest public university systems in the United States,
   11  consisting of 12 institutions and 30 branch campuses across the
   12  state, and
   13         WHEREAS, the Florida College System consists of 28 state
   14  and community colleges and educates more than 900,000 students
   15  annually, including 65 percent of high school graduates pursuing
   16  postsecondary education and 82 percent of freshman and sophomore
   17  minority students, and
   18         WHEREAS, it is projected that graduates of the State
   19  University System and the Florida College System will continue,
   20  as they have in the past, to add value to Florida’s economy by
   21  virtue of their lifetime earnings, and
   22         WHEREAS, it is estimated that the present value of lifetime
   23  earnings attributed to State University System graduates
   24  employed in Florida will total $30.9 billion over a 30-year work
   25  life, or approximately $1 billion annually in 2010 dollars, and
   26         WHEREAS, Florida College System institutions are nationally
   27  recognized for excellence, with the Aspen Institute selecting
   28  Valencia College as the winner of the 2011 Aspen Prize for best
   29  community college in the nation, with outstanding academic and
   30  workforce outcomes, and
   31         WHEREAS, Santa Fe College, Miami Dade College, and Broward
   32  College have all been recent top-10 finalists for the Aspen
   33  Prize, and
   34         WHEREAS, this state’s public higher education institutions
   35  are known nationwide for offering students tremendous value for
   36  their education dollars, and
   37         WHEREAS, enrollment in the State University System totaled
   38  312,259 students during the 2009 fall semester, with more than
   39  90 percent of those students Florida residents and nearly 80
   40  percent of them enrolled in undergraduate programs, and
   41         WHEREAS, the State University System has an annual economic
   42  impact of nearly $80 billion and employs more than 58,000
   43  faculty and staff, creating more than 771,000 Florida-based
   44  jobs, or nearly 8 percent of the state’s total workforce, and
   45         WHEREAS, a compelling 7 percent of this state’s gross
   46  domestic product is directly linked to the State University
   47  System, which is significant given Florida’s ranking among the
   48  world’s top economies, and
   49         WHEREAS, this state’s public higher education institutions
   50  are leaders in their regions, providing academic, cultural, and
   51  economic contributions that enhance quality of life and build
   52  strong communities, NOW, THEREFORE,
   53  
   54  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   55  
   56         That we recognize April 11, 2013, as “Higher Education Day”
   57  in Florida.