Florida Senate - 2015 (NP) SR 1598
By Senator Richter
23-02251-15 20151598__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing March 24, 2015, 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 unserved region of Southwest Florida, and
11 WHEREAS, on August 25, 1997, FGCU opened its doors to
12 students and held its first commencement in May 1998 with 81
13 graduates, and
14 WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically grown into a regional
15 university of nearly 15,000 students and today offers 51
16 undergraduate, 28 graduate, and 2 doctoral programs, and
17 WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, with five
18 colleges providing relevant programs with an accomplished
19 faculty, small classes, and extensive individualized attention
20 to help students prepare for successful careers and meet
21 regional and statewide workforce needs, and
22 WHEREAS, FGCU has achieved national prominence in
23 academics, environmental sustainability, and student service
24 learning, with more than 1.5 million hours contributed to the
25 Southwest Florida community since 1997, and
26 WHEREAS, 400 acres of the FGCU campus are designated as
27 restored and preserved wetlands, and the university operates a
28 15-acre solar field that generates 85 percent of the electric
29 power for three academic buildings, saving $700,000 in energy
30 costs annually, and
31 WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
32 learning, using the region as a living laboratory while offering
33 students diverse opportunities to participate in meaningful
34 research led by their professors, who have conducted more than
35 $184 million in research and sponsored programs since 1997, and
36 WHEREAS, FGCU is a leader in the State University System of
37 this state, with alumni employed or continuing their education
38 within 1 year after graduation, and
39 WHEREAS, FGCU focuses on college affordability for all
40 students by maintaining its commitment to cost containment, and
41 WHEREAS, FGCU serves as a cultural hub for the region,
42 offering a wealth of enrichment opportunities that include the
43 visual arts, music, theater, public radio and television, as
44 well as athletics, and
45 WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletics program is a growing source of
46 pride for its many fans, with the women’s basketball team
47 winning the Atlantic Sun Conference title for five straight
48 seasons and in March 2015, ranking 20th in the nation in the AP
49 Top 25 poll, and the swimming and diving team claiming the 2015
50 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championship, its sixth
51 such win in 7 years, and
52 WHEREAS, in 2014 the FGCU men’s soccer team captured its
53 third Atlantic Sun Conference Championship in 4 years, the
54 women’s soccer team won the 2015 Atlantic Sun Championship, and
55 the men’s basketball team in 2013 made an unprecedented Sweet 16
56 run in the NCAA Tournament while establishing “Dunk City” as a
57 national favorite, and
58 WHEREAS, the collegiate experience continues to enrich the
59 lives of FGCU students through the university’s longstanding
60 commitment to promote racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity on
61 campus, NOW, THEREFORE,
62
63 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
64
65 That the Florida Senate hereby recognizes March 24, 2015,
66 as “Florida Gulf Coast University Day” in Florida, and
67 celebrates FGCU’s contribution as an outstanding institution of
68 higher education focused on student success.
69 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
70 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Wilson G.
71 Bradshaw, Ph.D., President of Florida Gulf Coast University, as
72 a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.