Florida Senate - 2017 (NP) SR 1794
By Senators Passidomo and Benacquisto
28-02400-17 20171794__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing March 28, 2017, as “Florida
3 Gulf Coast University Day” in Florida and
4 commemorating the university’s 20th anniversary.
5
6 WHEREAS, in May 1991, then-Governor Lawton Chiles signed
7 into law a bill passed by the Florida Legislature authorizing
8 the creation of Florida’s tenth public university, Florida Gulf
9 Coast University (FGCU), to provide higher education
10 opportunities and workforce development in the previously
11 underserved region of Southwest Florida, and
12 WHEREAS, FGCU opened its doors to students on August 25,
13 1997, and held its first commencement in May 1998 with 81
14 graduates, and
15 WHEREAS, in August 2017, FGCU will celebrate its 20th
16 anniversary, and
17 WHEREAS, during FGCU’s first 20 years, it has been led by
18 three outstanding and dynamic presidents: Roy McTarnaghan,
19 William C. Merwin, and current President Wilson G. Bradshaw, and
20 WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically grown into a regional
21 university of nearly 15,000 students and today offers 55
22 undergraduate, 30 graduate, 11 certificate, and 3 doctoral
23 programs, and
24 WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, with five
25 colleges providing relevant programs with an accomplished
26 faculty, small classes, and extensive individualized attention
27 to help students prepare for successful careers and meet
28 regional and statewide workforce needs, and
29 WHEREAS, FGCU has achieved national prominence in
30 academics, environmental sustainability, and student service
31 learning, with students contributing more than 2 million hours
32 of volunteer service to the Southwest Florida community since
33 1997, and
34 WHEREAS, FGCU started with land, consisting of 400 acres of
35 restored and preserved wetlands, and a grand plan, and
36 WHEREAS, FGCU operates a 15-acre solar field that generates
37 85 percent of the electric power for three academic buildings,
38 saving $700,000 in energy costs annually, and
39 WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
40 learning, using the region as a living laboratory while offering
41 students diverse opportunities to participate in meaningful
42 research led by their professors, who have conducted more than
43 $204.8 million in research and sponsored programs since 1997,
44 and
45 WHEREAS, FGCU has established the Institute of
46 Entrepreneurship, bringing engineering and business students
47 together to develop products and business plans in a real-world
48 setting, and the Emergent Technologies Institute, which provides
49 learning opportunities that will enhance the university’s
50 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
51 education and sustainability initiatives, and
52 WHEREAS, FGCU has one of only 19 PGA-accredited golf
53 management programs in the nation and the only accredited
54 program in Florida accepting enrollment of new students, and
55 WHEREAS, FGCU is a leader in the State University System,
56 with approximately 75 percent of alumni employed or continuing
57 their education within 1 year after graduation, and
58 WHEREAS, FGCU focuses on college affordability for all
59 students by maintaining its commitment to cost containment,
60 holding tuition at the same level for 4 years, and
61 WHEREAS, FGCU serves as a cultural hub for the region,
62 offering a wealth of enrichment opportunities that include the
63 visual arts, music, theater, and public radio and television,
64 and
65 WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletics programs continue to be a growing
66 source of pride for their loyal fans, earning 56 league titles
67 in the past 9 years and making 25 NCAA Tournament appearances in
68 the previous five seasons, and
69 WHEREAS, FGCU has had a total of nine student athletes who
70 have advanced to professional teams, and
71 WHEREAS, FGCU experienced international exposure at the
72 2016 Summer Olympic Games, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with
73 beach volleyball player Brooke Youngquist Sweat, a 2008 FGCU
74 alumna, representing the United States, joining two FGCU
75 swimmers, Lani Cabrera, Class of 2016, and Evita Leter, Class of
76 2017, and
77 WHEREAS, FGCU student athletes continue to demonstrate
78 their academic strength by earning an overall grade point
79 average of 3.24 for the 2016 fall semester, and their grade
80 point averages have exceeded those of the undergraduate student
81 body for 15 consecutive semesters, and
82 WHEREAS, the collegiate experience continues to enrich the
83 lives of FGCU students through “The FGCU Effect” and the
84 university’s longstanding commitment to promoting racial,
85 ethnic, and cultural diversity on campus, NOW, THEREFORE,
86
87 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
88
89 That March 28, 2017, is recognized as “Florida Gulf Coast
90 University Day” in Florida and that Florida Gulf Coast
91 University is celebrated on the occasion of its 20th anniversary
92 as an outstanding institution of higher education focused on
93 student success.
94 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
95 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Wilson G.
96 Bradshaw, Ph.D., President of Florida Gulf Coast University, as
97 a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.