Florida Senate - 2017                            (NP)    SR 1830
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       30-03218-17                                           20171830__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing April 6, 2017, as “FAMU Day”
    3         in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
    6  (FAMU) was founded in 1887, named a land grant institution in
    7  1891, and designated a university in 1953, and
    8         WHEREAS, as a historically black university offering
    9  undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degree
   10  programs, FAMU seeks qualified students from all racial, ethnic,
   11  religious, and national groups and has provided immeasurable
   12  educational opportunities for young men and women, and
   13         WHEREAS, academic components of the university consist of
   14  seven colleges and seven schools: the colleges of Agriculture
   15  and Food Sciences; Education; Engineering; Law; Pharmacy and
   16  Pharmaceutical Sciences; Science and Technology; and Social
   17  Sciences, Arts and Humanities; and the schools of Allied Health
   18  Sciences; Architecture and Engineering Technology; Business and
   19  Industry; the Environment; Graduate Studies and Research;
   20  Journalism and Graphic Communication; and Nursing, and
   21         WHEREAS, FAMU is a leading producer of African-American
   22  graduates with baccalaureate degrees and the top producer of
   23  African-American pharmacists in the nation, and
   24         WHEREAS, FAMU is a leading producer of African-American
   25  Ph.D. graduates in science and engineering, as noted by the
   26  National Science Foundation, and
   27         WHEREAS, nearly 48 percent of FAMU’s student body is
   28  pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and
   29  mathematics (STEM) or health-related disciplines, and
   30         WHEREAS, FAMU was recognized among U.S. News & World
   31  Report’s “Best National Universities” and was ranked as the top
   32  public historically black college or university in the nation
   33  for 2017, and, according to College Choice (2016), FAMU is one
   34  of the top picks for providing a high-quality education at an
   35  affordable price in Florida, and
   36         WHEREAS, 32 percent of FAMU’s students are first-generation
   37  college students, and 64 percent receive Pell Grants, more than
   38  any other public university in the state, which is a testament
   39  to the educational accessibility of the university, and
   40         WHEREAS, the FAMU’s Women’s Athletic Program earned a share
   41  of the 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Mary McLeod Bethune
   42  Women’s All-Sports Award, and, in 2016, the FAMU women’s cross
   43  country team won its fifth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic
   44  Conference Cross Country Championship, NOW, THEREFORE,
   45  
   46  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   47  
   48         That April 6, 2017, is recognized as “FAMU Day” in Florida.
   49         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   50  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Interim
   51  President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., as a tangible token of the
   52  sentiments of the Florida Senate.