Florida Senate - 2020                            (NP)    SR 1892
       
       
        
       By Senator Benacquisto
       
       
       
       
       
       27-02217-20                                           20201892__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing January 28, 2020, 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 10th public university, Florida Gulf
    8  Coast University (FGCU), to provide higher education
    9  opportunities and workforce development in the previously
   10  underserved region of Southwest Florida, and
   11         WHEREAS, FGCU opened its doors to students on August 25,
   12  1997, and held its first commencement in May 1998 with 81
   13  graduates, and
   14         WHEREAS, FGCU has been led by four outstanding and dynamic
   15  presidents: Roy McTarnaghan, William C. Merwin, Wilson G.
   16  Bradshaw, and Michael V. Martin, and
   17         WHEREAS, with the leadership and vision of current
   18  President Michael V. Martin and the FGCU Board of Trustees, FGCU
   19  students will have a clear pathway to success and FGCU will be
   20  able to maintain affordability for all students, and
   21         WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, which
   22  includes a strong focus on providing the necessary academic
   23  resources and laboratory facilities to timely complete degrees
   24  from one of the five colleges providing relevant programs with
   25  an accomplished faculty and dedicated staff to help students
   26  prepare for successful careers and meet regional and statewide
   27  workforce needs, and
   28         WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically grown into a regional
   29  university of nearly 15,000 students and today offers 58
   30  undergraduate, 25 graduate, and 6 doctoral programs, and
   31         WHEREAS, FGCU’s pathways to student success have led it to
   32  achieve national prominence in academics, environmental
   33  sustainability, and student service learning, with approximately
   34  3 million hours of service learning contributed to the Southwest
   35  Florida community since 1997, and
   36         WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
   37  learning, using the region as a living laboratory, while
   38  offering students diverse opportunities to participate in
   39  meaningful research led by their professors, and
   40         WHEREAS, FGCU has established The Water School, breaking
   41  ground on the new academic building on November 21, 2019, to
   42  create a University of Distinction Program that will provide
   43  FGCU the foundation to pursue designation as a recognized state
   44  and national leader in the field of water science, focusing on
   45  local issues but having the ability to address challenges
   46  throughout the world, and
   47         WHEREAS, FGCU has established the School of
   48  Entrepreneurship, bringing together students from all
   49  disciplines to develop products and business plans in a real
   50  world setting, leading to recognition by the Princeton Review,
   51  which named it the best such school in Florida and ranked it
   52  30th in the nation, and
   53         WHEREAS, FGCU strives to bring diversification of the
   54  economy to the region it serves through innovation in
   55  agribusiness, construction management, hydrology, environmental
   56  engineering, and public health, and
   57         WHEREAS, FGCU serves and engages its surrounding community,
   58  offering a wealth of enrichment opportunities that include the
   59  FGCU Research Roadshow, visual arts, music, theater, and public
   60  radio and public television, and
   61         WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletics programs continue to be a growing
   62  source of pride for their loyal fans, with student athletes
   63  continuing to demonstrate their academic strengths, and
   64         WHEREAS, the collegiate experience continues to enrich the
   65  lives of FGCU students and serve the surrounding community
   66  through “The FGCU Effect” and the university’s longstanding
   67  commitment to promoting racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity
   68  on campus, NOW, THEREFORE,
   69  
   70  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   71  
   72         That January 28, 2020, is recognized as “Florida Gulf Coast
   73  University Day” in Florida.
   74         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   75  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Florida Gulf
   76  Coast University President Michael V. Martin, Ph.D., as a
   77  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.