Florida Senate - 2020                            (NP)    SR 1902
       
       
        
       By Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       
       3-02392-20                                            20201902__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing February 12, 2020, as FSU Day
    3         in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, the Tallahassee campus of Florida State
    6  University, founded in 1851, is the oldest continuous site of
    7  higher education in Florida, and
    8         WHEREAS, Florida State University is proud to be recognized
    9  as a Preeminent University by the State of Florida, and as a
   10  leader in education, research, student retention, and
   11  graduation, and
   12         WHEREAS, Florida State University is a nationally
   13  recognized institution with many of its colleges and programs
   14  ranked within the top 10 in the nation, and
   15         WHEREAS, in 2019, Florida State University jumped to No. 18
   16  among national public universities in the U.S. News and World
   17  Report rankings, after moving up 25 places since 2016, and
   18         WHEREAS, in 2019, Florida State University was ranked as
   19  the No. 3 best value among public colleges for out-of-state
   20  students and the No. 9 best value among public colleges for in
   21  state students by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance “Best College
   22  Value,” and
   23         WHEREAS, Florida State University has a 4-year graduation
   24  rate of 71.5 percent, making it the highest in the state and
   25  placing it in the top 10 among public research institutions, and
   26         WHEREAS, Florida State University offers graduate,
   27  undergraduate, doctoral, and professional degrees in 306
   28  programs within 19 independent colleges and schools which are
   29  taught by 2,086 faculty members, including National Academy of
   30  Sciences members and 6 Nobel Laureates, and has created a
   31  student-to-faculty ratio of 21-to-1, meaning that 56.6 percent
   32  of Florida State University’s offered classes have a class size
   33  of fewer than 20 students, and
   34         WHEREAS, Florida State University is more popular than ever
   35  among prospective first-time college students, as a record
   36  number of applications were received for admission to the 2019
   37  summer and fall semesters, and
   38         WHEREAS, Florida State University received a total of
   39  nearly 60,555 applications, a 20 percent increase over the
   40  previous year’s total, resulting in one of the largest freshman
   41  classes in the school’s history, about 6,900 students, and
   42         WHEREAS, Florida State University had the most academically
   43  accomplished freshman class in school history for the 2018-2019
   44  academic year, with a median grade point average of 4.2, a
   45  median SAT score of 1310, and a median ACT composite score of
   46  29, and
   47         WHEREAS, Florida State University is a top research
   48  institution for producing Fulbright Scholars, with 10 students
   49  receiving awards for the 2019-2020 academic year, and
   50         WHEREAS, in 2019, for the fourth year in a row, INSIGHT
   51  into Diversity magazine recognized Florida State University as a
   52  “Diversity Champion,” an honor awarded to schools that
   53  demonstrate a promise to uphold inclusion and diversity, and
   54         WHEREAS, the college experience continues to enrich the
   55  lives of Florida State University students due to the long
   56  standing tradition of promoting racial, ethnic, and cultural
   57  diversity on campus with the aggressive recruitment of diverse
   58  groups of students, NOW, THEREFORE,
   59  
   60  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   61  
   62         That February 12, 2020, is recognized as FSU Day in
   63  Florida.
   64         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   65  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Florida State
   66  University President John Thrasher as a tangible token of the
   67  sentiments of the Florida Senate.