Florida Senate - 2025 (NP) SR 1858
By Senator Simon
3-02385-25 20251858__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution commending Florida State University for
3 its achievements as a national leader in academic and
4 research excellence and designating March 19, 2025, as
5 FSU Day at the Capitol.
6
7 WHEREAS, the Tallahassee campus of Florida State University
8 (FSU) was founded in 1851 as the West Florida Seminary and is
9 the oldest continuous site of higher education in Florida, and
10 WHEREAS, FSU has been recognized as a preeminent university
11 by the State of Florida, and
12 WHEREAS, FSU has reached a historic milestone, earning its
13 highest academic ranking ever at No. 10 in Niche’s report of Top
14 Public Universities in America, and has been recognized by
15 Princeton Review as the No. 1 public university for student
16 satisfaction, and
17 WHEREAS, FSU is recognized as a national leader in student
18 success, with a first-year student retention rate of 96 percent
19 and a 4-year graduation rate of 76 percent, placing FSU in the
20 top 10 among all public universities in the nation in both
21 categories, and
22 WHEREAS, FSU’s research expenditures have reached an all
23 time high of $460.7 million as the university paves the way for
24 world-changing discoveries and launches bold new initiatives,
25 such as FSU Health and the Institute for Pediatric Rare
26 Diseases, which make a difference in people’s lives and
27 contribute to the economies of our state and nation, and
28 WHEREAS, FSU is the headquarters of the National High
29 Magnetic Field Laboratory, the only national laboratory in
30 Florida and home to the most powerful magnets in the world,
31 which generates $709 million in economic output and supports
32 4,550 jobs, and
33 WHEREAS, FSU offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and
34 professional degrees in 272 programs within 17 colleges, taught
35 by a faculty of 2,760, which has included members of the
36 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and
37 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and six Nobel
38 Laureates, and has a student-faculty ratio of 17-to-1, meaning
39 that more than 65 percent of FSU’s classes have fewer than 20
40 students, and
41 WHEREAS, FSU’s 2024-2025 freshman class is one of the
42 brightest in the university’s history, with students coming from
43 all 67 Florida counties, all 50 states, and 48 countries and
44 entering FSU with an average GPA of 4.3, SAT score of 1350, and
45 ACT score of 30, and 76 percent of whom were among the top 10
46 percent of their high school class, and
47 WHEREAS, FSU is ranked 10th in the nation for study abroad
48 enrollment and has a rich history of supporting learning and
49 scholarship programs around the world, with exceptional study
50 centers in London, Florence, and Valencia and a branch campus in
51 the Republic of Panama, which provide transformative educational
52 experiences to thousands of students across nearly every
53 academic discipline offered at FSU, and
54 WHEREAS, FSU shares a special relationship with the
55 Seminole Tribe of Florida which is built on respect, trust, and
56 collaboration and which celebrates the tribe’s rich history and
57 culture while supporting educational opportunities and
58 initiatives that strengthen this enduring partnership, and
59 WHEREAS, FSU boasts a network of more than 400,000 alumni
60 who are making a difference in their communities across Florida
61 and around the world and demonstrating the university’s
62 commitment to producing graduates who lead and serve, and
63 WHEREAS, in 2024, the FSU baseball team reached the College
64 World Series for the 24th time, the women’s soccer team won its
65 11th Atlantic Coast Conference championship, and, in the annual
66 Director’s Cup standings, which measure the overall strength of
67 athletic programs, the Seminoles ranked 12th in the nation —
68 FSU’s highest ranking in 5 years, NOW, THEREFORE,
69
70 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
71
72 That the Florida Senate hereby designates March 19, 2025,
73 as FSU Day in Florida in recognition of Florida State
74 University’s contribution as an outstanding institution of
75 higher education.
76 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
77 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Richard
78 McCullough, Ph.D., the 16th President of Florida State
79 University, as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida
80 Senate.