Bill Text: FL S1824 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: FAMU Day

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2024-02-21 - Adopted [S1824 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S1824-Introduced.html
       Florida Senate - 2024                            (NP)    SR 1824
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       24-03339A-24                                          20241824__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution designating February 21, 2024, as “FAMU
    3         Day” in Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
    6  (FAMU), this state’s only public Historically Black College and
    7  University (HBCU), was founded on October 3, 1887, was named a
    8  land grant institution in 1891, was designated a college in
    9  1909, and was designated a university in 1953, and
   10         WHEREAS, academic components of the university consist of
   11  98 undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and professional
   12  degree programs offered through seven colleges and seven
   13  schools, including the colleges of Agriculture and Food
   14  Sciences; Education; Engineering; Law; Pharmacy and
   15  Pharmaceutical Sciences; Science and Technology; and Social
   16  Sciences, Arts, and Humanities; and the schools of Allied Health
   17  Sciences; Architecture and Engineering Technology; Business and
   18  Industry; the Environment; Graduate Studies and Research;
   19  Journalism and Graphic Communication; and Nursing, and
   20         WHEREAS, under the dedicated leadership of FAMU’s 12th
   21  president, Larry Robinson, Ph.D., and the FAMU Board of Trustees
   22  and university faculty and staff, FAMU rose in the U.S. News &
   23  World Report 2023-2024 “Top 100” National Public Universities
   24  rankings from 103rd just a year ago to 91st; ranks 21st on the
   25  latest Social Mobility Index; remains the highest-ranked public
   26  HBCU for the fifth consecutive year; and is ranked third among
   27  all public and private HBCUs in the country, and
   28         WHEREAS, with more than 9,200 enrolled students from 24
   29  different countries, FAMU experienced a record number of
   30  applications for the 2023-2024 academic year, exceeding 23,800
   31  in a single year, with nearly 21,000 first-time-in-college
   32  applicants, and
   33         WHEREAS, FAMU continues to elevate student success through
   34  retention, graduation rates, and degree productivity, awarding
   35  nearly 2,500 degrees since the 2022-2023 academic year, and
   36         WHEREAS, in 2024, FAMU launched its immersive virtual
   37  metaverse world, The Rattlerverse, the first official metaverse
   38  for an HBCU, within Meta Horizon Worlds, offering futuristic
   39  opportunities to explore FAMU’s campus, culture, and current
   40  events, and
   41         WHEREAS, FAMU maintains its commitment to invaluable
   42  research, as evidenced by faculty and staff who reported a
   43  record year in research awards in 2023, including a multi-year
   44  grant with the United States Department of Transportation to
   45  lead a consortium and establish a new Tier One University
   46  Transportation Center; a grant from the United States Department
   47  of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency for the FAMU
   48  Florida Small Business Development Center to establish the
   49  Florida Panhandle Capital Readiness Collaborative across 12
   50  counties to assist aspiring entrepreneurs; and a grant from
   51  Google aimed at bolstering research capabilities in artificial
   52  intelligence in the fields of computer science and computer
   53  information systems, all of which signify a substantial
   54  investment in advancing the academic and professional
   55  opportunities available to FAMU students, empowering them to
   56  excel in cutting-edge technology and innovation, and
   57         WHEREAS, the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences
   58  Professors Lambert Kanga, Ph.D., and Odemari Mbuya, Ph.D., were
   59  awarded grants in 2023 for their research in, respectively,
   60  “Developing the Next Generation of Minority Leaders in Pest
   61  Management for Agriculture and Food in a Changing Climate” and
   62  industrial hemp and chestnuts, which are considered to be
   63  economically viable and climate-smart crop options, and
   64         WHEREAS, the dynamic FAMU Concert Choir excited audiences
   65  around Europe while on tour in Vienna, Austria, in late 2023
   66  after receiving an invitation to be a part of the 2023 Festival
   67  Tour of Vienna Sings, and
   68         WHEREAS, with 14 National Collegiate Athletic Association
   69  programs, 2023 was a stellar year of champions for FAMU
   70  Athletics as the FAMU Women’s tennis team won the Southwestern
   71  Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship, the baseball team won
   72  its first SWAC baseball tournament championship, the women’s
   73  cross-country team won its first SWAC championship in its second
   74  year of membership, and, after dedicating the football field at
   75  Bragg Memorial Stadium to Ken Riley, an alumnus and professional
   76  football Hall of Famer, the football team won its first SWAC and
   77  Cricket Celebration Bowl HBCU National Championship titles, and
   78         WHEREAS, FAMU honors the life and legacy of Barbara A.
   79  Cohen-Pippin, who built a career spanning more than 40 years,
   80  fulfilling pivotal roles in higher education and legislative
   81  affairs, and who came out of retirement to become director of
   82  government relations at FAMU, where her many accomplishments
   83  include leading the legislative effort to allocate construction
   84  funding for the Center for Access and Student Success and
   85  securing a program modification to facilitate construction of
   86  FAMU Towers, which will benefit students for decades to come,
   87  NOW, THEREFORE,
   88  
   89  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   90  
   91         That in recognition of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
   92  University’s contributions as an outstanding institution of
   93  higher education, February 21, 2024, is designated as “FAMU Day”
   94  in Florida.
   95         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   96  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Larry Robinson,
   97  Ph.D., President of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
   98  University, as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida
   99  Senate.

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