Bill Text: FL S1898 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Florida Gulf Coast University Day
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-01-24 - Adopted [S1898 Detail]
Download: Florida-2018-S1898-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2018 (NP) SR 1898
By Senator Benacquisto
27-02067-18 20181898__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing January 23, 2018, 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, in August 2017, FGCU celebrated its 20th
15 anniversary, and
16 WHEREAS, during FGCU’s first 20 years, it was led by three
17 outstanding and dynamic presidents: President Roy McTarnaghan,
18 President William C. Merwin, and President Wilson G. Bradshaw,
19 and
20 WHEREAS, on July 1, 2017, Michael V. Martin, Ph.D., became
21 FGCU’s fourth president, expressing a commitment to ensure that
22 students will have a clear pathway to success and to maintain
23 college affordability for all students, and
24 WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, which
25 includes an emphasis on providing the necessary academic
26 resources and laboratory facilities to timely completion of
27 degrees from one of its five colleges, by providing relevant
28 programs with an accomplished faculty and dedicated staff to
29 help students prepare for successful careers and meet regional
30 and statewide workforce needs, and
31 WHEREAS, FGCU has grown into a regional university of
32 nearly 15,000 students and offers 54 undergraduate, 23 graduate,
33 10 certificate, and 3 doctoral programs, and
34 WHEREAS, FGCU’s pathways to student success have led it to
35 achieve national prominence in academics, environmental
36 sustainability, and student service learning, with more than 2.5
37 million volunteer hours contributed to the Southwest Florida
38 community since 1997, and
39 WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
40 learning, using the region as a living laboratory while offering
41 students diverse opportunities to participate in meaningful
42 research led by their professors, and
43 WHEREAS, FGCU has established the Institute of
44 Entrepreneurship, bringing engineering and business students
45 together to develop products and business plans in a real-world
46 setting, and providing learning opportunities that will enhance
47 the university’s science, technology, engineering, and
48 mathematics (STEM) education and sustainability initiatives, and
49 WHEREAS, FGCU serves as a cultural hub for the region,
50 offering a wealth of enrichment opportunities that include the
51 visual arts, music, theater, and public radio and television,
52 and
53 WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletics programs continue to be a growing
54 source of pride for loyal fans, with student-athletes continuing
55 to demonstrate their academic strengths by earning an average
56 GPA of 3.27, and
57 WHEREAS, the collegiate experience continues to enrich the
58 lives of FGCU students through “The FGCU Effect” and the
59 university’s longstanding commitment to promoting racial,
60 ethnic, and cultural diversity on campus, NOW, THEREFORE,
61
62 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
63
64 That January 23, 2018, is recognized as “Florida Gulf Coast
65 University Day” in Florida.
66 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be
67 presented to Michael V. Martin, Ph.D., president of Florida Gulf
68 Coast University, as a tangible token of the sentiments
69 expressed herein.
