Florida Senate - 2019 (NP) SR 1228
By Senator Powell
30-01799-19 20191228__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing April 18, 2019, as “FAMU Day”
3 in Florida.
4
5 WHEREAS, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
6 (FAMU) was founded in 1887, named a land-grant institution in
7 1891, and designated a university in 1953, and
8 WHEREAS, FAMU, a historically black college and university
9 offering undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and professional
10 degree programs, seeks qualified students from all racial,
11 ethnic, religious, and national groups and has provided
12 immeasurable educational opportunities for young men and women,
13 and
14 WHEREAS, academic components of the university consist of
15 seven colleges and seven schools: the colleges of Agriculture
16 and Food Sciences; Education; Engineering; Law; Pharmacy and
17 Pharmaceutical Sciences; Science and Technology; and Social
18 Sciences, Arts, and Humanities; and the schools of Allied Health
19 Sciences; Architecture and Engineering Technology; Business and
20 Industry; the Environment; Graduate Studies and Research;
21 Journalism and Graphic Communication; and Nursing, and
22 WHEREAS, FAMU is a top 10 institution in awarding
23 baccalaureate degrees in accounting, agriculture, allied health
24 sciences, architecture, biological and biomedical sciences,
25 environmental sciences, and philosophy and religious studies to
26 African Americans, and is a leader in awarding professional
27 doctorate degrees in pharmacy and rehabilitation and therapeutic
28 professions and master’s degrees in architecture to African
29 Americans, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education’s
30 “Top 100 Producers, 2018,” and
31 WHEREAS, nearly 47 percent of FAMU’s student body is
32 pursuing degrees in disciplines related to science, technology,
33 engineering, mathematics, or health care, and
34 WHEREAS, FAMU was recognized among U.S. News & World
35 Report’s “Best Colleges” in the National Universities category,
36 was listed as the top historically black public college or
37 university in the nation for the 2018 ranking, and had the
38 highest ranked College of Engineering among historically black
39 public colleges and universities in the nation, and
40 WHEREAS, FAMU was also recognized as an institution of
41 origin for black scientists and engineers by the National
42 Science Foundation, and
43 WHEREAS, 74 percent of FAMU’s undergraduate students
44 receive Pell Grants, which is a testament to the educational
45 accessibility of the university, and
46 WHEREAS, in 2018, FAMU Athletics earned the Mid-Eastern
47 Athletic Conference title in women’s outdoor track and field and
48 its sixth consecutive title in women’s cross country, and
49 WHEREAS, FAMU has been chosen to lead a National Institutes
50 of Health 5-year, $16 million research partnership, in
51 collaboration with the University of Florida and the University
52 of Southern California, which will address cancer health
53 disparities in black and Latino communities, NOW, THEREFORE,
54
55 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
56
57 That April 18, 2019, is recognized as “FAMU Day” in
58 Florida.
59 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
60 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Larry Robinson,
61 Ph.D., president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
62 University, as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida
63 Senate.