Florida Senate - 2023 (NP) SR 1726
By Senator Martin
33-02346-23 20231726__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing March 28, 2023, 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 2,584 students on August
12 25, 1997, and held its first commencement of 81 graduates in May
13 1998, and
14 WHEREAS, FGCU has been led by four outstanding and dynamic
15 presidents: Roy McTarnaghan, William C. Merwin, Wilson G.
16 Bradshaw, and Michael V. Martin, and
17 WHEREAS, with the leadership and vision of current
18 President Michael V. Martin and the FGCU Board of Trustees, FGCU
19 students have a clear pathway to success and an academic home
20 that embraces college affordability for all students, and
21 WHEREAS, FGCU’s top priority is student success, with
22 internships, credentialing opportunities, and a focus on
23 providing the necessary academic resources and laboratory
24 facilities to allow students to timely complete degrees from one
25 of the six colleges providing essential programs, and
26 WHEREAS, FGCU has an accomplished faculty and a dedicated
27 staff who help students gain necessary skills and abilities to
28 meet regional and statewide workforce needs, and
29 WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically grown into a regional
30 university of more than 16,000 students and today offers 63
31 undergraduate, 26 graduate, and 7 doctoral programs and 18
32 academic certificates, and
33 WHEREAS, FGCU’s pathways to student success have led to
34 national prominence in academics, environmental sustainability,
35 and student service learning, with 4.4 million hours contributed
36 to the Southwest Florida community since 1997, and
37 WHEREAS, FGCU emphasizes innovative and interdisciplinary
38 learning, using the region as a living laboratory while offering
39 students diverse opportunities to participate in meaningful
40 research led by their professors, and
41 WHEREAS, in 2022, The Water School opened its doors to
42 create a University of Distinction program that will provide
43 FGCU the foundation to pursue designation as a recognized state
44 and national leader in the area of water, focusing on local
45 issues to address challenges throughout the world, and
46 WHEREAS, FGCU continues to work collaboratively with the
47 State University System to meet regional and statewide workforce
48 needs by graduating career-ready students from Marieb College’s
49 School of Nursing, which has one of the highest first-time
50 passage rates in the State University System on the required
51 nursing licensure examination, and
52 WHEREAS, FGCU has established the Daveler & Kauanui School
53 of Entrepreneurship, where students chart their paths to career
54 success, whether it be securing great jobs after graduation,
55 creating startup companies, transitioning into family
56 businesses, or starting artistic careers, leading the Princeton
57 Review to recognize the school as the highest-ranked
58 undergraduate entrepreneurship program in Florida and 15th in
59 the nation, and
60 WHEREAS, with more than 20 chapters around the nation, the
61 FGCU Alumni Association has more than 42,822 members, with 70
62 percent of graduates working in their respective fields of study
63 and with more than 2,000 businesses started by graduates in
64 Southwest Florida, and
65 WHEREAS, FGCU strives to bring diversification of the
66 economy to the region through innovation in agribusiness,
67 construction management, environmental engineering, and public
68 health, and
69 WHEREAS, FGCU serves and engages its surrounding community,
70 offering a wealth of enrichment opportunities, including visual
71 arts, music, theater, and public radio and television, and
72 WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletics programs continue to be a growing
73 source of pride for their loyal fans, with student-athletes
74 continuing to also demonstrate their academic strengths, and
75 WHEREAS, the collegiate experience enriches the lives of
76 FGCU students and serves the surrounding community through
77 “Turning Ideas into Impact” and the university’s longstanding
78 commitment to service, NOW, THEREFORE,
79
80 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
81
82 That March 28, 2023, is recognized as “Florida Gulf Coast
83 University Day” in Florida.
84 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
85 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Michael V.
86 Martin, Ph.D., president of Florida Gulf Coast University, as a
87 tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.