Florida Senate - 2023 (NP) SR 1730
By Senator Perry
9-02928-23 20231730__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing April 12, 2023, as “Gator
3 Day” in Florida.
4
5 WHEREAS, the University of Florida (UF) is ranked among the
6 nation’s very best universities, remaining fifth for the second
7 year in a row among all public universities in the 2023 U.S.
8 News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, and
9 WHEREAS, University of Florida faculty surpassed $1 billion
10 in research spending for the first time in 2022, funding that
11 leads to treatments for diseases, new agricultural products, and
12 advances in engineering and many other fields, and UF now
13 belongs to an exclusive group of 15 public universities
14 nationally that are at the $1 billion milestone, and
15 WHEREAS, for the first time in 2023, U.S. News & World
16 Report ranked the University of Florida as the top institution
17 in the country to offer an online bachelor’s degree for veterans
18 and active-duty servicemembers, acknowledging the university’s
19 longstanding tradition of supporting U.S. military members
20 pursuing higher education, and
21 WHEREAS, UF Online, the university’s online bachelor’s
22 degree program, is ranked as the stand-alone No. 1 Best Online
23 Bachelor’s Program in the nation by U.S. News & World Report,
24 recognizing the university’s continued excellence in delivering
25 world-class educational opportunities across platforms, and
26 WHEREAS, the University of Florida ranks No. 2 nationally
27 among public universities and No. 4 among all public and private
28 universities for students’ economic return, according to Degree
29 Choices Best College Rankings, leading students to greater
30 financial security, and
31 WHEREAS, the University of Florida ranks first among public
32 universities and second nationwide in a report by Heartland
33 Forward that evaluates which U.S. universities are best at
34 moving new discoveries from the laboratory to the real world
35 through research commercialization and STEM graduates, and
36 WHEREAS, eleven students from UF were selected for the
37 Fulbright U.S. Student Program for academic year 2022-2023, and
38 for the first time in a decade, the U.S. Department of State’s
39 Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named the University
40 of Florida a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S.
41 Students, recognizing UF among those U.S. colleges and
42 universities that had the highest number of applicants selected
43 for the 2022-2023 Fulbright awards, and
44 WHEREAS, the University of Florida has installed HiPerGator
45 AI, one of higher education’s most powerful supercomputers, for
46 training and research purposes, and is the first institution to
47 adopt an “AI Across the Curriculum” model so that every student,
48 regardless of discipline, has at least a basic familiarity with
49 how artificial intelligence will meet societal needs ranging
50 from health care to education to national security, and
51 WHEREAS, the University of Florida, in partnership with the
52 State of Florida and industry leaders, is leading the way in
53 developing an AI-skilled workforce of tomorrow by designing AI
54 for K-12, a framework for Florida’s elementary and secondary
55 schools’ AI coursework, with the goal of increasing students’
56 awareness of how AI is used in their everyday lives and their
57 knowledge of how AI works, and
58 WHEREAS, UF Health is a top-ranked health care destination
59 attracting the brightest students, scholars, scientists, and
60 health care providers, all ready to tackle patients’ greatest
61 challenges, and
62 WHEREAS, UF Health contributes more than $4.6 billion
63 annually to Florida’s overall economy and is uniquely positioned
64 at the forefront of medicine to make discoveries that lead to
65 clinical breakthroughs, and
66 WHEREAS, UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital remains one
67 of the Southeast’s premier pediatric medical centers, ranking as
68 Florida’s No. 1 children’s hospital, with five pediatric
69 specialties earning it the elite distinction of being ranked
70 among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, and
71 WHEREAS, with the integration of Scripps Research Institute
72 into the University of Florida, the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps
73 Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology blends the
74 clinical expertise of a top 5 public university with the
75 creative energies of one of the world’s leading biomedical
76 research organizations, accelerating discoveries that benefit
77 patients, NOW, THEREFORE,
78
79 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
80
81 That the University of Florida is commended and
82 congratulated for its dedication to the advancement of the State
83 of Florida, and that April 12, 2023, is recognized as “Gator
84 Day” in Florida.
85 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
86 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to University of
87 Florida President Dr. Ben Sasse as a tangible token of the
88 sentiments of the Florida Senate.