Title: FAMU Day

Summary: Designating February 21, 2024, as "FAMU Day" in Florida, etc.

Full Text:
WHEREAS, academic components of the university consist of undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and professional degree programs offered through seven colleges and seven schools, including the colleges of Agriculture and Food Sciences; Education; Engineering; Law; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Science and Technology; and Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities; and the schools of Allied Health Sciences; Architecture and Engineering Technology; Business and Industry; the Environment; Graduate Studies and Research; Journalism and Graphic Communication; and Nursing, and WHEREAS, under the dedicated leadership of FAMU s 12th president, Larry Robinson, Ph.D., and the FAMU Board of Trustees and university faculty and staff, FAMU rose in the U.S. News & World Report 2023-2024  Top 100  National Public Universities rankings from 103rd just a year ago to 91st; ranks 21st on the latest Social Mobility Index; remains the highest-ranked public HBCU for the fifth consecutive year; and is ranked third among all public and private HBCUs in the country, and WHEREAS, with more than 9,200 enrolled students from different countries, FAMU experienced a record number of applications for the 2023-2024 academic year, exceeding 23,800 in a single year, with nearly 21,000 first-time-in-college applicants, and WHEREAS, FAMU continues to elevate student success through retention, graduation rates, and degree productivity, awarding nearly 2,500 degrees since the 2022-2023 academic year, and WHEREAS, in 2024, FAMU launched its immersive virtual metaverse world, The Rattlerverse, the first official metaverse for an HBCU, within Meta Horizon Worlds, offering futuristic opportunities to explore FAMU s campus, culture, and current events, and WHEREAS, FAMU maintains its commitment to invaluable research, as evidenced by faculty and staff who reported a record year in research awards in 2023, including a multi-year grant with the United States Department of Transportation to lead a consortium and establish a new Tier One University Transportation Center; a grant from the United States Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency for the FAMU Florida Small Business Development Center to establish the Florida Panhandle Capital Readiness Collaborative across counties to assist aspiring entrepreneurs; and a grant from Google aimed at bolstering research capabilities in artificial intelligence in the fields of computer science and computer information systems, all of which signify a substantial investment in advancing the academic and professional opportunities available to FAMU students, empowering them to excel in cutting-edge technology and innovation, and WHEREAS, the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences Professors Lambert Kanga, Ph.D., and Odemari Mbuya, Ph.D., were awarded grants in 2023 for their research in, respectively,  Developing the Next Generation of Minority Leaders in Pest Management for Agriculture and Food in a Changing Climate  and industrial hemp and chestnuts, which are considered to be economically viable and climate-smart crop options, and WHEREAS, the dynamic FAMU Concert Choir excited audiences around Europe while on tour in Vienna, Austria, in late 2023 after receiving an invitation to be a part of the 2023 Festival Tour of Vienna Sings, and WHEREAS, with National Collegiate Athletic Association programs, 2023 was a stellar year of champions for FAMU Athletics as the FAMU Women s tennis team won the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship, the baseball team won its first SWAC baseball tournament championship, the women s cross-country team won its first SWAC championship in its second year of membership, and, after dedicating the football field at Bragg Memorial Stadium to Ken Riley, an alumnus and professional football Hall of Famer, the football team won its first SWAC and Cricket Celebration Bowl HBCU National Championship titles, and WHEREAS, FAMU honors the life and legacy of Barbara A. Cohen-Pippin, who built a career spanning more than years, fulfilling pivotal roles in higher education and legislative affairs, and who came out of retirement to become director of government relations at FAMU, where her many accomplishments include leading the legislative effort to allocate construction funding for the Center for Access and Student Success and securing a program modification to facilitate construction of FAMU Towers, which will benefit students for decades to come, NOW, THEREFORE, Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida: That in recognition of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University s contributions as an outstanding institution of higher education, February 21, 2024, is designated as  FAMU Day  in Florida. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Larry Robinson, Ph.D., President of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.