Florida Senate - 2024 (NP) SR 1824 By Senator Powell 24-03339A-24 20241824__ Page 1 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Senate Resolution 1 A resolution designating February 21, 2024, as “FAMU 2 Day” in Florida. 3 4

WHEREAS, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University 5 (FAMU), this state’s only public Historically Black College and 6 University (HBCU), was founded on October 3, 1887, was named a 7 land grant institution in 1891, was designated a college in 8 1909, and was designated a university in 1953, and 9

WHEREAS, academic components of the university consist of 10 98 undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and professional 11 degree programs offered through seven colleges and seven 12 schools, including the colleges of Agriculture and Food 13 Sciences; Education; Engineering; Law; Pharmacy and 14 Pharmaceutical Sciences; Science and Technology; and Social 15 Sciences, Arts, and Humanities; and the schools of Allied Health 16 Sciences; Architecture and Engineering Technology; Business and 17 Industry; the Environment; Graduate Studies and Research; 18 Journalism and Graphic Communication; and Nursing, and 19

WHEREAS, under the dedicated leadership of FAMU’s 12th 20 president, Larry Robinson, Ph.D., and the FAMU Board of Trustees 21 and university faculty and staff, FAMU rose in the U.S. News & 22 World Report 2023-2024 “Top 100” National Public Universities 23 rankings from 103rd just a year ago to 91st; ranks 21st on the 24 latest Social Mobility Index; remains the highest-ranked public 25 HBCU for the fifth consecutive year; and is ranked third among 26 all public and private HBCUs in the country, and 27

WHEREAS, with more than 9,200 enrolled students from 24 28 different countries, FAMU experienced a record number of 29

Florida Senate - 2024 (NP) SR 1824 24-03339A-24 20241824__ Page 2 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. applications for the 2023-2024 academic year, exceeding 23,800 30 in a single year, with nearly 21,000 first-time-in-college 31 applicants, and 32

WHEREAS, FAMU continues to elevate student success through 33 retention, graduation rates, and degree productivity, awarding 34 nearly 2,500 degrees since the 2022-2023 academic year, and 35

WHEREAS, in 2024, FAMU launched its immersive virtual 36 metaverse world, The Rattlerverse, the first official metaverse 37 for an HBCU, within Meta Horizon Worlds, offering futuristic 38 opportunities to explore FAMU’s campus, culture, and current 39 events, and 40

WHEREAS, FAMU maintains its commitment to invaluable 41 research, as evidenced by faculty and staff who reported a 42 record year in research awards in 2023, including a multi-year 43 grant with the United States Department of Transportation to 44 lead a consortium and establish a new Tier One University 45 Transportation Center; a grant from the United States Department 46 of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency for the FAMU 47 Florida Small Business Development Center to establish the 48 Florida Panhandle Capital Readiness Collaborative across 12 49 counties to assist aspiring entrepreneurs; and a grant from 50 Google aimed at bolstering research capabilities in artificial 51 intelligence in the fields of computer science and computer 52 information systems, all of which signify a substantial 53 investment in advancing the academic and professional 54 opportunities available to FAMU students, empowering them to 55 excel in cutting-edge technology and innovation, and 56

WHEREAS, the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences 57 Professors Lambert Kanga, Ph.D., and Odemari Mbuya, Ph.D., were 58

Florida Senate - 2024 (NP) SR 1824 24-03339A-24 20241824__ Page 3 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. awarded grants in 2023 for their research in, respectively, 59 “Developing the Next Generation of Minority Leaders in Pest 60 Management for Agriculture and Food in a Changing Climate” and 61 industrial hemp and chestnuts, which are considered to be 62 economically viable and climate-smart crop options, and 63

WHEREAS, the dynamic FAMU Concert Choir excited audiences 64 around Europe while on tour in Vienna, Austria, in late 2023 65 after receiving an invitation to be a part of the 2023 Festival 66 Tour of Vienna Sings, and 67

WHEREAS, with 14 National Collegiate Athletic Association 68 programs, 2023 was a stellar year of champions for FAMU 69 Athletics as the FAMU Women’s tennis team won the Southwestern 70 Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship, the baseball team won 71 its first SWAC baseball tournament championship, the women’s 72 cross-country team won its first SWAC championship in its second 73 year of membership, and, after dedicating the football field at 74 Bragg Memorial Stadium to Ken Riley, an alumnus and professional 75 football Hall of Famer, the football team won its first SWAC and 76 Cricket Celebration Bowl HBCU National Championship titles, and 77

WHEREAS, FAMU honors the life and legacy of Barbara A. 78 Cohen-Pippin, who built a career spanning more than 40 years, 79 fulfilling pivotal roles in higher education and legislative 80 affairs, and who came out of retirement to become director of 81 government relations at FAMU, where her many accomplishments 82 include leading the legislative effort to allocate construction 83 funding for the Center for Access and Student Success and 84 securing a program modification to facilitate construction of 85 FAMU Towers, which will benefit students for decades to come, 86

NOW, THEREFORE, 87

Florida Senate - 2024 (NP) SR 1824 24-03339A-24 20241824__ Page 4 of 4 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 88

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida: 89 90 That in recognition of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 91 University’s contributions as an outstanding institution of 92 higher education, February 21, 2024, is designated as “FAMU Day” 93 in Florida. 94 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with 95 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Larry Robinson, 96 Ph.D., President of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 97 University, as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida 98 Senate. 99