Florida Senate - 2021 (NP) SR By Senator Gruters 23-04318-21 20212064__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Senate Resolution A resolution expressing appreciation and gratitude to Florida State University President John Thrasher upon completion of his exceptional tenure as the 15th president of Florida State University and for his personal and professional achievements and commending him for his outstanding accomplishments and service. 7

WHEREAS, John Thrasher first entered Florida State University in as an undergraduate student, earning a bachelor’s degree in business in 1965, and

WHEREAS, in 1966, John Thrasher joined the United States Army, serving first in Germany, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, and later in Vietnam, where he was awarded two Bronze Stars, and

WHEREAS, John Thrasher attained the rank of captain before his honorable discharge in 1970, when he returned to his alma mater to earn a law degree with honors in 1972, and

WHEREAS, John Thrasher served the people of the State of Florida as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 20 until 2000, where he was instrumental in the creation of the Florida State University College of Medicine, and

WHEREAS, on November 17, 1998, John Thrasher was unanimously elected Speaker of the Florida House for the 1999 through term, during which the Legislature passed the “A+ 25 Education Plan” and the largest tax cut in the history of this state, and

WHEREAS, in November 2014, John Thrasher became Florida State University’s 15th president, and

WHEREAS, under John Thrasher’s leadership, Florida State University has moved from No. 43 to No. 19 in the national public university rankings by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” guidebook, and

WHEREAS, during John Thrasher’s tenure as president, 39 Florida State University’s 4-year graduation rate is first in the state and among the best in the country, and the university has virtually erased graduation rate gaps between the general population and underserved students, and

WHEREAS, under John Thrasher’s leadership, Florida State University has retained first-year students at a record rate, 45 with percent of first-time-in-college students who enrolled for the Summer/Fall term returning for their sophomore year, a retention rate that is well above the national average of percent for 4-year public institutions and places the university among the top in the nation, and

WHEREAS, during John Thrasher’s tenure as president, 51 Florida State University’s graduate school enrollment, a hallmark of any great research university, is at an all-time high, and

WHEREAS, enrollment in Florida State University’s graduate programs increased by percent in Fall 2020, far surpassing the university’s goal of percent annual growth, and

WHEREAS, John Thrasher has received numerous awards for his Florida Senate - 2021 (NP) SR 2064 23-04318-21 20212064__ CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. leadership and service, including recognition as the Tallahassee Democrat’s Person of the Year in and induction into the FSU College of Business Hall of Fame in and into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame in 2017, and he is the recipient of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ Region III President’s Award and the Tallahassee Urban League Legend Award, and

WHEREAS, John Thrasher presided over a successful $1 billion fundraising campaign, advanced Florida State University’s academic and research mission, championed diversity and inclusion, and welcomed the best and brightest students in the university’s history, and

WHEREAS, John Thrasher has spent the majority of the past 71 years in service to the United States, his hometown of Jacksonville, the State of Florida, and his alma mater, Florida State University,

NOW, THEREFORE, 74