SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

SR 1770

Florida Gulf Coast University Day

VERSION S 1770 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

Florida Senate - 2026 (NP) SR 1770 By Senator Passidomo 28-01848-26 20261770__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing the historic origins, public
3 mission, academic excellence, and statewide
4 contributions of Florida Gulf Coast University and
5 designating January 27, 2026, as “Florida Gulf Coast
6 University Day” in Florida.
8 WHEREAS, Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has matured
9 into a consequential and trusted institution of higher learning
10 whose devotion to intellectual pursuits, civic engagement,
11 environmental stewardship, and regional vitality has
12 strengthened the culture and economy of Southwest Florida,
13 thereby affirming the value of purposeful investment in
14 education and the university’s rightful place in the civic and
15 academic life of this state, and
16 WHEREAS, in May 1991, then-Governor Lawton Chiles, acting
17 with foresight and a deliberate commitment to expanding
18 educational opportunities in this state, signed into law the
19 creation of Florida’s tenth public university in order to
20 provide access to higher education and support workforce
21 development in the rapidly growing but previously underserved
22 region of Southwest Florida, and
23 WHEREAS, FGCU opened its doors to 2,584 students on August
24 25, 1997, and held its first commencement in May 1998 with 81
25 graduates, marking the beginning of its enduring role as a
26 center of academic promise and public purpose, and
27 WHEREAS, through the years, FGCU has been shaped and
28 strengthened by the leadership of five distinguished presidents:
29 Dr. Roy E. McTarnaghan, Dr. William C. Merwin, Dr. Wilson G.
30 Bradshaw, Dr. Michael V. Martin, and Dr. Aysegul Timur, each
31 contributing to the university’s growth, character, and academic
32 standing in the State University System, and
33 WHEREAS, under the current leadership of Dr. Timur and the
34 FGCU Board of Trustees, the university continues to foster
35 entrepreneurial thinking, civic responsibility, and
36 environmental consciousness among its students as it prepares
37 them for productive and meaningful professional lives, and
38 WHEREAS, FGCU has strategically expanded to an enrollment
39 of more than 16,600 students and now offers 66 undergraduate, 28
40 graduate, and 7 doctoral degrees, as well as 19 academic
41 certificates, thereby broadening educational access and meeting
42 statewide workforce needs, and
43 WHEREAS, the pathways to student success at FGCU have
44 yielded national recognition for service learning, with FGCU
45 standing as one of the only public institutions to require
46 service learning for all undergraduates, resulting in 5.3
47 million service hours contributed to the Southwest Florida
48 community since 1997, and
49 WHEREAS, the university preserves half the land of its 800
50 acre campus as natural habitat, serving as a living laboratory
51 for interdisciplinary learning, hands-on research, and student
52 engagement guided by faculty expertise, and
53 WHEREAS, FGCU established The Water School, which opened in
54 2022, distinguishing the university at the center of one of the
55 most complex freshwater and saltwater systems in the nation and
56 enabling research and teaching that addresses the health of
57 waterways and their impact on surrounding ecosystems, regional
58 and state economies, and the communities that rely on them, and
59 WHEREAS, FGCU continues to work collaboratively with the
60 State University System to support and meet statewide and
61 regional workforce demands by graduating career-ready students
62 from the Marieb College School of Nursing, with its six programs
63 having a 100-percent first-time passage rate on the required
64 nursing licensure examinations in 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2024,
65 and
66 WHEREAS, the FGCU Alumni Association has more than 48,000
67 members, with almost 70 percent of alumni working in their field
68 of study and approximately 2,000 alumni-founded businesses
69 contributing to the economic vitality of Southwest Florida, and
70 WHEREAS, FGCU has continued to advance economic
71 diversification in the region it serves through innovation in
72 agribusiness, construction management, environmental
73 engineering, and other critical industries, and
74 WHEREAS, the university maintains strong collaboration with
75 employers to ensure its programs align with community and
76 regional workforce needs, thereby contributing to a more
77 prosperous and thriving economic engine in Southwest Florida,
78 and
79 WHEREAS, FGCU’s athletic programs continue to be a growing
80 source of pride, as nine programs have earned top 25 national
81 rankings, all while student athletes maintain exemplary academic
82 standards, and
83 WHEREAS, the collegiate experience at FGCU enriches the
84 lives of its students as they transition from high school to
85 higher education to meaningful careers, fulfilling the
86 university’s strategic vision of turning ideas into impact and
87 reinforcing its longstanding commitment to public service, NOW,
88 THEREFORE,
90 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
92 That January 27, 2026, is designated as “Florida Gulf Coast
93 University Day” in Florida, in recognition of the university’s
94 enduring service to its students, its region, and the people of
95 this state.
96 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
97 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Dr. Aysegul
98 Timur, President of Florida Gulf Coast University, as a tangible
99 token of the high esteem in which the university is held and as
100 an expression of the confidence of the Florida Senate in the
101 continued growth, leadership, and public contributions of
102 Florida Gulf Coast University.