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Florida Senate
-
2026
(NP) SR 1782
By
Senator Gruters
22-02352-26 20261782__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing February 4, 2026, as “New
3 College Day” in Florida.
4
5 WHEREAS, New College of Florida is designated as the
6 residential liberal arts honors college of this state and is the
7 only public college or university in Florida with the sole,
8 distinctive mission of providing a liberal arts undergraduate
9 education of the highest caliber to its students, and
10 WHEREAS, New College of Florida’s Logos + Techne General
11 Education Curriculum combines classical education with next
12 generation skills to create a culture of intellectually curious
13 students pursuing academic excellence and seeking a better
14 understanding of the world within an educational environment of
15 free speech and academic freedom, and
16 WHEREAS, the New College of Florida academic system rewards
17 risk-taking and ambition through its individualized contract
18 system; develops skills in independent study and initiative
19 through tutorials, independent study projects, and a required
20 senior thesis; and creates students who do not passively receive
21 information, but who engage, innovate, and learn to ask the
22 right questions, and
23 WHEREAS, New College of Florida has solidified its status
24 as one of the nation’s premier public liberal arts institutions,
25 having been ranked the top public liberal arts college by
26
Washington Monthly
3 years in a row, and the top public college
27 for value and small size by
The Princeton Review
, and
28 WHEREAS, New College of Florida continues to be recognized
29 as a national leader in Fulbright Scholarship recipients and has
30 been named the best Hidden Gem College in Florida by College
31 Raptor, and the No. 1 liberal arts college in Florida for 2026
32 and No. 10 among all public liberal arts colleges in the country
33 by
U.S. News & World Report
, and
34 WHEREAS, New College of Florida set a record in fall 2025
35 with a total enrollment of more than 900 students for the first
36 time in the college’s history, and
37 WHEREAS, to support this unprecedented growth and maintain
38 its elite academic standards, the college recruited 65 new
39 world-class faculty members, including prestigious visiting
40 professors and presidential scholars-in-residence, thereby
41 ensuring the preservation of New College’s best-in-state 8-to-1
42 student-to-faculty ratio, and
43 WHEREAS, an independent economic impact analysis reveals
44 that New College of Florida has become a powerful engine for
45 regional prosperity, with an economic impact of more than $200
46 million per year, and
47 WHEREAS, New College of Florida’s acceptance into the
48 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as a full
49 member of the Sun Conference launched an athletics program that
50 has quickly grown to 24 sports, and
51 WHEREAS, New College of Florida pursues the simple belief
52 of teaching students how to think, not what to think, and in an
53 age of rapid technological change, global competition, and
54 information overload, New College knows students’ ability to
55 reason, question, write, and analyze is relevant and essential,
56 NOW, THEREFORE,
57
58 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
59
60 That February 4, 2026, is designated as “New College Day”
61 in Florida in recognition of New College of Florida’s
62 contributions as Florida’s residential honors college and an
63 outstanding institution of higher education.