2016 Legislative Priorities

A vision of the future

FIU expansion will serve the community, studentsWe are Miami’s public research university, a solutions center for South Florida and the country. The expansion of our campus onto county land is critical to our 5-year strategic plan and our ability to serve this community. Sixty-five percent of 500,000 Miami-Dade County voters have approved this move and given us a mandate.

Of all the state universities, FIU is second in terms of student population, yet the main campus occupies the smallest area of land in the state university system. Our expansion will enhance our

ability to create new jobs and produce greater student talent in engineering, the sciences and entrepreneurship - areas that

are state priorities and keys to economic development. We also hope to use the added space as an incubator and entrepreneurship and data center.

We ask for support of our advocacy efforts in seeking $20 million in state funds for the relocation of the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition and FIU’s expansion.

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FIU, UCF and USF, the state’s three largest metropolitan research universities, have partnered to create the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities. To fuel the state’s economy and increase the number of career-ready graduates in high-demand areas, members of the consortium are sharing and creating best practices and innovative solutions, policies and programs.

A recurring $12 million would help support this critical initiative that leverages the unique strengths of each university and its surrounding metropolitan areas. It also aligns with key shared strategic priorities of the State University System.

Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities

TAMPA BAY

ORLANDO

Be WorldsAhead

Investing in our infrastructure

FIU is currently serving 54,000 students and more than 5,000 faculty and staff. To adequately support our growing university community as well as learning, engagement and cutting-edge research, the university must invest in our infrastructure and facilities.

In 2015, Ambassador Steven J. Green – along with his wife Dorothea, daughter Kimberly and the Green Family Foundation – made a $20 million gift to our Stephen J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. To finish the second phase of construction for the school, we currently need $15 million. In addition, $7 million in continued funds for the Satellite Chiller Plant that provides emergency backup cooling to critical facilities in the event of a power outage.

FIU Satellite Chiller Plant

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StartUp FIU is a resource for students, faculty, alumni and community members who are passionate about bringing their ideas to market or are interested in mentoring or assisting startups.

With $5 million, $750,000 non-recurring, StartUP FIU would house activities in a collaborative space to:

1. Develop skilled talent to fill jobs at startup companies;

2. Translate faculty knowledge and patents into commercially viable enterprises or validate hypothesis; and

3. Help entrepreneurs grow their startups into high impact companies that could spin-off into the local economy.

StartUp FIU: Supporting investors, entrepreneurs and technology innovators

Be WorldsAhead

Florida’s future economic prosperity relies on the success of a highly skilled and highly adaptable workforce. With the new UP:LIFT (University paradigm: Learn, Interact, Facilitate, Transform) initiative, FIU is transforming courses to focus on real-world skills using state-of-the art instruction and new learning technologies.

The initiative is focused on foundational classes that are predictors to students’ graduation success and STEM courses. Our graduates will be innovators, prepared to build startups; their talent will continue to attract high-tech companies to South Florida.

To sustain our UP:LIFT initiative as as well as an annual symposium for universities and colleges across South Florida, FIU is seeking $5 million, of which $800,000 is non-recurring.

UP:LIFT

Be WorldsAhead

To enrich academic programs and expand job opportunities for students, FIU partnered with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to provide our students with internships, access to a state-of-the-art performance, production and rehearsal facility, job fairs and placement opportunities, master classes for students and faculty, and improved curricula to meet the needs of 21 century employers. As part of the partnership, Royal Caribbean repurposed obsolete student housing at Biscayne Bay Campus that was scheduled for demolition for performer housing.

The repurposing of the obsolete housing required an investment of approximately $7 million by Royal Caribbean. As part of the partnership agreement, FIU is seeking $2.5 million, non-recurring, for mold remediation and amenity improvements needed to address building health and safety deficiencies in the repurposed housing.

Royal Caribbean Partnership

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1 Our rank in the Carnegie classification for Highest Research Activity

54,000 Enrollment

100,000 Students will graduate from FIU in the next decade

137,000 Alumni who live and work in South Florida

180 Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs

760 Research grants awarded to faculty and students in FY 2015

96 Percent of faculty hold doctoral degrees or highest degree attainable in their field

13 Colleges and schools including Medicine, Law and Architecture

18 Division 1A sports teams, including football

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