[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 24, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S PRESIDENT DR. FUCHS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAT CAMMACK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 24, 2022

  Mrs. CAMMACK. Madam Speaker, I honor the service of Dr. Kent Fuchs, 
the 12th President of the University of Florida, who will be retiring 
later this year. Dr. Fuchs has served for 37 years as an academic 
leader and faculty member at four different national research and land-
grant universities, including the University of Florida in my district 
where his leadership and support will be sorely missed.
  Dr. Fuchs has been a steward for public good and will go down in 
Florida's history as a testament to public service. Founded to serve 
the citizens of a growing state, the University of Florida (UF) has 
since become one of the nation's top public universities.
  Born on an Oklahoma farm in 1954, President Fuchs spent much of his 
youth in Alaska before moving to Miami, where he graduated from Miami 
Killian Senior High School. Dr. Fuchs eventually made Florida his home, 
where his indelible impact is seen to this day.
  During his tenure, UF has become a national leader in preparing the 
next generation of students for success. It was always his belief that 
public higher education was the incubator for personal growth and 
scholastic enrichment. Today, the University continues to be one of the 
most affordable universities in the nation, with UF's average cost of 
attendance lowest of the top 10 public universities. With his personal 
warmth, sense of humor and affection for students--personified in his 
annual April Fools' pranks and friendly, lighthearted presence on 
social media--Dr. Fuchs has become a beloved figure on campus, with 
students lining up to take selfies with him wherever he goes.
  Most notably during his tenure, the university reached its longtime 
goal of joining the nation's top public universities, rising to join 
the top five in 2021.
  Dr. Fuchs has strived to ensure Florida's bright future. In 2020, UF 
announced a groundbreaking partnership with NVIDIA that will catapult 
UF's research strength and build a workforce trained in the tools of 
Artificial Intelligence (AI). UF's creation of a model for addressing 
society's grand challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration is 
positioning Florida as a global leader in AI and attracting more high-
wage jobs and industry to our state.
  Today, UF has 4,642 full-time faculty, up more than 25 percent from 
2014. Faculty have steadily increased their research excellence with 
research spending projected to approach $1 billion this fiscal year. 
Under Dr. Fuchs' leadership, UF's faculty and staff have enhanced the 
university's educational, research, extension and clinical excellence, 
by increasing public and private financial support--all progress that 
continued despite the challenges of the pandemic in the past two years.
  Over his long and distinguished career, Dr. Fuchs was appointed by 
President Obama to the National Science Board and served on the 
Internet2, Association of American Universities and Association of 
Public and Land-grant Universities boards of directors. He is a fellow 
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers, and the Association for Computing Machinery, and 
has received numerous awards for teaching and research. President Fuchs 
earned his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the 
University of Illinois, and a Master of Divinity from Trinity 
Evangelical Divinity School.
  On behalf of the Florida Congressional Delegation in the U.S. House 
of Representatives in the 117th Congress, we want to congratulate Dr. 
Kent Fuchs on his retirement after eight years of service with the 
University of Florida and thank him for his of public service to 
Florida and our Nation.

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