University of Central Florida
 | |
Former names | Florida Technological University (1966–1978) |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Reach for the Stars" |
| Type | Public research university |
| Established | June 10, 1963 (1963-06-10) |
| Founder | Florida Legislature |
Parent institution | State University System of Florida |
| Accreditation | SACS |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $228.70 million (2023)[1] |
| Budget | $2.1 billion (2022) [2][3] |
| President | Alexander Cartwright |
| Provost | Michael D. Johnson |
Academic staff | 1,906 (fall 2020)[4] |
Administrative staff | 10,448 (fall 2020)[4] |
| Students | 69,320 (fall 2023)[5] |
| Undergraduates | 59,548 (fall 2023)[5] |
| Postgraduates | 9,772 (fall 2023)[5] |
| Location | , Florida , United States 28°36′06″N 81°12′02″W / 28.6016°N 81.2005°W / 28.6016; -81.2005 |
| Campus | Large suburb[6] Main: 1,415 acres (573 ha) Total: 1,893 acres (766 ha)[7] |
| Other campuses | |
| Colors | Black and gold[8] |
| Nickname | Knights |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | |
| Website | ucf.edu |
 | |
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university with its main campus in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida. With 68,442 students as of the fall 2022 semester, UCF has the fourth-largest on-campus student body of any public university in the United States. UCF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[5]
UCF was founded in 1963 and opened its first classes in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the mission to provide personnel educated in science, technology, engineering and math to support the growing U.S. space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (known at the time as Cape Kennedy Air Force Station) on Florida's Space Coast.[9] As its academic scope expanded beyond engineering and technology, Florida Tech was renamed the University of Central Florida in 1978.[10] UCF continues to have space root connections, as it developed and oversees the Florida Space Institute, Robinson Observatory, manages the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, and is the leader of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium.[11] Initial enrollment in 1968 was 1,948 students;[12] enrollment in 2022 exceeds 68,000 students from over 150 countries, all 50 states and Washington, D.C.[13][14]
Most students attend classes on the university's main campus, 13 miles (21 km) east of downtown Orlando and 35 miles (56 km) west of Cape Canaveral.[7][15] UCF offers more than 230 degrees through 13 colleges including the Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona Medical City, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in south Orlando and the city campus in downtown Orlando.[16] Since its founding, UCF has awarded more than 401,245 degrees, including over 60,000 graduate and professional degrees.[2]
Its official colors are black and gold, and the university academic seal features Pegasus, which "symbolizes the university's vision of limitless possibilities".[17] The university's intercollegiate sports teams, known as the UCF Knights and represented by mascot Knightro, compete in NCAA Division I and in the Big 12 Conference, except for Men's Soccer, which competes in the Sun Belt Conference.[18]
History
Founding
Following President John F. Kennedy's September 1962 speech "We choose to go to the Moon", in which he described his goal of accomplishing a crewed space flight to the Moon by the end of the decade, the space program grew in importance and scope in Central Florida because of its proximity to Cape Canaveral.[19] Prominent residents and local leaders began lobbying the Florida State Legislature to increase access to higher education on the Space Coast. With the help of former state senate president William A. Shands and Senator Beth Johnson, on June 10, 1963, the legislature passed and Governor Farris Bryant signed into law Senate Bill No. 125, which authorized the Florida Board of Regents to create a new state university in East Central Florida.[20] The university was founded as a non-segregated and coeducational university, with the mission of educating students for space-age careers in engineering and other technological professions. Defense scientists and NASA met with students, recruiting for the space program.[citation needed]
On January 24, 1964, the board of regents purchased 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of remote forest and pasture land along Alafaya Trail (SR 434) in northeast Orlando for $500,000 as the site of the new university.[citation needed] Local residents donated another 227 acres (92 hectares), and raised more than $1 million in funds to secure the land acquisition.[20] In December 1965, the board of regents appointed Charles Millican the first president of the new university.[21] With the consultation of a citizen advisory group, Millican chose the name Florida Technological University, as well as co-designed the school's distinctive Pegasus seal.[22] Millican is also responsible for the university's slogan, "Reach for the Stars", for the two key principles of the school, "accent on excellence" and "accent on the individual", and for the campus's unique pedestrian-oriented concentric-circle layout, which was based on plans by Walt Disney and has become a model for other universities.[23] Millican and then-Governor Claude Kirk presided over FTU's groundbreaking in March 1967. On October 7, 1968, the inaugural classes were held in the school's first academic building. 1,948 students were enrolled in 55 degree programs within five colleges, led by 90 instructors and aided by 150 staff members, during the university's first year.[24] FTU graduated its first class of 423 seniors on June 14, 1970, with astronaut and Orlando native John Young giving the commencement address.[citation needed]
Millican selected the university's official colors, and had a role in selecting its first mascot, the Citronaut, a mix of an orange and an astronaut.[25] The Citronaut proved unpopular, so in 1969 the student newspaper, The Central Florida Future, encouraged mascot suggestions from students and faculty. The search for a replacement proved unsuccessful until 1970, when Judy Hines, a night nurse, proposed Vincent the Vulture. He served as the university's unofficial mascot for more than a year. In late 1971, students voted and selected the Knight of Pegasus as the school's official athletic mascot.[26] The nickname later evolved to the Golden Knights and eventually to the Knights.
After retiring as president in 1978, Millican identified his proudest moment leading the school as when President Richard Nixon delivered the university's spring 1973 commencement address.[citation needed]
Expansion
Entering office in 1978, the university's second president, Trevor Colbourn, recognized the diversification and growth of UCF's academic programs away from its strictly technological and scientific beginnings.[27] As the university developed strong business, education, and liberal arts programs, Colbourn recognized that the university's name no longer reflected its mission. From its establishment the university was known as Florida Technological University, nicknamed Florida Tech, until December 1978 when Governor Reubin Askew signed legislation changing the school's name to the University of Central Florida.[7]
Colbourn established the university's honors program, and started the university's first satellite campus[where?]. In addition, he was responsible for constructing the Central Florida Research Park adjacent to the UCF campus, founded in 1978. The park serves as a major focus of simulation for space and defense-related research. It was part of Colbourn's plan to make UCF a world-class partnership university. Among the university's first partners were Lockheed Martin and the United States Navy, and Colbourn led the push to found both the Institute for Simulation and Training and the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers in 1986.[citation needed] During his tenure, enrollment increased from 11,000 in 1978 to over 18,000 in 1989.[28] Colbourn also supported the university's athletic programs. He was responsible for establishing the school's football program in 1979, which began an era of growth for the university. In April 1979, UCF awarded its 15,000th degree.
Hitt presidency
In March 1992, John C. Hitt became UCF's fourth president, ushering in an era of unprecedented growth and prominence for the university[according to whom?]. Once known mainly as a small commuter and technology school, in recent years[when?] UCF has undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standing while also evolving into a more traditional research university. When Hitt took office, UCF's enrollment was 20,302. As of 2014, 60,821 students attend classes on 12 campuses spread across Central Florida. The university consists of 13 colleges and employs more than 10,150 faculty and staff.[7] Under Hitt's direction, UCF raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions.[29]
Hitt's efforts resulted in not only an increase in the university's academic profile, but also an on-campus football stadium, new basketball arena, more on-campus housing, and the development of the UCF College of Medicine at Lake Nona.[citation needed] Until 1999, the Knights were represented by a jouster from the Medieval Times dinner show in nearby Kissimmee, Florida. That same year, Knightro was introduced at the staple homecoming event, Spirit Splash.
The past decade[when?] has seen enrollment increase by over 40%,[30] the acceptance rate for first time in college students falling from over 60% to near 40% in 2008[outdated statistic], and the doubling of expected annual expenses.[7][30] Since 2000, UCF has awarded over 100,000 degrees.[7][30] It is the largest university in the nation in terms of undergraduate enrollment, the largest university in Florida,[31] and in 2003 was the fastest-growing university in the United States.[32] During its Spring 2010 graduation ceremonies, UCF awarded its 200,000th degree,[33] less than five years after awarding its 150,000th.[34]
Colbourn Hall scandal
In August 2018, the state university system's Board of Governors and the Florida Legislature opened an investigation into the university for misuse of state funds. On September 13, 2018, UCF admitted to misappropriating money intended for educational and operating expenses to build the new $38 million Trevor Colbourn Hall, leading to the resignation of CFO Bill Merck.[35] In January 2019, UCF severed ties with President Emeritus John Hitt after the investigation proved that UCF had misspent or planned to misspend over $85 million between 2013 and 2018.[36] Newly appointed president Dale Whittaker, who was a provost at UCF during Hitt's tenure, resigned in February 2019 after just seven months in office over allegations that he also knew about the misappropriation of funds.[37][38] Board of Trustees Chairman Marcos Marchena also resigned that month.[39] In August 2019, the final report into additional UCF construction projects revealed the balance of misdirected funds between July 2010 and August 2018 was $99.61 million (equivalent to $139.18 million in 2023).[40] The report found that key people in the university leadership were aware of the misdirection of the funds. UCF was fined by the state for 120% the cost of the misused funds.[41]
Campuses
Main campus
The University of Central Florida main campus is located along Alafaya Trail east of Orlando, Florida.[42]
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The campus is designed to be pedestrian-oriented, with a series of concentric circles.[citation needed] The outermost circle is Gemini Blvd, which is also the main road for vehicular traffic on campus. Inside of Gemini, there is Apollo Circle, Mercury Circle, and finally Pegasus Circle as the innermost circle.[43]
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Pegasus Circle contains the student union, with the John C. Hitt Library located directly to the south of it. All academic buildings are located inside of Gemini, with the circle divided up into pie-shaped sections for each college.[44] As there are very few roads inside of Gemini, many buildings' loading docks are accessible only by sidewalks and thus receive most deliveries at night.[citation needed] The University of Central Florida campus is one of only two in the nation with a concentric circle design, the other being the University of California, Irvine.[45] Newsweek ranked UCF as having the 20th most beautiful university campus in the country in 2011.[46]
Student housing is provided along the perimeter of the campus. Outside of Gemini, the campus is divided up into different themed sections.[citation needed] The northwest side of campus includes Greek communities and on-campus residence.
The north side contains Knights Plaza, an uptown style athletic village with stores and restaurants, the east side contains the Arboretum of the University of Central Florida and the engineering wing.
