The story
History
Founding
The Florida Legislature authorized a new public university in east-central Florida on June 10, 1963, when Governor Farris Bryant signed Senate Bill No. 125. Local officials had lobbied for the campus as the region’s population and the workforce around the Space Coast grew in the early 1960s. Former Senate President William A. Shands and Senator Beth Johnson were among the bill’s principal backers. The university was founded as a coeducational state university with the mission of educating students for space-age careers in engineering and other technological professions.
On January 24, 1964, the Florida Board of Regents bought 1,000 acres (400 ha) of undeveloped land along Alafaya Trail in northeast Orange County for $500,000. Area residents later donated another 227 acres (92 ha) and helped raise more than $1 million toward the site. In December 1965 the board appointed Charles Millican as the university’s first president. After consulting a citizen advisory group, Millican selected the name Florida Technological University and helped design the Pegasus seal. He also introduced the motto “Reach for the Stars” and the paired slogans “accent on excellence” and “accent on the individual.” Millican laid out the main campus as a set of pedestrian rings inside a loop road, a plan later compared to mid-century planned-community design.
Millican and Governor Claude Kirk broke ground in March 1967. Classes opened on October 7, 1968, with 1,948 students in 55 degree programs across five colleges, 90 instructors, and about 150 staff members. From the start the university drew students interested in engineering jobs tied to Kennedy Space Center and area defense contractors, but it opened with five colleges rather than as a federal laboratory school. The first graduating class, 423 students, received degrees on June 14, 1970. Astronaut and Orlando native John Young spoke at commencement.
Millican chose the school colors. An early unofficial mascot, the Citronaut — an orange-astronaut hybrid — did not last. After a short-lived “Vincent the Vulture” period, students in 1971 voted for the Knight of Pegasus as the athletic mascot. The teams later competed as the Golden Knights and then the Knights.
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. 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.
Colbourn established the university's honors program, and started the university's first satellite campus. 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. During his tenure, enrollment increased from 11,000 in 1978 to over 18,000 in 1989. 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. Once known mainly as a small commuter and technology school, UCF administrators began 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 attended classes on 12 campuses spread across central Florida. The university consisted of 13 colleges and employed more than 10,150 faculty and staff. During this time, UCF raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions.
The university's athletic program also grew with an on-campus football stadium, new basketball arena, more on-campus housing, and the development of the UCF College of Medicine at Lake Nona. 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.
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During its spring 2010 graduation ceremonies, UCF awarded its 200,000th degree, less than five years after awarding its 150,000th.
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. 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. 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. Board of trustees chairman Marcos Marchena also resigned that month. 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 $147.07 million in 2025). 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.
Cartwright presidency
Alexander Cartwright is the fifth and current president of UCF. He became the president on April 13, 2020, succeeding acting president Thad Seymore, who took over following Whittaker's resignation in February 2019.
Recreation and fitness
Many different recreational organizations and facilities are available on the UCF campus. Lake Claire is an on-campus lake with canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats available for rent (free to UCF students), and a small beachfront. In addition, UCF's Challenge Course is one of only five in the country to contain a high elements course.
UCF's main campus boasts the Recreation and Wellness Center and is located on the south side of campus, adjacent to the Academic Village. The center is open to all students, and paid memberships are available for non-students. The Wellness Center offer programs to boost students' understanding of their health, provides discounted blood and STD testing, staffs certified personal trainers, and teaches methods to maintain good health.
The UCF Recreation and Wellness Center, which opened in 2002, is a 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) building that comprises five programs: Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs, Outdoor Adventure, Fitness, and Aquatics. The main recreation center includes a custom climbing wall with more than 20 different routes, as well as, tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, a disc golf course, numerous intramural sports fields, a leisure pool, and an outdoor lap pool.
From Wikipedia’s article on University of Central Florida, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3