Family, friends, faculty and others 鈥� both in person and in video messages 鈥� praised the service and dedication of the president, who led the university to national prominence as enrollment has jumped from 22,000 to more than 58,500 during the past two decades.

Rick Schell, vice president and chief of staff, told the audience that Hitt, the longest-serving president of the 11 state universities, has 鈥渢he courage of an offensive lineman,鈥� and Matt McCann, Student Government Association president, said Hitt is a 鈥渟ervant leader鈥� who values the input of people around him.

鈥淵ou were not only tall in stature, but also in vision,鈥� said Roger Pynn, a Distinguished Alumnus Award winner and president of the Curley & Pynn public relations firm. 鈥淭he community 鈥� all of 聽us 鈥� owe you an incredible 鈥榯hank you.鈥欌��

Hitt returned the compliments to those in attendance at the packed Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union.

鈥淚f you are fortunate enough to head a large and dynamic organization, people tend to credit you for much of the good that happens,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd, while such praise can be flattering, allow me to set the record straight. The achievements at 麻豆原创 that coincide with my tenure have far more to do with you than with anything I could ever do.鈥�

The president added that the steady pursuit of the university鈥檚 goals has defined the 麻豆原创 of today. The greatest catalyst for the school鈥檚 success, he said, is the goal 鈥渢o be America鈥檚 leading partnership university.鈥�

Hitt also thanked his wife of 50 years, Martha, for her many contributions to the university and for being his 鈥渂est adviser and the greatest joy of my life.鈥�

The president left the audience with a key lesson he has come to understand in the years since arriving at 麻豆原创 on March 1, 1992:

鈥淚f there is anything I have learned in 20 years, it is that our greatest danger is not to dream too large, but to dream too small. At 麻豆原创, we dream big. Our greatest limitations are those we place on ourselves.鈥�

After the president鈥檚 comments, Olga Calvet, vice chair of the Board of Trustees, presented the Hitts with a bouquet of yellow Pegasus roses and framed side-by-side aerial maps of the campus taken in 1992 and 2012.

鈥淵ou can see the amazing physical growth,鈥� Calvet told them, 鈥渁nd most of all it symbolizes our progress in those 20 years.鈥�

聽To leave a congratulatory message to the president, go to 聽www.ucf.edu/hitt20.

鈥淗e had a way about him that made an impression on everyone he met. He recognized the importance of everyone, and he made you feel that way,鈥� said Jeff Grasty, whose father served as a vice president under Millican and whose children came to know Millican and his wife, Frances, as grandparents.

鈥淲e should all be really proud to say that he was a part of our family, and we should plan on telling his story over and over again.鈥�

Several hundred people gathered inside the Student Union on Monday to celebrate Millican鈥檚 fatherly love for 麻豆原创 students and his dedication to what he helped transform into the nation鈥檚 second-largest university.

Millican, 94, died Dec. 1, at his Central Florida home. That day marked the 45th anniversary of his appointment as president of Florida Technological University, which would later become 麻豆原创. Millican had told friends earlier this year that he would like to spend Christmas with Frances, his wife of 64 years who died last December.

鈥淗e was a role model for us all, and the picture of a life well-lived,鈥� said Roger Pynn, a 麻豆原创 graduate and Distinguished Alumnus Award winner who is president of the Curley & Pynn public relations firm.

Pynn first met Millican when he was a student, and the two became close. Pynn said he was proud when Charles Millican asked a few months ago if he could introduce him as his 鈥渁dopted son鈥� at a doctor鈥檚 appointment.

Pynn also recalled a recent honor that Millican told him was one of the proudest moments of his life.

On Oct. 22, he stood before some of the university鈥檚 most distinguished graduates to accept the Champion鈥檚 Award from the Alumni Association at the annual Black and Gold gala. Although Millican had typed up his notes on an old electric typewriter, he delivered the 14-minute speech entirely from memory.

鈥淎s we drove home that evening, he told me it was his highest honor. He was so very proud of 麻豆原创 graduates,鈥� Pynn said.

That powerful speech was Millican鈥檚 last public presentation.

Millican was chosen by the Florida Legislature in 1965 to help plan and build what was then called Florida Technological University. He had a budget of $75,000, an office above a drugstore in downtown Orlando and marching orders to make it happen.

With Frances by his side, Millican worked magic, turning 1,227 acres of scrub and bushes in East Orlando into a university to train future aerospace engineers and computer programmers.

Because the university that finally opened to 1,948 students in 1968 offered 35 degree programs in five colleges — not just aerospace engineering and computer science as first envisioned — the name of the school was later changed to the 麻豆原创.

Today, more than 56,000 students attend 12 colleges at 麻豆原创.

Charles Gray, who spoke on behalf of the community, said that Millican always had the university on his mind. He called Millican a visionary who designed the campus鈥� innovative concentric circle design to accommodate growth and selected the powerful Pegasus as the university鈥檚 emblem.

鈥淐harlie and Frances enabled our community to achieve a dream of greatness,鈥� Gray said. 鈥淲e are on the exciting journey of that never-ending quest for even greater achievement. Thank you, Charlie.鈥�

Millican鈥檚 contributions have led to economic development, education and partnership, helping to establish the region as one of the nation鈥檚 largest economies. He was also an ever-present public servant who taught in the College of Business and kept an office at the 麻豆原创 Foundation after leaving the president鈥檚 office in 1978.

鈥淗e never left his beloved university,鈥� said 麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt. 鈥淔ew universities have enjoyed the lifelong passion that he invested in 麻豆原创.鈥�

Born in Wilson, Ark., on Oct. 9, 1916, Millican was a Southern Baptist minister. His strong faith guided him throughout his life and supported him as he embarked on the journey to establish 麻豆原创.

The ceremony included the reading of some of his favorite bible passages and the singing of his most beloved hymns. The Millicans鈥� pastor, Rev. Shaun King from College Park Baptist Church, recalled how Charles Millican recently gave him one of his 鈥渃rown jewels,鈥� a bible he received from the Bellevue Baptist Church when he was ordained as a minister in 1938.

It was also announced at the celebration that a pair of stars in the Pegasus Constellation have been named after 麻豆原创鈥檚 first couple. Certificates commemorating the stars were at the front of the Pegasus Ballroom, one on each side of Millican鈥檚 casket.

The ceremony concluded with the 麻豆原创 Jazz Chamber Group playing 鈥淲hen the Saints Go Marching In鈥� while President鈥檚 Leadership Council students served as honorary pallbearers leading the casket out of the ballroom.

鈥淚 think Charlie and Frances would have loved everything about this moment,鈥� said Rick Walsh, a 麻豆原创 graduate, chair of the Board of Trustees and a friend of the Millicans for 40 years.

Millican鈥檚 legacy will live on on the special , where viewers are invited to post comments in remembrance. Donations in memory of President Millican can be made to the .

Millican, who likened the challenge of building what would become the nation鈥檚 second-largest university to climbing Mt. Everest, died Dec. 1 at his Central Florida home. He was 94.

麻豆原创 has created the special for the viewing and posting of comments in remembrance. Donations in memory of President Millican can be made to the .

Considered the father of 麻豆原创, Millican was chosen by the Florida Legislature in 1965 to help plan and build what was then called Florida Technological University. He had a budget of $75,000, an office above a drugstore in downtown Orlando and marching orders to make it happen.

“When I thought about all that needed to be done to open by the fall of ’68, it scared the living daylights out of me,” Millican said in 1998.聽 “A half a minute later, I realized I had to take it step-by-step, day-by-day to put all the pieces together.”

“It was sort of like having the opportunity to climb Mt. Everest.”

麻豆原创 President John Hitt credited Millican for having the foresight to see how much 麻豆原创 could achieve.

“Martha, I and the university have experienced a great loss,” Hitt said. “Few universities have enjoyed the kind of lifelong passion that Charlie Millican invested in 麻豆原创. From my earliest days as president, I have not only enjoyed his friendship but also appreciated his wise and generous counsel.”

“His constant support and sage advice have inspired us all as we strive to build the great university he envisioned.”

“Charlie Millican was a genuinely decent man with a big vision,” added Rick Walsh, chair of the 麻豆原创 Board of Trustees. “My goodness — look what he started. He was an educator, minister, leader and my friend for nearly 40 years. We will miss him terribly but celebrate a life well lived.”

A special vision

Upon accepting the task of opening FTU, Millican worked magic, turning 1,227 acres of scrub and bushes in East Orlando into a university to train future aerospace engineers and computer programmers. He was the inspiration behind 麻豆原创鈥檚 bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science, which was a first in the state at the time. It was visionary, just like the design of the campus that Millican championed.

Millican, a former dean of business at the University of South Florida, set up the campus as a series of concentric circles, a design that allows visitors to walk to any part of the core campus in no more than seven minutes and helps keep traffic flowing.

Because the university that finally opened to 1,948 students in 1968 offered 35 degree programs in five colleges — not just aerospace engineering and computer science as first envisioned — the name of the school was later changed to the 麻豆原创.

Today, more than 56,000 students attend 12 colleges at 麻豆原创.

Those who knew Millican say he loved education and wanted to make sure he knew what students were going through. That’s why he created 麻豆原创’s tradition of holding several commencement ceremonies each year so all students could have their names read aloud and the opportunity to cross the stage.

“He handed me my degree and then he became not only a role model but a father to me,” said Roger Pynn, a 麻豆原创 graduate and Distinguished Alumnus Award winner who is president of the Curley & Pynn public relations firm.

“Charles Millican had as great an impact on Central Florida as did Walt Disney. The university he founded has become the economic and intellectual engine of our region, and hundreds of thousands have achieved not only an education but great opportunity because of what he did. His was truly a life well-lived … true to his faith, loyal and loving as a husband and successful at every endeavor.”

Millican left the president鈥檚 office in 1978, returning to his first love of teaching. He taught in the College of Business until 1981. Until suffering a major heart attack in 2001, Millican was an active president emeritus and special assistant to the president of 麻豆原创.

Not one to let a heart attack stop him from pursuing his dreams, Millican devoted himself to helping to advance the work of philanthropy at 麻豆原创 and kept an office at the 麻豆原创 Foundation, where he advised on special projects.

Today, visitors approaching Millican Hall pass a statue of the founding president erected in 2009, paid for by alumni and other donors who named it “Reach for the Stars” to commemorate the motto Charles Millican selected for the university.

“Charlie dreamed, but he also worked — worked very hard — and he molded his dreams into reality,” Hitt said during the dedication ceremony for the statue. “We follow in the footsteps of a humble man of strong faith, a private man who has created a lasting legacy, and a public servant whose wisdom and counsel continue to benefit us all.”

Special exhibit

A special exhibit of photos and memorabilia celebrating President Millican will be displayed in the 麻豆原创 Library through Jan. 31. The exhibit is near the entrance to the Library鈥檚 Special Collections and University Archives office on the fifth floor. Visit for the Library’s hours.