{"id":13914,"date":"2018-05-18T13:17:02","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T13:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=13914&#038;post_type=story"},"modified":"2021-06-22T18:22:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T18:22:14","slug":"president-hitt-built-legacy","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/president-hitt-built-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"How President Hitt Built a Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Summer 2018 | By <strong>Nicole Dudenhoefer \u201917<\/strong> and <strong>Gene Kruckemyer \u201973<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>March 1, 1992<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>John C. Hitt becomes the fourth president of 麻豆原创.<br \/>\n<strong>Enrollment:<\/strong> 20,302<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>1993<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The National Center for Simulation forms with headquarters in 麻豆原创\u2019s Research Park.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> It is a $6 billion modeling and simulation hub.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>1995<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>麻豆原创\u2019s favorite tradition, Spirit Splash, happens by accident when student body president <strong>Miguel Torregrosa \u201994<\/strong> is thrown into the Reflecting Pond.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> Considered one of the nation\u2019s best campus traditions<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[blockquote source=&#8221;Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida&#8221; cite=&#8221;&#8221; color=&#8221;#41515d&#8221; css_class=&#8221;&#8221;]\u201cSimply stated, I believe Walt Disney and John Hitt have done more to transform Central Florida into a vibrant, dynamic place than any [other] two people.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>1996<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The football team joins Division I-A.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> In January, the Knights defeated Auburn to win the Peach Bowl and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/knights-kings-2017-national-championship-season\/\">end with a perfect 13-0 national championship season<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>1998<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>On behalf of 麻豆原创, Hitt accepts the John Young Spotlight Award for outstanding achievement in bringing positive national and international attention to the community.<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[blockquote source=&#8221;Buddy Dyer, mayor of Orlando&#8221; cite=&#8221;&#8221; color=&#8221;#41515d&#8221; css_class=&#8221;&#8221;]\u201cI can truly say that I don\u2019t think there are too many university presidents in this country that have had as much effect on their university and their community as Dr. Hitt has in the past 26 years.\u201d [\/blockquote]<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2004<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/college\/rosen-college-hospitality-management\/\">The Rosen College of Hospitality Management<\/a> opens its doors.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> No. 2 hospitality and hotel management program in the world <em>(CEOWORLD Magazine)<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2005<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fiea.ucf.edu\/\">The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academ<\/a>y holds its first classes at 麻豆原创\u2019s Center for Emerging Media in downtown Orlando.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> No. 3 video game graduate school in the world (The Princeton Review and <em>PC Gamer<\/em>)<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2005<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>For the first time, 麻豆原创 receives $100 million in research funding.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> 麻豆原创 has received more than $1 billion in research funding in the past decade.<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[blockquote source=&#8221;Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University&#8221; cite=&#8221;&#8221; color=&#8221;#41515d&#8221; css_class=&#8221;&#8221;]&#8221;I think that what you all have there in Central Florida is the emergence of a fantastic world-class university that is very different from UF and FSU. John was the person that was able to pull that off. In a sense, he\u2019s building the modern 21st-century model.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2006<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/directconnect.ucf.edu\">DirectConnect to 麻豆原创<\/a> launches. It becomes a national model of guaranteed admission to a four-year university after earning an associate degree from a partner college.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> More than 45,000 students have graduated with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/majors\/\">bachelor\u2019s degree from 麻豆原创<\/a> as a result.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2006<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/college\/medicine\/\">The College of Medicine<\/a> is established.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> 98 percent residency match rate for graduates, which is higher than the national average of 94 percent<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2006 &amp; 2007<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>Orlando<\/em> magazine names Hitt as No. 1 on its list of \u201c50 Most Powerful People\u201d in Central Florida. He has made the list every year since.<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[blockquote source=&#8221;Teresa Jacobs, mayor of Orange County&#8221; cite=&#8221;&#8221; color=&#8221;#41515d&#8221; css_class=&#8221;&#8221;]\u201cDr. Hitt\u2019s pride and happiness at that 10th anniversary celebration for the National Entrepreneur Center really sums up what he has devoted his 麻豆原创 presidency to \u2014 the creation of strategic partnerships, investment in innovation and the launch of a national model for excellence.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2007<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Bright House Networks Stadium (now Spectrum Stadium) and the CFE Arena open in the same month.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2008<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The White House presents Hitt with the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award for his outstanding service to the community.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2009<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The charter class of 麻豆原创\u2019s medical school receives four-year scholarships that cover tuition and living expenses \u2014 the first award of its kind in the nation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2013<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>麻豆原创 joins the American Athletic Conference.<br \/>\n<strong>Today:<\/strong> Student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than at any other public NCAA Division I school.<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[blockquote source=&#8221;Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft&#8221; cite=&#8221;&#8221; color=&#8221;#41515d&#8221; css_class=&#8221;&#8221;]\u201cOur colleges and universities need to be bigger and better. 麻豆原创 has been a pioneer in showing how that can be done. I hope other colleges and universities will learn from its success.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2015<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>Washington Monthly<\/em> names Hitt one of America\u2019s 10 Most Innovative College Presidents.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2015<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>U.S. News &amp; World Report<\/em> includes 麻豆原创 among its list of Most Innovative Schools, along with Harvard, MIT and Stanford.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2016<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/downtown\/\">The 麻豆原创 Downtown campus<\/a>, in partnership with Valencia College, is approved by the Florida Board of Governors.<br \/>\nIt is scheduled to open in 2019.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>2017<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The 麻豆原创 Lake Nona Medical Center is approved by the Florida Board of Governors.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"h2\"><strong>June 30, 2018<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Hitt will retire from the presidency.<br \/>\n<strong>Enrollment:<\/strong> 66,183<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[blockquote source=&#8221;Sandy Shugart, president of Valencia College&#8221; cite=&#8221;&#8221; color=&#8221;#41515d&#8221; css_class=&#8221;&#8221;]\u201cOne of his great contributions is that he\u2019s lived his entire career looking for ways to have more impact on the people and the communities 麻豆原创 serves. His model of impactful leadership has been really powerful.\u201d[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n<p>[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n<p>[photo id=&#8221;13984&#8243; title=&#8221;Building-A-Legacy-Img-2_DT&#8221; alt=&#8221;&#8221; position=&#8221;center&#8221; width=&#8221;100%&#8221;][\/photo]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13988,"template":"","categories":[977],"tags":[668,654,782,121,775,297,868,529],"class_list":["post-13914","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-cfe-arena","tag-college-of-medicine","tag-directconnect-to-ucf","tag-florida-interactive-entertainment-academy","tag-john-c-hitt","tag-rosen-college-of-hospitality-management","tag-spirit-splash","tag-ucf-downtown","issues-1242","issues-summer-2018"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How President Hitt Built a Legacy | Pegasus 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