Hitt set to retire from UCF in 2018
School saw remarkable growth during his presidency
University of Central Florida President John Hitt, who guided the institution from a “sleepy” commuter school to one of the country’s largest universities, revealed Tuesday he’ll retire next year after 25 years at the helm.
Hitt, 76, said he’d “never felt better” about the university, which had about 22,000 students when he became president. His retirement is effective June 30, 2018.
“Being at UCF has been one of the greatest joys of our lives,” he said with his wife of 55 years, Martha, at his side during a news conference. “When we first visited campus, we had a powerful feeling that UCF was a special place. We never could have imagined back then how very special it would become.”
Under Hitt’s direction, UCF has grown to 66,000 students. The university has started a medical school, built an on-campus football stadium, added more than 100 new buildings and solidified plans to open a new campus in downtown Orlando in 2019. In July, the university announced it had received approval to build a
100-bed teaching hospital next to the medical school in Lake Nona.
“I’m proud of our reputation as one of the biggest and best universities in this country,” Hitt said.
Hitt said he plans to continue helping with the university’s planning and fundraising as president emeritus.
Discussions about Hitt’s successor will begin as early as Thursday, said Marcos Marchena, chairman of the UCF Board of Trustees. The university will form a committee that will include faculty, staff, students, alumni, other Central Florida residents and members of the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors.
“We will conduct a transparent, comprehensive and inclusive search,” Marchena said.
He said he aims to have a new president approved by the Board of Trustees and confirmed by the Board of Governors by June 30, 2018.
Hitt said he hoped the university will appoint someone with a background in academia and knowledge about UCF.
“I think there’s no question we’ll have a good crop of candidates,” he said.
At least one prominent Central Florida leader has expressed interest publicly in the post.
During his 2015 re-election campaign, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer acknowledged his interest in the UCF presidency, which had long been rumored.
In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel’s editorial board during that race, Dyer said he was “absolutely” committed to serving a four-year term if reelected. However, he did not rule out the UCF presidency.
“I’d have to consider that position,” he said. “That would be the one position that I would consider.”
Dyer was in Michigan for the funeral of Helen DeVos, wife of Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, when Hitt’s retirement plans were announced Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
In a statement released through a spokeswoman Tuesday, Dyer didn’t address his interest in the post. He said Hitt had made a “monumental impact” on Central Florida while helping to transform UCF into “our region’s biggest asset.”
Asked whether the university should consider politicians like Dyer to succeed him, Hitt said the mayor was “an outstanding individual.”
“If we decide that this is the time for a politically experienced candidate, I can think of nobody I can recommend ahead of Mayor Dyer,” Hitt said. “I don’t happen to believe this is the time for a political candidate.”
He said he thought the best candidate would be someone with “a deep knowledge of academia,” though he stressed it’s not his decision.
Asked about the timing of his retirement announcement, Hitt said the prospect of losing Provost Dale Whittaker was a factor. Whittaker was a finalist for president at Iowa State University but said Friday he had withdrawn from the search process. Hitt said he feared candidates for Whittaker’s replacement would ask during interviews how long Hitt planned to stay in his position.
Whittaker declined to say whether he was interested in succeeding Hitt at UCF when asked by a Sentinel reporter.
“Today’s all about John Hitt,” he said.
Marchena described Hitt as one of America’s best college presidents. He touted Hitt’s role in building an inclusive campus where one out of four students is the first in his or her family to attend college. Additionally, the percentage of minority students has grown from 15 percent when Hitt arrived in 1992 to 46 percent.
“We have more minority students enrolled today than we had total students when John started,” Marchena said.
He added the UCF Knights have the best graduation rate for athletes of any public university in the country.
Freshman Zeynep Elshaer, 18, said she’s enjoyed her time at UCF so far and thought Hitt had done a good job.
“I guess it’s kind of sad because UCF is a really great school,” said Elshaer, of Altamonte Springs. “He really tries to improve the school and he’s been a good president. But also, if there’s someone new here, they can bring in new ideas and bring the school in a different direction than it’s gone before.”