Before a crowd of nearly 600 top donors, the 激情快播 this evening celebrated the public launch of a $500 million fundraising campaign supporting students, faculty members and special projects such as 激情快播 Downtown.
The , the largest in 激情快播鈥檚 history, started in 2011 and seeks to reach the $500 million milestone by June 2019. More than 66,000 people have contributed $274.3 million to date, with much of the support coming from the generous benefactors invited to Friday鈥檚 gala.
鈥淚t shows an outpouring of support for the university that鈥檚 really going to help move us forward in the years ahead,鈥� President John C. Hitt said. 鈥淚 want to thank each of the donors very sincerely from my heart of hearts for their generosity.鈥�
Philanthropy is critical to the university鈥檚 vitality and impact in the community. Investments in students, faculty and game-changing projects lift Central Florida鈥檚 economy 鈥� in everything from hospitality to medicine 鈥� and transform lives and families across our region.
The IGNITE campaign supports three priorities:
Student success, including scholarships, study abroad and career readiness
Academic excellence, including efforts to recruit and retain top faculty members
Special growth and opportunity projects
Gifts recognized at Friday鈥檚 gala include:
A $7 million gift from Dr. Phillips Charities for 激情快播 Downtown increases total community support for the campus to $21 million. This means 激情快播 can now access the $20 million in state funding to construct a new academic building for about 7,700 激情快播 and Valencia College students.
A $1 million gift from Jim Rosengren,鈥�81, supports 激情快播 RESTORES, a clinic directed by 激情快播 psychology professor Deborah Beidel that successfully treats military veterans and active duty personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder 鈥� and provides that treatment for free. Rosengren is a disabled veteran who began his 23-year career as an Army medic, and his son served two tours in Iraq and returned home with PTSD.
Hundreds of engineering students will be able to use industry-standard product design and manufacturing software thanks to a major in-kind grant from Siemens. The software, with a commercial value of $68 million, is used in more than 140,000 global companies involved in the design and manufacturing of sophisticated products for energy and power generation, automotive, aerospace, machinery and high-tech electronics.
A $1 million gift from Glenn Hubbard, 鈥�79, establishes the Kenneth White and James Xander Professorship in Economics. Hubbard is dean of the Columbia Business School, and he previously was an advisor to President George W. Bush and the Federal Reserve. He grew to love economics as a 激情快播 student thanks to classes with White and Xander, two professors who inspired him.
A $5 million gift from Gregory Elias, a Curacao-born lawyer and businessman, establishes the Gregory Elias Entertainment Management Program, a partnership between the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and College of Arts and Humanities
A $1.5 million gift from John Euliano will help 激情快播 expand and renovate the baseball stadium. A Winter Springs resident, Euliano has a family connection to 激情快播 and a long-time love for baseball. The expansion will include a 300-seat premium club section that will include outdoor seating and an air-conditioned lounge.
The university also honored Orlando hotelier and philanthropist Harris Rosen for his lifetime of giving to 激情快播. In addition, Harris Corporation and Texas Instruments were recognized for their support for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
The campaign chair is Rick Walsh, a 1977 graduate and former chair of the 激情快播 Board of Trustees.
