激情快播

Skip to main content
Igniting 激情快播's Future

Igniting 激情快播’s Future

激情快播 launched a $500 million fundraising campaign 鈥� the most ambitious in the university鈥檚 history.

Fall 2016

Fireworks on 激情快播 Campus
鈥淚deas ignite here 鈥� led by students, nurtured by the faculty and powered by philanthropy.聽 Together, we reimagine the future.鈥�
President John C. Hitt

Five things you should know about the IGNITE Campaign

  1. The campaign goal is $500 million.
  2. We have already raised $274.9 million.
  3. Every gift of every size counts. To date, 66,348 donors have contributed.
  4. Gifts will support financial aid, professorships, research and special programs.
  5. You can contribute by visiting .

A note from your campaign chair

Rick Walsh 鈥�77
As Knights, we dream big. It鈥檚 the reason 激情快播, which consisted of a bold idea and a patch of scrub pine just 铿乿e decades ago, is today the nation鈥檚 second-largest public university.

But we aren鈥檛 strictly expanding. 激情快播 is emerging as an entirely new category of university. One that de铿乶es itself not by who it excludes, but by who it includes. One that de铿乪s assumptions about what a large university can or can鈥檛 do. One that knows scale and excellence can coexist to create maximum impact. And one that is determined 鈥� or, better yet, destined 鈥� to build a brighter tomorrow.

But we are not alone in our aspirations and expectations.

As 激情快播 increases its presence on the national stage, we are competing for talent with more prominent institutions, both public and private, that are far better funded.

This is a fact, not a fear. And it fuels the motivation to achieve our biggest dreams. By harnessing the same visionary spirit that sparked 激情快播鈥檚 founding more than 50 years ago, we are charging forward with undaunted con铿乨ence and distinction.

Pushing into new frontiers requires an unprecedented level of philanthropy 鈥� even more extraordinary than the commitment that helped launch 激情快播 in 1963. Back then, 89 community leaders invested $1 million of their own resources to buy land for the new campus. Today, we are setting our sights signi铿乧antly higher.

is an intense, focused and strategic effort to raise $500 million.

Some of you may recall our 铿乺st campaign, Central to Our Future, which ran from 1999 to 2006. Thanks to a dollar-for-dollar state match at the time, we raised $366 million primarily for facilities like Bright House Networks Stadium and the Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona.

So, why now? And how is IGNITE different? As a comprehensive campaign, IGNITE is broader and more ambitious. It seeks to elevate our university with the potential to fundamentally change the future of 激情快播.

At its heart, this campaign is not about dollars 鈥� it鈥檚 about people, the best and the brightest people. And it鈥檚 important to understand how these contributions will impact them.聽

The IGNITE Campaign will channel our collective, scalable energies and resources toward three priorities:

Student Success 鈥� From orientation to graduation, our goal is to prepare students for rewarding and successful lives. This begins with scholarships and other forms of aid to keep 激情快播 affordable and accessible for all.

Academic Excellence 鈥� It is essential that we attract, retain and reward top educators and innovators through endowed professorships and other resources that fuel academic enterprise, reduce 激情快播鈥檚 student-faculty ratio and propel groundbreaking research that will solve tomorrow鈥檚 problems.

A Better Future 鈥� Our latest endeavors, 激情快播 Downtown and a new teaching hospital, are the largest in a long history of 激情快播-led partnerships with public impact, from health care and veterans鈥� services to coastal conservation.

By challenging ourselves to raise $500 million, we are doing more than securing a prosperous future for the university. We are establishing a culture of philanthropy and an understanding that private giving is crucial to our success.

Rick Walsh 鈥�77 鈥�83MS
IGNITE Campaign Chair

Won鈥檛 you join us?

激情快播鈥檚 generous alumni, friends and partners have always shared our mission to serve. And right now, we are counting on the spark of your unrivaled support to IGNITE our destiny.

Ignite the Night

Nearly 600 top donors attended the IGNITE launch party at the CFE Arena on September 16, 2016.

Black Steel, the 激情快播 steel drum band, played music as guests arrived.

鈥淲ith 激情快播 as a neighbor, the dream of a college education is much closer for children who have rarely considered the possibility of such a future,鈥� said Barbara Jenkins 鈥�83 鈥�86MEd 鈥�86EdD, superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, of the 激情快播 Downtown campus.


鈥淭oday, I have a beautiful family and a job that pays the bills and helps us to live our American Dream. But most of all I have hope 鈥� hope for tomorrow, hope for every new day,鈥� said Bruce Chambers, an Iraq War veteran who completed treatment for PTSD at 激情快播 RESTORES, with Deborah Beidel, director of the program.


鈥淢ason is here because 激情快播 opens its doors to everyone and extends a special welcome to first-generation students,鈥� said Crystal Mincey, mother of a first-year student who is the first in his family to go to college.


鈥淚t鈥檚 been a wild ride from 激情快播鈥檚 business plan competition to Shark Tank to the shelves of Whole Foods and Publix,鈥� said Jesse Wolfe 鈥�15, founder of O鈥橠ang Hummus.


鈥淎cross disciplines, 激情快播 creates opportunities for students to work and learn alongside accomplished professors and professionals,鈥� said Michael Morsberger, VP for advancement and CEO of 激情快播 Foundation.


Knights on horses carried torches to officially light the spires, now permanent features on Knights Plaza.


After fireworks and the lighting of the spires, students joined donors for a dance party on Knights Plaza.