University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States. UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, and is the second-largest university in the United States by enrollment.

The University of Central Florida was authorized by the Florida State Legislature in 1963, and opened in 1968 as Florida Technological University, with the goal of providing highly-trained personnel to support the Kennedy Space Center, located only 35 mi to the east. As the university's academic scope had expanded to encompass other disciplines, "Florida Tech" was renamed the University of Central Florida in 1978. Although initial enrollment in 1968 was only 1,948 students, as of 2012 enrollment consists of 59,767 students representing over 140 countries, all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The majority of the student population is located on the university's 1415 acre main campus approximately 13 mi east-northeast of downtown Orlando and 55 mi south-southwest of Daytona Beach. The university offers over 210 separate degree options through twelve colleges and twelve satellite campuses throughout Florida. Since its founding, UCF has awarded more than 235,000 degrees, including 40,000 graduate and professional degrees, to nearly 190,000 alumni worldwide.

UCF is a space-grant university and has made noted research contributions to optics, modeling and simulation, digital media, engineering and computer science, business administration, education, and hospitality management, and is considered to be the fifth-best up-and-coming national university by U.S. News & World Report. UCF's official colors are black and gold and the academic logo is a Pegasus. The athletic teams, called the 'Knights' and represented by the mascot Knightro, are members of Conference USA until July 1, 2013, when they will become all-sports members of the Big East Conference.

Establishment
The university was established on June 10, 1963, when the Florida State Legislature passed, and Governor Farris Bryant subsequently signed into law Bill No. 125. The Board of Regents appointed Charles Millican the first president of the new university in 1965. Millican, with the consultation of a citizen advisory group, would choose the name Florida Technological University as well as co-design the school's distinctive "Pegasus" seal. Before the university was constructed, the land where it would be was desolate farm land. In fact, the first time that Millican went to see the land where the new university would be, he could not find it and had to return weeks later with specific directions from the Chancellor of the Board of Regents.

In March 1967, Florida Governor Claude Kirk presided over the groundbreaking of the new Florida Technological University. Eighteen months later on October 7, 1968, classes began with 1,948 students, 90 instructors and 150 staff members, in the school's first academic building, the library. During the university's inaugural year, fifty-five degree programs were offered within its five colleges: Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Engineering and Technology. The university's first mascot was the Citronaut, a mix between an orange and an astronaut.

UCF was founded as a non-segregated and coeducational university, with the founding goal being to educate current and future students for promising space-age careers in engineering, electronics and other technological professions, thus serving as a support system for the nearby Kennedy Space Center. In addition, the Central Florida Research Park, located adjacent to the UCF campus, serves as a major focus of simulation for space and defense-related research.

Expansion and growth
The university's second president, Dr. Trevor Colbourn, recognized the diversification and growth of UCF's academic programs away from its strictly technological and scientific beginnings. From its establishment the university was known as Florida Technological University, nicknamed Florida Tech, until December 1978 when Governor Reuben Askew signed legislation changing the school's name to the University of Central Florida.

The official colors of the university were chosen by Charles N. Millican, UCF's Founding President. When the first student handbook was being drafted, the university had no official mascot. During the school's first year, the student newspaper, the FuTUre, compiled mascot suggestions from its readership body. A night nurse at the Health Center, Judy Hines, proposed "Vincent the Vulture" in 1970, which remained the school's unofficial mascot for more than a year. Later that year, UCF students voted and selected the "Knight of Pegasus" as their official mascot. Until 1999, the Knights were represented by a jouster from the Medieval Times dinner show located in nearby Kissimmee, Florida. That same year, Knightro was introduced at the staple homecoming event, "Spirit Splash." Two years later, UCF students were introduced to Knightro's girlfriend, Glycerin.

Recent history
During its brief history, UCF has hosted numerous notable speakers. Among these are Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, then Senator and current Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Bill Nelson, Mel Martinez, John Edwards, Florida Governors Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The past decade has seen enrollment increase by over forty percent at UCF, the acceptance rate for first time in college students falling from over 60% to near 40% in 2008, and the doubling of expected annual expenses. Since 2000, the university has awarded over 100,000 degrees.

Once known mainly as a small commuter and technology school, in recent years UCF has undertaken an effort to increase its academic and research standings while also evolving into a more traditional research university. The university has changed dramatically since its founding in 1963. As of 2012, there are approximately 59,767 students attending classes on twelve campuses spread across Central Florida. The university consists of twelve colleges and employs more than 10,150 faculty and staff. Since its founding, the university has been led by four presidents. Under the direction of current President Dr. John C. Hitt, UCF has raised admissions standards, increased research funding, built new facilities, and established notable partnerships with major research institutions. Hitt's efforts have resulted in not only an increase in the university's academic profile, but also an on-campus football stadium, new arena, more on-campus housing, and the development of the UCF College of Medicine at Lake Nona.

UCF is currently the largest university in the nation by terms of undergraduate enrollment, the largest university in Florida, and in 2003 held the distinction of being the fastest-growing university in the United States. During its Spring 2010 graduation ceremonies, the University of Central Florida awarded its 200,000th degree, less than five years after awarding its 150,000th diploma.

Main campus
The University of Central Florida has a unique campus layout that has become a model for other universities, reminiscent of the plans by Walt Disney for his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). The campus was designed to be a pedestrian oriented campus, with a series of concentric circles. The outermost circle is Gemini Blvd, which is also the main road for vehicular traffic on campus. Inside of Gemini, there is Apollo Circle, Mercury Circle, and finally Pegasus Circle as the innermost circle. Pegasus Circle contains the student union, which is the center of the campus, with the John C. Hitt Library located directly to the south of it. All academic buildings are located inside of Gemini, with the circle divided up into pie-shaped sections for each college. As there are very few roads inside of Gemini, many buildings' loading docks are accessible only by sidewalks and thus receive most deliveries at night. The University of Central Florida campus is one of only two in the nation with a concentric circle design, the other being the University of California, Irvine. Newsweek has ranked UCF as having the 20th most beautiful university campus in the country.

Student housing is provided along the perimeter of the campus. Outside of Gemini, the campus is divided up into different themed sections. The northwest side of campus includes Greek communities, the north side contains Knights Plaza, an uptown style athletic village, the east side contains the Arboretum of the University of Central Florida, and the south side contains student recreation and wellness facilities.

Located directly south of the main campus is Central Florida Research Park, which is the seventh largest research park in the nation and the largest in Florida, housing over 116 corporations. The park provides more than 10,000 jobs to over 500 students and thousands of alumni.

Regional campuses
In addition to the main campus in Orlando, the University of Central Florida has several other campuses to service the central Florida region. In Orlando, there are three other campuses, located in Downtown, Valencia West, and South Orlando, as well as partnerships with the local community colleges of Brevard Community College, Lake-Sumter Community College, Seminole State College of Florida and Valencia College.

Outside Orlando, there are campuses in Cocoa, Clermont, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee, Leesburg, Ocala, Palm Bay and Sanford. In addition to having standard classes at these campuses, some courses are offered via alternative methods, such as 2-way TV from the main campus or via broadband.

UCF, in partnership with local colleges, participates in a program called DirectConnect. Through this program all students and alumni of Brevard Community College, Lake-Sumter Community College, Seminole State College of Florida and Valencia Community College are assured admission to the university. DirectConnect is considered to be the most productive community college-university partnership in America.

Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona
The 50 acre (0.20 km2) UCF Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona includes the College of Medicine and the Burnett Biomedical Sciences Building. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Tavistock Group, M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute, and a University of Florida research facility will also call Lake Nona home, turning the area into a medical city. The campus will also serve as the future home of the UCF College of Nursing and the newly approved UCF College of Dental Medicine. The College of Medicine welcomed its charter class in August 2009.

Upon completion of construction, the campus could accommodate as many as 5,000 upper division, professional, and graduate students and faculty members in the health-related programs, and include up to two million square feet of research and instruction space.

Rosen College of Hospitality Management


Located near the Orange County Convention Center, the campus is designed to imitate a resort-style feel, with various areas of the college named for major donors to the college including the Disney Dining Room, Universal Orlando Library, Darden Auditorium, and the state-of-the-art Anheuser Busch Beer & Wine Lab. The campus includes the Three Pillars Cafe, a student-operated cafe that serves various cuisines and food items. Regular Shuttle service is offered Monday through Thursday to and from the UCF Main Campus.

The college features an on-site Campus Life Office and Career Services Office that coordinate on-campus activities and career development events in conjunction with the UCF Student Government Association. In 2005, the University opened two on-campus housing buildings, able to house 400 residents. The college offers a variety of student organizations including associations such as Eta Sigma Delta (International Hospitality Management Honor Society), National Society of Minorities in Hospitality, the Professional Convention Management Association, and the National Association of Catering Executives.

Sustainability
Due to long-term environmental programs and commitments, UCF was named an exemplary green institution in the 2010 Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges, and the university has had its initiatives showcased by the U.S. Department of Energy. UCF has pledged to become climate-neutral under the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment by 2050 at the latest, and to increase its recycling rate to 75% by 2020, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 42% by 2030. Committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, all new construction must be designed and certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The UCF College of Medicine on the Health Sciences Campus is the only LEED Silver medical school in Florida.

Administration and organization
As a part of the State University System of Florida, UCF falls under the purview of the Florida Board of Governors. The University of Central Florida is headed by the Board of Trustees, which governs the university, consisting of thirteen members that are appointed to staggered five-year terms by the Florida Board of Governors. The student government association president and the faculty chair also serve on the board during the duration of their one-year term of office.

The President of the University of Central Florida is the principal executive officer of the university. The office was formed upon creation of the university in 1963. University bylaws state that the president is to be appointed by the Board of Trustees, with the consent of the Florida Board of Governors, and lead the university through its daily business. Today, the president's office is located in Millican Hall on the university's main campus, and the president has the privilege of living in the Burnett House, also located on UCF's main campus. The fourth president of UCF, Dr. John C. Hitt has served since 1992.

The University of Central Florida comprises a main campus in Orlando, with twelve satellite campuses located throughout central Florida. UCF offers Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist, Doctoral, and Professional degree programs through its twelve colleges. By enrollment, the three largest undergraduate units are the College of Sciences, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. At the graduate level, the College of Graduate Studies serves as the central administrative unit of graduate education at the university. UCF's financial endowment, administered by the University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc., was valued at $137.1 million in the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO) 2012 ranking, a 24% increase from 2011.

Due to cutbacks in federal, state and local budgets, UCF has had over $140 million in funds cut from its operating budget since 2008. This included a $53 million cut to UCF’s 2012–13 fiscal year budget by the Florida legislature. So far UCF has been enable to endure the budget cuts by implementing a hiring freeze, putting an end to some faculty perks, such as free seminars, cutting executive pay, and through wise management of funds. To help counter the budget decreases, the university received $18 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. UCF's operating budget for the 2012–13 fiscal year is $1.4 billion, a 10.1% increase from the previous year.

Student Government Association
The University of Central Florida's Student Government Association (SGA) is the leading advocacy group for the students who attend the university, representing the university's nearly 60,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. It is the largest Student Government within the state of Florida and one of the largest in the United States. In addition, it also often places in the top ten SGAs nationally for the services and outreach it provides for the students it serves. The SGA operates within an annual $19.5 million dollar budget. With its budget, SGA funds and fully owns two campus facilities, the Recreation and Wellness Center and the Student Union, while also providing upwards of $1.5 million dollars in funding to over 400 registered student organizations.

The SGA was officially established in 1976 and consists of an executive, judicial, and legislative branch. The executive branch is headed by the Student Body President and Student Body Vice President. Within the executive branch are between 30–40 appointed and paid cabinet members that oversee everything from university policies to tracking the state's legislature. The Student Body President, by mandate of Florida law serves on the university's Board of Trustees for a period of one year. The Student Body President and Student Body Vice President are elected in annual elections held in the spring and both receive a paid salary that ranges from $18,000 to $21,000 per year. The legislative branch is composed of 56 senators elected each fall, who serve one-year terms representing their respective colleges. The senators elect a Speaker of the Senate who receives an annual salary between $17,000 and $20,000 per year, and a Senate President Pro Tempore once a year in the fall to lead the Student Senate. The judicial branch consists of a paid Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices who preside over student conduct hearings and traffic appeals.

Academics
The University of Central Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools according to the U.S. Department of Education. UCF's academic calendar is based on the semester system, with the typical fall semester running from the end of August till the beginning of December, and the typical spring semester running from the beginning of January through the beginning of May. In addition, UCF offers four different summer semesters, A, B, C, and D, ranging from six weeks to twelve weeks. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies UCF as a "large four-year, primarily nonresidential" university with a "comprehensive doctoral" graduate instructional program.

Student profile
UCF's student body consists of 50,968 undergraduates and 8,522 graduate and professional students from all 67 Florida counties, all 50 states and 141 countries. Study abroad programs allow UCF students to study and conduct research in 42 programs in 21 countries.

In the new millennium, enrollment has increased by over sixty percent at UCF, from 33,453 in 2000, to 59,767 in 2012. Of the nearly 60,000 students, 15 percent are graduate and professional students, while women make up 55% of the student body. Nearly 20 percent of UCF faculty are minorities. According to the May 2009 edition of Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine, UCF is one of the best 100 colleges in the United States for Hispanic students seeking bachelors degrees. 24% of UCF students are above the age of 25.

The ten largest undergraduate disciplines at UCF are respectively: psychology, nursing, biomedical sciences, biology, business, health sciences, accounting, elementary education, interdisciplinary studies, and hospitality management.

Due to budget decreases and increased demands on the university, the UCF Board of Trustees, with the approval of the Board of Governors and the Florida Legislature, approved a 15% increase in tuition for the 2012–13 academic year. Estimated annual expenses for undergraduate students are $20,328 for Florida residents, and $33,406 for non-Florida residents. Expected costs for graduate students are $22,072 for in-state students, and $38,878 for out-of-state students. About 8% of tuition fees are allocated to support the university's athletic programs.

Rankings
In 2012, UCF was rated 39th among the "Best Values in Public Colleges" in the United States by Kiplinger, and as one of the "50 Best Value Public Universities" by USA Today and The Princeton Review. In its 2013 edition of Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report ranks UCF 97th among public universities and 174th overall on the list of Tier I National Universities, in addition to being the fifth-best "Up-and-Coming" national university. UCF is also ranked as a "Best Southeastern College" by The Princeton Review.

The University of Central Florida is listed among “The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition” by The Princeton Review, and in the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, UCF was ranked among the top 300 universities in the world. UCF ranks eighth among national universities "least likely to leave graduates in debt," and was also ranked as one of most economically diverse universities in 2009, 2010 and 2011 by U.S. News & World Report. In 2011, Forbes listed UCF as the 42nd most most-affordable university in the nation. The university is also considered a top school in awarding degrees to minority students, ranking 12th nationally for total undergraduate degrees awarded to Hispanic students and 18th for undergraduate degrees awarded to African-American students.

UCF offers both Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs which are rated among the top 15 percent nationally. In 2010, Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranked the UCF College of Business Administration as the number one public business school for return on investment in the nation, and as a Top Undergraduate Business Program. The university has also been recognized by Bill Gates as a leader in the arena of online education.

In total, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCF's engineering, education, speech-language pathology, public administration and computer science programs all within the top 100 in their respective fields, and five UCF programs as among the nation’s "Best Graduate Schools." In 2012, the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science was ranked 70th nationally, while the College of Education was ranked 64th and the Physics program was ranked 102nd in 2010. In 2011, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) was ranked 2nd in graduate video game design by the Princeton Review.

Admissions
As a result of an increasing number of students applying to the university each year, UCF's admission rate for first-time-in-college freshmen has declined from 61% of prospective students admitted in the Fall of 2005, to 42% for Fall 2012. Due to the decrease in the rate of admission, UCF is rated as a "selective" university by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

34% of accepted applicants were in the top ten percent of their graduating class, while 72% of accepted applicants were in the top quarter of their high school class rankings. Freshmen enrolled in Fall 2012 posted average SAT scores of 1244 (1835 including the writing section), ACT scores of 27 and average high school GPAs of 3.91. UCF is in the top 20 percent of universities in the nation for SAT average and the top 25 percent for GPA average. Over 96% of undergraduates receive financial aid, with an average financial aid package of $11,442 and about 70% of aid distributed in the forms of grants or scholarships. 90% of students receive scholarships through the Florida Bright Futures program. Forty percent of incoming freshman received Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or an equivalent college credit upon entrance, while 30% of the freshman class received merit based scholarships. The retention rate of the 2010 freshman class was 87%.

More freshmen and transfer students applied to UCF during 2009 than any other public university in Florida, and UCF also awarded more bachelor’s degrees than any other Florida public university last year. UCF is ranked 2nd in Florida, and 34th in the United States, by the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled. 74 National Merit Scholars enrolled at UCF for the Fall 2012 term.

Colleges
The university currently houses twelve colleges that offer 92 baccalaureate programs, 85 master's programs, 30 doctoral programs, three specialist programs, and one professional program (Medicine). In addition, 73% of the faculty have doctorates, and 45% currently have tenure at the university.

Colleges at UCF include:

Honors and Limited Access
The University Honors Program, administered by The Burnett Honors College is designed for 500 accomplished incoming undergraduates annually. Undergraduates enrolled in The Honors College participate in smaller classes with faculty, including individual research programs or assigned research in the area of a sponsoring faculty member. Another program offered by the college is Honors in the Major, which allows juniors and seniors to conduct original research within their major and write an undergraduate honors thesis. The latest Honors College incoming class had an average SAT score of 1373 and a 4.16 grade-point average. Honors students have the option to reside in a specifically designed living-learning community, composed entirely of honors students, in Tower III at Knights Plaza.

A number of undergraduate academic programs at UCF are termed "Limited Access Programs." Limited Access Programs are programs where student demand exceeds available resources thus making admission to such program competitive. Examples of limited access programs include: The Nicholson School of Communication, Music, Theatre, Dance, and The College of Medicine's Medical Laboratory Sciences program.

College of Medicine
The UCF College of Medicine was established in 2006 by the Florida Legislature and the Florida Board of Governors to increase opportunities for medical education in Florida. The College of Medicine welcomed its charter class of 41 students on August 3, 2009, and eventually will produce about 120 medical graduates a year.

With more than 4,300 applications for 41 available positions, UCF broke the state university record for most applications, and for 2009 it was the most selective medical school in the country. For the class of 2014, there were 3,761 applicants and only 60 were accepted. This initial class had the highest average MCAT score, 32.2, and GPA, 3.8, of any incoming class of medical students in the state. The inaugural class had a median age of 28, with 25% of the class composed of out-of-state students. The charter class completed their first year of courses on the UCF main campus, while the Lake Nona Medical City was completed. Every member of the inaugural class received a full scholarship, including tuition and basic living expenses, for their entire four years at the university, valued at over $160,000.

The university aims for the college to become a research-intensive medical school, with the aid of The Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Tavistock Group, and a M.D. Anderson Cancer Research Institute, all located on the College of Medicine's Lake Nona campus.

Libraries
The stated goal of the University of Central Florida libraries is to "support the research, teaching, learning and service commitments of students and faculty through widely-available access to collections of library resources, and to services to assist resource use."

UCF Libraries collections include over 2 million print volumes, 3 million microforms, 300,000 government documents, 10,000 full text electronic journal subscriptions, 600,000 e-books, 40,000 media titles, a base of 17,000 serial subscriptions, in addition to special collections and university archives materials. Notable collections within the library include the Bryant West Indies collection, the Van Sickle Leftist Pamphlet collection, the Book Arts Collection, collections of materials on tourism and hospitality, and materials on the history of Central Florida. UCF Libraries is a partner within the State University System of Florida Libraries.

Most of the print and media collection is housed in the John C. Hitt Library, which is located on UCF's main campus and is open to students, faculty and the public seven days a week. The library is five stories tall, and was the first academic building on campus. Leonardo Nierman's sculpture Flame of Hope is displayed outside the entrance to the building, and Nierman's stained glass Genesis window is exhibited on the third floor of the library building. In 2012, the main campus library was dedicated to honor John C. Hitt, UCF's fourth president, who at the time was celebrating his twentieth anniversary as university president. In addition to the John C. Hitt Library, Rosen College library and Health Sciences Campus library, UCF operates libraries at nine of its regional campuses.

The student newspaper, the Central Florida Future, at one time was housed on the upper floor of the library before moving to the Central Florida Research Park. In 1984, a complete renovation of the original library was undertaken, as well as an addition that more than doubled the size of the building. University president Dr. Trevor Colbourn dedicated the newly remodeled and expanded library in February 1985. Due to a lack of funding from the state legislature, a plan for an $84 million expansion of the library, which would add 164000 sqft of space, has been delayed.

Research
The University of Central Florida fosters research amongst its twelve academic colleges and schools, partnerships with corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Siemens, and through partnerships with local community colleges. UCF also houses a satellite campus at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. UCF is also a member of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. The university has made noted research contributions to optics, modeling and simulation, digital media, engineering and computer science, business administration, education, and hospitality management.

Listed as a university with "very high research activity" by the The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, UCF was ranked third in the nation in 2010 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in its annual patent power rankings for the strength and impact of the university's patents. In both 2008 and 2009, UCF was ranked in the top ten in Intellectual Property Today's Patent Scorecard. University research and analysis has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Parenting Magazine, Inside Higher Ed, has been reported by the Associated Press, and has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, MSNBC and National Public Radio.

UCF researchers attracted $121.7 million in funding in 2009, with $59.9 million of the research expenditure sponsored by the federal government, while $36.5 million was from private donors, and $25.2 million from state funds. In 2009, UCF directly influenced 26,000 jobs and $1.96 billion in economic activity. When UCF's economic impact is combined with that of the Central Florida Research Park, the university and park influenced 46,000 jobs and $3.84 billion in economic activity in 2009. The new College of Medicine, which opened in August 2009, will create more than 30,000 local jobs and have an economic impact of $7.6 billion in its first few years.

Metropolitan Orlando sustains the world's largest recognized cluster of modeling, simulation and training companies. Located directly south of the main campus is the Central Florida Research Park, which is one of the largest research parks in the nation, providing more than 10,000 jobs. Research Park is the 7th largest research park in the nation, with 2,700 Department of Defense personnel and direct support contractors. Collectively, those defense organizations manage $5.2 billion in contracts every year. Many of the employees in Research Park work with UCF researchers and students on projects in the sciences, engineering, photonics and optics, modeling and simulation, and health-related fields.

The university also conducts research through numerous institutions and centers, including the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers, Florida Solar Energy Center, Institute for Simulation and Training and Institute for Economic Competitiveness.

Student life
UCF has over 400 registered student organizations, intramural sports, and an active Student Government Association. The university encourages student activism through organizations such as the Office of Student Involvement, the Multicultural Student Center, the Campus Activities Board, Volunteer UCF and Learning and Interacting with New Knights (LINK), an organization that fosters freshman involvement. UCF was ranked as the ninth best party school in the country for 2011 by Playboy. In 2006, High Times magazine ranked UCF one of the top five counterculture colleges in the nation.

Residential life
The university currently houses 6,000 beds on-campus in eight different housing communities. Residence hall style suites are available in the Libra, Apollo, Hercules, and Nike communities. All of the residence hall suites have bathrooms shared between 2 or 3 rooms as opposed to communal bathrooms. Apartment style housing is available in the Academic Village (Nike and Hercules) communities, the Towers at Knights Plaza, and the Lake Claire Courtyard Apartments Community. UCF also has 400 beds at the Rosen College Apartments Community, located on the Rosen College of Hospitality Management campus. The majority of all on campus housing is occupied by freshman, though The Towers at Knights Plaza house mainly upper-classmen, student athletes, and honors students. Residents of the Towers Communities and Rosen College Apartments sign annual contracts to rent their apartments for a full academic year (fall, spring, and summer), whereas residents of all other standard housing communities on the main campus sign academic contracts to rent their rooms only for one or two semesters at a time.

Housing on the main campus typically fills to capacity well before the start of the Fall semester, and cannot accommodate everyone who applies. In order to provide additional student housing to meet the demand, UCF is constructing a new learning community known as NorthView directly north of the main campus. When completed the project will house 600 students around a faith-based community center, which will include a Hillel Jewish Student Center, a Catholic Student Center, and a common space for other faith based organizations on campus to use.

In addition, about 3,750 beds are available at the University-affiliated housing communities of Knights Circle and The Pointe at Central, which are off-campus apartment communities owned by the University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc. and managed by Asset Campus Housing. These communities contain many UCF services such as Resident Assistants, UCF Police service, reduced rent and offer shuttle service to and from campus on class days.

Greek housing is also available on the main campus in the Greek Park community, which consists of close to 400 beds. There are seven sororities and four fraternities housed on campus, with five fraternities offering housing off campus.

Greek life
The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of Central Florida is separated into five divisions: UCF Greek Council, Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Panhellenic Council, and the Diversified Greek Council. The Order of Omega has a chapter at the university.

The Interfraternity Council (IFC) comprises 18 fraternities, and the Panhellenic Council is made up of 11 sororities. In addition there are also many multicultural and honor Greek organizations. The Diversified Greek Council consists of 9 cultural organizations, four fraternities and five sororities. The National Pan-Hellenic Council comprises nine historically-black organizations, five fraternities and four sororities. There are now also three recognized fraternal organizations for Christian students.

Greek life at the University of Central Florida involves more than 2,900 students in over 40 chapters. Approximately 11% of current undergraduates males and 9% of undergraduate females are members of either a sorority or fraternity.

The average GPA of Greek Life is higher than the overall university average. UCF's Greek Life won the inaugural Mid-American Conference Grade Point Average Award, which is given to the university with the highest Greek GPA above their campus’ non-Greek GPA. In 2003, Florida Leader Magazine named UCF the university with the best Greek academics program in the state.

Student traditions
Spirit Splash is a homecoming tradition at UCF, and is traditionally the only time during the year that students are allowed into the Reflection Pond. Named one of the best homecoming traditions in the nation, the Friday before the Homecoming game is reserved for a pep rally at the Reflection Pond, where students descend into the pond to demonstrate their school spirit.

Spirit Splash has been named the best college or university tradition in Florida by Florida Leader magazine. Along with the students, there are members of the community, alumni, children and even dogs who come to join in on the festivities. Spirit Splash began in 1995 when the Student Body President Miguel Torregrossa was pushed into the Reflection Pond by one of his cabinet members and fellow students at the pep rally followed suit. Knightro, the Marching Knights, cheerleaders, student athletes, and dancers all participate in the pep rally, usually followed by a concert. Spirit Splash was made possible in part by weight testing performed on the Reflection Pond in preparation for President Richard Nixon's visit to the university to speak at its 1973 commencement. It was determined that the best way to protect the president would be to hold commencement in the pond itself, after being drained, so that Secret Service agents could be stationed on the roofs of the adjacent buildings.

One of the newest traditions on the UCF campus pertains to the Pegasus seal in the center of the main floor of the Student Union. From their first day on campus for orientation, new students are told to never walk on the Pegasus. As the tradition is told, those who step on the seal will never graduate from UCF. Usually the seal is roped off with heavy black velvet ropes, but when the ropes are not in place, students can be seen carefully avoiding the seal. In 2005, Florida Leader magazine named this new tradition the best college superstition in Florida.

Recreation
Many different recreational organizations and facilities are available on the UCF campus. Lake Claire is an on-campus lake with canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats available for rent (free to UCF students), and a small beachfront. Students may also swim in the lake, which is the home to one shy, 4 ft gator. In addition, UCF's Challenge Course is one of only five in the country to contain a high elements course.

UCF's main campus also boasts two Recreation and Wellness Centers. The main center is located on the south side of campus, adjacent to the Academic Village. The second gym is located in Knights Plaza on the north side of campus. The Centers are open to all students, and paid memberships are available for non-students. The Wellness Centers offer programs to boost students' understanding of their health, provides discounted blood and STD testing, staffs certified personal trainers, and teaches methods to maintain good health.

The main UCF Recreation and Wellness Center, which opened in 2002, is a 150000 sqft building that comprises five programs: Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs, Outdoor Adventure, Fitness, and Aquatics. The main recreation center includes a custom climbing wall with more than 20 different routes, as well as, tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, a disc golf course, numerous intramural sports fields, a leisure pool, and an outdoor lap pool. The Recreation and Wellness Center at Knights Plaza, which opened in 2013, is a 8700 sqft facility. It houses a cardio workout area, a circuit area, and a mind and body studio designed for group exercise.

Athletics


The University of Central Florida features a large variety of intercollegiate athletics teams, known as the "UCF Knights", which compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and Conference USA (C-USA). UCF will join the Big East Conference as an all sports member on July 1, 2013.

UCF field's 16 varsity teams, 6 men, 9 women and one co-ed sport. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, and tennis. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Co-ed sports include cheerleading.

The Knights have won numerous national and conference titles. The football team was Conference USA champions in 2007 and 2010, and the Knights women's basketball team were the 2009 and 2010 C-USA champions. The UCF cheerleading team has captured two national titles at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals, in 2003 and 2007. The women's volleyball team won the AIAW national championship in 1978, and the men's basketball team reached the Final Four the same year. As the reigning national champions, the cheerleading team was followed by WE tv's hit cheerleading show, Cheerleader U.

The UCF varsity athletic program began during the 1969–1970 academic year. Then known as the "FTU Knight of Pegasus," the university was a charter member of the Sunshine State Conference in 1975. Since the 1970s, the UCF athletic programs have become a major competitor in college athletics. Their development culminated in the mid-2000s, when the Knights joined Conference USA in 2005 and debuted a new athletic village in 2007. Advertised as "Bringing the Knights home," the newly developed athletic village on the north end of campus known as Knights Plaza, consisted of the new 10,000 seat UCF Arena, new 45,000 seat Bright House Networks Stadium, a new softball complex, and the only Division I indoor football practice facility in the state. The debut of the athletic village made UCF the first university to ever open a new stadium and arena during the same year. The athletic complex surrounding Knights Plaza also includes Jay Bergman Field, the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium and numerous practice facilities. To coincide with the opening of the athletic village, the university also debuted new athletic logos and an update to mascot Knightro.

The Knights football program began in 1979 under head coach Don Jonas. Since then, UCF played in the playoffs three times before ascending to the FBS level in 1996. The Knights have won two conference championships and four division titles. The are currently led by George O'Leary, who has been the programs head coach since 2004. In UCF's first year in Conference USA, O'Leary led the team to the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA history by winning the conference's eastern division and earning its first bowl berth in the 4th Annual Hawai'i Bowl. Celebrating their inaugural year in their new on-campus stadium, the 2007 UCF Football team won the Conference USA Championship for the first time in the school's history, and the eastern division for the second time in three seasons, securing a berth to the school's second bowl game, the 49th Annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl. During the 2010 season, for the first time in school history, the Knights garnered national rankings, finishing the season with a top–20 ranking. The Knights won the 2010 Conference USA Championship game, securing a berth to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in which the team earned their first-ever bowl victory, a 10–6 win over Georgia.

The UCF men's basketball team started in 1969 under legendary head coach Torchy Clark. The Knights have advanced to the NCAA tournament ten times, including a trip to the Final Four in 1978. The program has won seven conference regular season championships and five conference tournament titles. The 2008–09 UCF men's team featured senior Jermaine Taylor, who was one of the nation's top scorers averaging over 20 points per game. Following a 10–0 start to the 2010–11 season, and being one of nine unbeaten teams, the Knights led by coach Donnie Jones and guard Marcus Jordan were nationally ranked for the first time in program history. At the time, UCF was one of only four schools to be ranked in the BCS standings and the AP men's basketball poll.

Notable alumni and faculty


UCF alumni have made research contributions to optics, modeling and simulation, digital media, engineering and computer science, business administration, education and hospitality management. The university has awarded over 230,000 degrees, with more than 190,000 alumni located around the world. 69% of UCF alumni reside in Florida, while 54% are located within the Central Florida area. UCF graduates include a Prime Minister, a Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, a United States Assistant Secretary of State, a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the United States Department of the Treasury, and a Director of the National Reconnaissance Office. The university has also produced numerous members of the Florida Cabinet, Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate, two National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts, and numerous officers in the armed forces through Army and Air Force ROTC programs, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, Air Force Officer Training School, Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School and Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class.

Actor James Best, best known as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane from the Dukes of Hazzard, taught classes at UCF for several years. Actress Cheryl Hines, best known for her role as Cheryl David on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, graduated from UCF with a degree in communication, and comedian Daniel Tosh, host of Comedy Central's Tosh.0, graduated with a degree in marketing. Also, The Blair Witch Project, one of the most successful independent films ever produced, was filmed by UCF students and directed by alumnus Daniel Myrick.

In addition, UCF graduates have held leadership positions in the United States Congress, United States Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Google, Microsoft, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Orlando Magic, NOAA, and Bright House Networks to name just a few. Graduates from UCF have also started many successful businesses, including Fidelity Security Agency, UBreakIFix and Grub Taxi. Graduates have also served as the head of organizations such as Francis Marion University, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Orlando Magic, Texas Rangers, NASCAR, Busch Entertainment Corporation, Ericsson, Darden Restaurants, Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida, Raymond James Financial, and NASA.

As a competitor in college athletics, UCF has many notable student athletes, coaches and staff members, such as NFL players Matt Prater, Daunte Culpepper, Kevin Smith, Brandon Marshall, Asante Samuel, Atari Bigby, Mike Sims-Walker, and Josh Robinson, MLS goalkeeper Sean Johnson, NBA starting guard Jermaine Taylor, NASCAR driver Aric Almirola, Olympic beach volleyball player Phil Dalhausser and soccer star Michelle Akers. Currently, more than 50 UCF alumni compete in professional basketball, football, soccer, baseball and golf.