UPDATE
and the
DR. PHILLIPS ACADEMIC COMMONS Prepared for Dr. Phillips Charities September 2020
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ABOUT UCF
UCF
is an innovative, top-ranking
by the pandemic and strengthened its commitment
university, constantly striving to meet
to students, faculty and staff by providing enhanced
the demands of an ever-changing world.
learning environments, expanded opportunities and increased integration of technology on all of its
UCF’s total student enrollment is 72,231 as of early
campuses. Beginning fall 2020, more than three-
fall 2020, with final numbers expected in several
quarters of UCF’s lecture, lab and discussion classes
weeks. Enrollment is slightly higher than last year,
will be online or remote, and about one-quarter will
which was approximately 69,500 students. UCF
include an in-person experience.
also anticipates a record-high number of freshmen returning for their second year, with about 92
In addition, the university is launching more than
percent of freshmen who began last fall registered
two dozen new degree programs, tracks and
to continue their studies at UCF this year.
certificates this fall — most designed for online delivery — that target high-demand fields ranging
Already a leader in online education, the university
from business and engineering to optics and
has responded to the unique challenges presented
health care.
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CAMPUS OPENING AND YEAR ONE
F
rom the beginning, Dr. Phillips Charities
welcoming environment and opportunities for
shared our vision of a transformational new
all students to learn, grow and succeed.
campus in downtown Orlando. Thanks to the Watch as we celebrate our first year here: https://youtu.be/ vGGgTDAgR8Q
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organization’s generosity, we were able to see
With its bright, bold spaces outfitted with
that vision realized on August 26, 2019 — UCF
high-tech learning tools, UCF Downtown
Downtown’s opening day.
fosters learning, creativity and collaboration. An example of such a bold collaborative space
UCF Downtown reflects and inspires the energy
is the Nicholson School of Communication and
and personalities of the nearly 8,000 students
Media’s Maker Space (above), where students
who attend classes there — approximately
and faculty access a digital fabrication lab with
6,635 from UCF and 1,322 from Valencia
high-performance equipment to experiment
College in spring 2020, and 5,800 from UCF
and create virtual reality games, web designs
and 1,674 from Valencia in fall 2019 — and the
and interdisciplinary projects with other
more than 400 faculty and staff who create a
departments and colleges.
UCF Downtown’s location helps students access more opportunities to achieve academic success, community impact and professional development. “The beauty of my public policy graduate program is that it was created
“Orlando is the best college city you
for downtown,” says Sierra Scott ’20. “The longer we’re
can live in with all its diversity, music,
down here, the more students will be engaged with their
culture and art scene. Being downtown
surroundings and get to see all of the opportunities that were intentionally created for us.”
is convenient for me because it puts me closer to internship opportunities
The degree programs offered on the downtown campus
at lawyers’ offices.”
enhance students’ ability to gain hands-on work experiences. For example, in downtown Orlando alone, there are more
Jicaro Marques,
than 760 legal-related businesses or organizations where
a UCF senior majoring in legal studies
legal studies students can intern or work.
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HIGHLIGHTS
T
hanks to the support of Dr. Phillips Charities, UCF
opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience
Downtown is able to better serve its students and
through interactions with nearby government agencies
the community by creating and enhancing programs
and nonprofits.
and initiatives to address needs that are specific to the downtown core. UCF Downtown’s close proximity
In addition, two specialized certificates were recently
to Orlando’s Central Business District, Orange County
created to address industry needs. UCF’s certificate
Courthouse and City Hall allows us to provide students
in conflict resolution and analysis in our legal studies
with pathways into high-demand career fields and
department provides students with the opportunity to
increase opportunities for jobs and internships — all
dig deeper into the theories behind conflict and uncover
within walking distance of campus.
what causes disputes, while the social justice in public service graduate certificate in our school of public
A recent addition to our downtown academic
administration explores the changing needs of society.
programming is the Master of Public Policy — the first
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policy graduate program in the State University System.
Two recent moves to downtown will further increase
The program will help fill the need for public-service
internship and employment opportunities for
leaders who are well-versed in program evaluation and
students. The UCF College of Business’ executive
policy analysis. Its downtown location provides an ideal
and professional graduate programs are now
#1
Graduate School to Study Game Design
#14
#8
#7
Undergraduate School to Study Game Design
Graduate Emergency and Crisis Management
The Princeton Review & PC Gamer
U.S. News & World Report
#23
Graduate Public Management and Leadership
#53
Overall best public administration graduate school
Graduate Nonprofit Management U.S. News & World Report
#46 Graduate Health Care Management
U.S. News & World Report U.S. News & World Report
permanently located at UCF Downtown as of fall
graduates of UCF’s graduate video game program
2020. Programs offered include executive MBA, part-
and EA will only be a two-minute walk to UCF
time and full-time professional MBA, professional MS
Downtown and our integrated Nicholson School of
in management (various tracks) and professional MS
Communication and Media.”
in real estate. The new location will offer executivestyle learning spaces and additional amenities for
UCF Downtown-based programs and schools
students, all while providing accessibility to Orlando’s
continue to rise in the ranks, including FIEA recently
Central Business District.
being named the number one graduate school for game design (Princeton Review). The Master of
Similarly, Electronic Arts, the biggest video game
Emergency and Crisis Management Program (MECM)
creator in Central Florida, plans to relocate its
ranked seventh in the nation, according to U.S.
Central Florida headquarters in Maitland to Creative
News and World Report. The MECM program, which
Village in downtown Orlando. “This is a major win
launched in 2018 and had projections of 20 students
for Orlando becoming a digital media hub,” says Ben
in the major by 2020, has enrolled 150 students for
Noel, executive director of UCF’s Florida Interactive
this fall. Other top-ranked programs include nonprofit
Entertainment Academy (FIEA) and former EA
management, public management and leadership,
employee. “One in seven EA Tiburon employees are
and healthcare management.
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
UCF fosters collaboration with its neighbors in meaningful ways to improve countless lives through
“The University of Central Florida’s downtown Orlando campus has defined the new standard for partnership in this
Learn more about Bryer here: https://ccie.ucf.edu/ profile/thomas-bryer/
the power of education. UCF Downtown has hired Dr. Thomas Bryer, an awardwinning research scholar with
community. This project will impact
expertise in public participation and collaboration
our city center in ways that no other
across segments of society — including government,
has ever done before.”
nonprofit, private, faith-based and voluntary sectors. As program director for community engaged
Josh Wyche ’14, executive director of the Downtown Orlando Partnership
scholarship, Bryer will capture and measure the impact of ongoing work of the more than 80 community-based projects led by UCF faculty and staff. These include food drives for the local community, addressing health
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For more information on McMeley’s project, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/ y3ycqu53
has already invested nearly $200,000 in these projects, which directly impact downtown Orlando and the Parramore neighborhood. In one current project, Valencia College professor Mark McMeley teamed up with the Office of the Interim Assistant Provost to lead an effort to preserve photos and create a digital archive that can be used by future scholars, researchers and historians by scanning and digitizing a collection Valencia College professor Mark McMeley archives photos of Orlando’s African-American community
of photos at the Wells’Built Museum in Orlando’s historic Parramore neighborhood. “I think what
and wellness initiatives, assessing air quality and
is important to understand is the history that
environmental impacts of an urban community, bringing
we recognize as being of national importance
together educators from Pre-K through Ph.D. to address
all started out as local events,” says Elizabeth
educational barriers, and tackling innovative solutions
Thompson, director of community engagement for
for affordable housing. Partners on the projects include
UCF Downtown and Valencia College Downtown.
the City of Orlando, Orange County, courts, police,
“We want to preserve Central Florida history —
hospitals, nonprofit organizations, private businesses,
because history has a ripple effect.”
schools and neighborhood residents. The upcoming Crossroads Lecture Series, planned Several collaborations are supported by the
for next spring on the downtown campus and live
Downtown Interdisciplinary Research Initiative
streamed on the internet, will bring students, faculty
(DIRI), which encourages interdisciplinary faculty
and community together with leading entrepreneur-
collaboration and downtown community engagement.
philanthropists for thought provoking and inspiring
Projects range from financial literacy to food insecurity
conversations exploring the intersection of free
to emergency management and homelessness. UCF
enterprise and philanthropy.
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LOOKING AHEAD
D
espite the fact that the 2019-20 academic year was interrupted by COVID-19, downtown students
continued to learn using state-of-the-art technology and enhanced teaching methods.
“The beauty of my public policy graduate program is that it was created for downtown. The
Because the UCF Downtown campus is already techheavy, pivoting to remote learning throughout the pandemic has been easily supported in multiple ways,
longer we’re down here, the more
including offering students remote access to powerful
students will be engaged with their
gaming computers. In all, 472 classes moved from
surroundings and get to see all of the
face-to-face to remote modality between spring and summer 2020.
opportunities that were intentionally created for us.”
“Regardless of modality of classes, our students Sierra Scott ’20
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can exceed their educational expectations through
our countless partnerships with local government agencies, businesses and nonprofits that enhance our classes every day,” says Professor Ross Wolf, interim
“Leaders in Central Florida have been at the forefront of disasters
assistant provost for UCF Downtown.
in terms of coordination, action,
The impact of UCF Downtown and its growing
protocols, leadership. The
partnerships in the region is already being praised. “The University of Central Florida’s downtown Orlando campus has defined the new standard for partnership in this community,” says Josh Wyche ’14, executive director of the Downtown Orlando Partnership, an organization that recently recognized UCF Downtown for its broad-reaching contributions to the community. “This project will impact our city center in ways that no other has ever done before. UCF Downtown is truly woven into the fabric of our city … this unique partnership project ignites cultural growth that binds our community together.” UCF is known as a partnership university, and we could not have achieved our vision for this campus without your support. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Phillips Charities, we are changing lives and livelihoods by creating transformational opportunities for so many — making an impact not only on our downtown campus, but in neighboring Parramore and throughout the Central Florida region. We look forward to the Dr. Phillips Academic Commons on the UCF Downtown Campus continuing to play a vital role in the growth of downtown Orlando and throughout our region for many years to come.
[COVID] situation we’re facing isn’t one that I enjoy, but the chaos is putting my education into practice.” Chris Goodson, Chicago paramedic and recent graduate of UCF’s emergency management program.
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