UCF outlines plan to find its next president

John Hitt to retire in 2018

ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida outlined it's aggressive search for a new president, following the retirement announcement of President John Hitt.

UCF Board of Trustees chairman Marcos Marchena is leading the effort to find the university's fifth president. In a board of trustees meeting Tuesday, members discussed their expectations as they moved forward with the search including full transparency and an effort to make sure the search follows all diversity and inclusion guidelines.

A decision was made to hire a third-party to review compensation and benefit packages, and also to hire a firm to conduct the nationwide search. Firm costs varied from $99,000 to one-third of the new hires pay. A webpage and video was also unveiled for interested candidates or people who would like to oversee the process.

More information about the search for UCF's next leader is available at UCF.edu.

Hitt has been president for the past quarter century, under his tenure the school has tripled in size. He plans to retire on June 20, 2018.

Marchena said the goal is to have a new president confirmed by Hitt's last day on the job.

There were calls for Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to step forward as candidate for the position. However, he said he will not seek the top job at UCF. Dyer said he is focused on continuing his responsibilities as mayor and running for another four-year term.

Dyer was selected to be part of the next UCF president search committee.