Orlando, UCF leaders celebrate opening of new innovation hub downtown
ORLANDO, Fla. — Mayor Buddy Dyer and UCF President Dr. Alexander Cartwright celebrated the opening of a new tech startup and innovation hub in downtown Orlando Tuesday. Two organizations that are helping Orlando become a hub for innovation have a new home. From their new location on Orange Avenue in @DWNTWN_ORLANDO, @UCFBIP and @starterstudio will work together to strengthen our city's startup ecosystem. Since it was launched in 1999, UCF’s Business Incubation Program has assisted more than 300 local startup companies. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
wftv.comUCF receives $40 million donation from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott
ORLANDO, Fla. — The University of Central Florida is getting the largest donation in its 58-year history. Mackenzie Scott, philanthropist and the ex-wife of Amazon owner and billionaire Jeff Bezos, is donating $40 million to UCF. READ: UCF students help local Asian community heal after rise in violent attacks in USIt’s part of her effort to give more than $2.7 billion to “high impact organizations.”The university said some of the money will create new programs for students, scholarships for researchers and more. “It was an extremely emotional moment for me because initially, I didn’t believe it was true,” UCF President Alexander Cartwright said. Scott broke the news with a tweet leading to a blog post where she wrote, “we are governed by a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others.”Amongst the organizations receiving donations are nine universities and 22 colleges that her team decided were “institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.”At UCF, 19% of undergraduate students are first-generation college students.
wftv.comUCF Hires New AD, VP of Athletics: Read the Agreement — KnightNews.com
UCF announced Terry Mohajir as the new athletics director on Tuesday, but records obtained by Knight News show he is also the new UCF Athletics Association President. In addition to Director of Athletics, Mohajir will serve as Vice President of Athletics at UCF — a position that directly reports to UCF President Alexander Cartwright, who serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of UCFAA. Knight News obtained the memorandum of understanding between Mohajir and UCF on Tuesday. Mohajir and UCF have agreed upon an annual base salary of $795,000. UCF Athletics Association has agreed to pay Mohajir’s buyout, which is not specified in this agreement.
knightnews.comUCF athletic director Danny White leaves for Tennessee
(AP Photo/Willie J. Allen Jr., File)ORLANDO, Fla. – UCF athletic director Danny White is leaving for the same position at the University of Tennessee. The hiring comes three days after Tennessee fired football coach Jeremy Pruitt and parted with athletics director Philip Fulmer. The White family will always be Knight fans!”#Tennessee announces Danny White as athletic director. UCF Athletics raised more than $35.5 million in gift commitments and $17.4 million in cash gifts during 2019-2020. Cartwright said UCF will begin a nationwide search for a new athletic director immediately.
UCF names President's Student Advisory Council to amplify diverse student voices — KnightNews.com
UCF’s new President’s Student Advisory Council has been selected, according to records obtained by Knight News. AdvertisementWhile Cartwright mentioned there would be 12 total students within the council, 20 students were chosen — Knight News is working to learn more. In August, an email was sent to the UCF community and President’s Leadership Council from Cartwright about the new President’s Student Advisory Council. Germayne Graham, director of the President’s Leadership Council, is closely working with PSAC. Germayne Graham, director of the President’s Leadership Council and who will be working with PSAC very closely, said Cartwright took time out to meet with many student leaders to initiate this new council.
knightnews.comTHE WEEKLY: UCF president talks reopening plans amid coronavirus pandemic
We need to be thinking about what's happening here within Central Florida and the Orlando region, and we monitor it daily. We have good relationships with the county and city, and we continue to understand what's happening here and what would be the best steps to be taking. We never said, "Here's exactly what's going to happen and when." We've stayed at 30 percent because we started to see a surge, and we'll stay there for now until we understand more about what's going on. We just have to continue to monitor whats happening at all of the other schools in our conference.
Phased-in Return to Campus to Begin for Researchers, Faculty
UCF will begin a phased-in approach to bring researchers, faculty and staff back to campus, UCF President Alexander Cartwright said in a Wednesday statement. Cartwright said these measures will begin later this month for researchers who require access to their labs, with new procedures and physical distancing practices in place to ensure safety. AdvertisementOver the next two weeks, campus leadership and supervisors will receive additional guidance for how we will pilot a slow return to work across campus beginning June 1, he said. Cartwright said individuals who are at a higher risk, have dependent-care responsibilities or can effectively work remotely can continue to do so. He also said more information about safety precautions, wearing facial coverings, physical distancing, encouraging virtual meetings and increased cleaning practices will be shared soon.
knightnews.comPandemic Plans: UCF Aims for Fall Start, Outlines Other Scenarios
UCF is operating under the assumption COVID-19 will not prevent students from returning in fall, UCF President Alexander Cartwright said at the end of April. Scenario 1Rapid and Effective Control Best CaseDocument courtesy of the April 23 Board of Trustees meeting. What happens here is that we arent able to be face-to-face until spring 2021, Cartwright said during the virtual meeting. In this scenario, remote instruction would continue and face-to-face instruction would resume in fall 2021, according to meeting documents. Housing and dining would fully reopen in fall 2021, and student involvement and recruitment activities would resume in fall 2021, according to the Board of Trustees presentation.
knightnews.comUCF President: Fall Term May Start As Scheduled, Plans For All Scenarios KnightNews.com
UCF President Alexander Cartwright said on Tuesday the university is operating under the assumption it will resume face-to-face classes in the fall term. Cartwright said in a Tuesday statement he expects a more finalized decision on the fall semester will be made by June. Screenshot of UCF Board of Trustees agenda outlining the timeline of UCFs responses to COVID-19. On March 11, UCF advised students to return to their permanent residences and started remote learning on March 16. We also are planning for other scenarios that involve a later start for face-to-face classes, he said.
knightnews.comUCF President Alexander Cartwright Confirmed by Board of Governors
The Florida Board of Governors unanimously confirmed the appointment of Alexander Cartwright as UCFs sixth president. I will work tirelessly, Cartwright said on the teleconference call. UCF Board of Trustees Chair Beverly Seay also thanked the Board of Governors before ending the call. Against the voices of 30 UCF Student Government Senators and 40 Faculty Senators who asked for a delay of the search Cartwright was named UCFs sixth president on Friday. The UCF Board of Trustees unanimously approved President-elect Alexander Cartwrights $600,000 contract Tuesday during a teleconference meeting.
knightnews.comAlexander Cartwright confirmed as new UCF president via teleconference
The state university systems Board of Governors on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Alexander Cartwright as the new president of the University of Central Florida.Cartwright, who has served as chancellor of the University of Missouri since 2017, was tapped by the UCF Board of Trustees last week, ending a six-month search process. Cartwright will replace interim President Thad Seymour Jr., who has been in the interim post since early last year. Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to bring you high-quality, uncensored news and cultural coverage of Central Florida. Unlike many newspapers, ours is free and we'd like to keep it that way, because we believe, now more than ever, everyone deserves access to accurate, independent coverage of their community. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing pledge, your support helps keep Orlandos true free press
orlandoweekly.comUCF Considers Optional Pass-Fail Pandemic Grading System, Some Deans Object KnightNews.com
Knight News obtained a Board of Governors document outlining each universitys stance on the pass or fail grading system. Universities weighed in on creating a special pandemic grading system in light of coronavirus. In the conclusion of his email to the provosts, Criser asked the provosts to hold their universitys individual strategies until Wednesday. The Board of Governors is committed to promoting transparency and public input regarding the governance of the State University System, the website states. Click to see the stance of other universities in the State University System.
knightnews.comUCF presidential search: How to weigh in on who should be university’s next leader
ORLANDO, Fla. – Two candidates are being considered finalists in the search for the University of Central Florida’s next leader and university officials want the community’s help in making the final decision. UCF’s Presidential Search Committee met Wednesday morning to conduct interviews for two new applicants and decided to advance Dr. Alexander Cartwright, who currently serves as chancellor of the University of Missouri, according to UCF’s Chad Binette. Cartwright joins Dr. Cato Laurencin, of the University of Connecticut, on the list of finalists being considered for the position. Dr. David Brenner of the University of California, San Diego, was also being considered a finalist but withdrew his candidacy Wednesday, according to UCF officials. “However, Dr. Laurencin and Dr. Cartwright are stellar candidates of exceptional character.