{"id":1534,"date":"2023-02-21T14:48:30","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T14:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/leadership\/?page_id=1534"},"modified":"2023-04-20T19:58:13","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T19:58:13","slug":"remembering-president-hitt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/leadership\/remembering-president-hitt\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering President Hitt"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t
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As the University of Central Florida\u2019s visionary leader for 26 years, John C. Hitt earned countless accolades for his commitment to educational access and the power of partnerships. During his tenure, UCF grew in academic quality, economic impact and national reputation as a new model for higher education that The Washington Post said \u201caims to demolish the popular belief that exclusivity is a virtue in higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hitt, who became UCF\u2019s fourth president in 1992 and retired in June 2018, died February 20, 2023 at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife and former UCF first lady Martha Hitt, their two children and grandchildren, and great-grandson Luca.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn was an honorable man who built a great university, with an open hand, a generous spirit, and a perfect and simple dignity,\u201d said Rick Walsh, a 1977 UCF graduate and former member of the UCF Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n

During Hitt\u2019s tenure \u2013 the longest for any State University System president since the 1940s \u2013 UCF opened a College of Medicine that has been a cornerstone of the medical city flourishing at Lake Nona and an on-campus football stadium that was an early catalyst for UCF\u2019s upcoming entry to the Big 12 Conference. He also led UCF through approvals for the Downtown Orlando campus established in partnership with Valencia College and the opening of the new Rosen College of Hospitality Management campus in the heart of Orlando\u2019s tourism corridor.<\/p>\n

Hitt\u2019s legacy also is found in the more than 260,000 degrees he awarded, as UCF\u2019s enrollment tripled from 21,000 to more than 66,000 by his retirement. That growth meant thousands of additional graduates each year advancing to careers in many industries vital to the region\u2019s and state\u2019s economies \u2013 including engineering, optics and photonics, hospitality and nursing.<\/p>\n

UCF\u2019s growth also was accompanied by tremendous growth in the quality of the students enrolling. Under Hitt\u2019s leadership, UCF\u2019s graduation and retention rates soared, the SAT scores of fall freshmen rose from 1011 to 1316, and minority enrollment increased from 17 to 46 percent. In addition, at the end of his tenure, one in every four students was the first in their family to attend college.<\/p>\n

UCF\u2019s faculty members earned $148.8 million in research funding during Hitt\u2019s final year as president, up more than fivefold from $28.4 million during his first year.<\/p>\n

Hitt also joined the presidents of three area state colleges to form DirectConnect to UCF in 2006, which has earned national recognition as a pathway helping more students earn four-year college degrees. Through DirectConnect, graduates of now six state colleges are guaranteed admission to UCF after they earn their associate\u2019s degrees, and the schools work closely together to align their curricula and make students\u2019 transitions to UCF as smooth as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe path he has put UCF on will serve students and Florida for generations to come,\u201d said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. \u201cJohn fueled UCF\u2019s impressive qualitative and quantitative growth by creating partnerships that many thought would fail. Simply stated, I believe Walt Disney and John Hitt have done more to transform Central Florida into a vibrant, dynamic place than any two people.\u201d
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Meeting Martha \u2026 and Football<\/h2>\n

Born in Houston, Hitt was the first in his family to attend college, graduating cum laude from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, where he also played offensive tackle on the football team, an experience he said cemented not just his love for the game, but the importance of teamwork.<\/p>\n

He met Martha at Austin College, and they were married in 1961 in Houston. The couple had two children, son Charles and daughter Sharon. Charles and his wife, Julie, gave them two grandsons, Jarrod and Alex.<\/p>\n

Said longtime friend and former Florida Board of Regents Chairman James Heekin \u2013 who also served as chair of the search committee that selected Hitt, \u201cIn many ways, Martha made John\u2019s leadership and accomplishments possible. She was his closest friend, supporter and confidant.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a collegiate player, near to his heart was the continued success of a football program that matured under his administration to the point of delivering him the nation\u2019s only undefeated season and a national championship in his final year as president.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most important to Hitt, however, were the academic achievements of student athletes, who posted 21 consecutive semesters of at least a 3.0 GPA at the end of his presidency. That streak, now at 30 semesters (through fall 2022), continues today.<\/p>\n

\u201cEducation transforms lives,\u201d Hitt said, \u201cand as a first-generation college student, I am proof of that life-changing process. Before my dad passed away when I was 15, he insisted that I pursue a college education. He didn\u2019t know a whole lot about college, but he knew that better career opportunities and a better life were likely for me if I earned a college degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his father died, his mother made attending college one of her top priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout college, I would not have met Martha, my wonderful wife and partner,\u201d Hitt said. \u201cIn more ways than he could foresee, Dad was right about college.\u201d
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