{"id":125924,"date":"2022-02-11T15:02:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T20:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=125924"},"modified":"2022-03-03T12:07:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T17:07:21","slug":"downtown-celebration-dedicates-campus-to-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/downtown-celebration-dedicates-campus-to-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Celebration Dedicates Campus to the Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 200 guests gathered at the James M. Seneff Plaza to celebrate the campus\u2019 transformational effect in downtown Orlando on Thursday, Feb. 10. The crowd represented dedicated donors and community partners; business and industry leaders; government champions; and UCF and Valencia College students, faculty, and staff.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the shared vision of the downtown campus, UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright thanked the many donors and elected officials who helped make the campus a reality, which provides access to education in the urban core of Orlando.<\/p>\n

\u201cUCF Downtown and Valencia College Downtown is more than a collection of buildings. It is a place where discoveries and innovations are to be made by the faculty who research and create here, and countless students will have the opportunity to change their trajectory fueled by the power of the education they receive here,\u201d says Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill spoke of the impact the campus has already had on the city of Orlando \u2014 especially on the Parramore neighborhood. With the shared campus in Parramore, she says, \u201cWe have the most robust educational ecosystem in the entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hill also highlighted the vast opportunities that exist at the campus today \u2014 from short term job training to 2-year and 4-year degrees \u2014 opportunities that didn\u2019t exist for residents like her when she was growing up in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Among the donors who made the campus possible was James M. Seneff, for whom the plaza and fountain are named. Seneff is the chairman and founder of CNL Financial Group, a private investment management firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI founded CNL in 1973 in the City of Orlando,\u201d says Seneff. \u201cNext year will be our 50th anniversary and we have seen the downtown area grow from a retail district to a major business center. I have long been a proponent of the UCF expansion to downtown Orlando believing that it would create a special catalyst for future growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seneff, who is a longtime supporter of UCF and downtown Orlando, made one of the earliest donations to UCF Downtown and helped the university secure additional funding from the state.<\/p>\n

Guests at the event dined on authentic soul food from Parramore\u2019s Nikki\u2019s Place and Chef Eddie\u2019s Catering and got a taste of Black Bee Honey, organic honey that is harvested through a youth entrepreneurship program operated by the Orlando Community and Youth Trust in Parramore.<\/p>\n