University of Central Florida - Administration and Organization

Administration and Organization

As a part of the State University System of Florida, UCF falls under the purview of the Florida Board of Governors. The University of Central Florida is headed by the Board of Trustees, which governs the university, consisting of thirteen members that are appointed to staggered five year terms by the Florida Board of Governors. The student government association president and the faculty chair also serve on the board during the duration of their one year term of office.

The President of the University of Central Florida is the principal executive officer of the university. The office was formed upon creation of the university in 1963. University bylaws state that the president is to be appointed by the Board of Trustees, with the consent of the Florida Board of Governors, and lead the university through its daily business. Today, the president's office is located in Millican Hall on the university's main campus, and the president has the privilege of living in the Burnett House, also located on UCF's main campus. The fourth president of UCF, Dr. John C. Hitt has served since 1992.

The University of Central Florida comprises a main campus in Orlando, with twelve satellite campuses located throughout central Florida. UCF offers Associate's, Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist, Doctoral, and Professional degree programs through its twelve colleges. By enrollment, the three largest undergraduate units are the College of Sciences, the College of Business Administration, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. At the graduate level, the College of Graduate Studies serves as the central administrative unit of graduate education at the university. UCF's financial endowment, administered by the University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc., was valued at $137.1 million in the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO) 2012 ranking, a 24% increase from 2011.

Due to cutbacks in federal, state and local budgets, UCF has had over $140 million in funds cut from its operating budget since 2008. This included a $53 million cut to UCF’s 2012–13 fiscal year budget by the Florida legislature. So far UCF has been enable to endure the budget cuts by implementing a hiring freeze, putting an end to some faculty perks, such as free seminars, cutting executive pay, and through wise management of funds. To help counter the budget decreases, the university received $18 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. UCF's operating budget for the 2012–13 fiscal year is $1.4 billion, a 10.1% increase from the previous year.