President Emeritus John C. Hitt believed education transformed lives. The first in his family to attend college, he greatly expanded opportunities for students to earn UCF degrees while also leading the university through exceptional growth in academic quality and forming partnerships that remain critical to the region’s economic vitality.
A Texas gentleman, he was deeply devoted to his wife and former UCF first lady Martha Hitt; their two children, Charles and Sharon; grandchildren, Jarrod and Alex; and great-grandson Luca, all of whom survive him.
“John was an honorable man who built a great university, with an open hand, a generous spirit, and a perfect and simple dignity,” says Rick Walsh ’77 ’83MS, a UCF graduate and former member of the UCF Board of Trustees.
Hitt was beloved and well respected throughout Central Florida and the state and among national higher education leaders. He generously supported many nonprofit causes such as the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk and Junior Achievement. He won the Orlando Sentinel’s Central Floridian of the Year award and the Orlando Economic Partnership’s James B. Greene Award, which recognizes substantial contributions to the region’s economic prosperity. Many local governments honored him with proclamations upon his retirement.
Hitt’s legacy is found in the more than 260,000 degrees he awarded, as UCF’s enrollment tripled from 21,000 to more than 66,000 by his retirement. That means thousands of additional graduates each year advance to careers in many industries vital to the region’s and state’s economies — including engineering, optics and photonics, hospitality and nursing.
UCF’s growth also was accompanied by tremendous advances in the quality of the students enrolling. Under Hitt’s leadership, UCF’s graduation and retention rates soared, as did the SAT scores of incoming freshmen. In addition, at the end of his tenure, one in every four students was the first in their family to attend college.
During Hitt’s tenure — the longest for any State University System president since the 1940s — UCF opened a College of Medicine that has been a cornerstone of the medical city flourishing at Lake Nona and FBC Mortgage Stadium, which was an early catalyst for UCF’s upcoming entry to the Big 12 Conference.
The Burnett Honors College, Rosen College of Hospitality Management campus, UCF Downtown and DirectConnect to UCF also are testaments to Hitt’s vision and leadership.
“The path he has put UCF on will serve students and Florida for generations to come,” former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush once said. “John fueled UCF’s 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.”
“His legacy is one of devotion. First and foremost, his devotion to our students. Dr. Hitt loved our students who entrusted UCF with their choice to pursue a higher education. He had a devotion to our faculty and staff who supported a shared vision to increase access to higher education, and he had a great devotion to the entire Central Florida community whom he served through meaningful partnerships,” said Board Chair Alex Martins ’01MBA.