The John C. Hitt Initiative for Faculty Excellence, a focused effort to secure $10 million in private support for new endowed faculty positions in honor of the outgoing president’s service to UCF, was unveiled during an April 13 reception for Hitt and his wife, Martha.

These prestigious positions — which are created through gift commitments of $1 million or more from individual, corporate or nonprofit donors — play a vital role in attracting the very best professors to UCF and supporting their life-changing research, scholarship and teaching. UCF currently has 67 endowed positions and would like that number to grow to 80 in the next two years.

Also introduced was a new university incentive program that jumpstarts the impact of gift commitments for endowed faculty positions. Instead of waiting up to five years while a commitment is fulfilled in installments by the donor, the college where the new position is located starts receiving annual payments from the university when the initial installment is made.

“Not long after President Hitt announced his retirement in October,” IGNITE Campaign Chair Rick Walsh ’77 ’83MS said during the reception, “we began talking about what he would like to focus on as president emeritus. In his view, recruiting and retaining top faculty are critical to UCF’s future success. The Hitt Initiative will provide a unique opportunity for the university to partner with donors to honor his vision and contributions.”

When an endowed position is created, the donor’s gift is invested, and its annual earnings can be used by the professor in the position to advance his or her research and teaching, compensate student assistants, mentor colleagues, host high-profile speakers or address community needs. Funds may also be used to augment university salaries to compete with better-funded institutions for top faculty.

Thanks to the vision and generosity of some of UCF’s most committed philanthropic partners, five new positions have already been established, representing some $7 million in giving:

• The Steve Goldman National Young Composers Professorship of Music and Composition in the College of Arts and Humanities, established by Steve Goldman;
• The FAIRWINDS Credit Union Professorship in Financial Technology in the College of Business, established by FAIRWINDS;
• A professorship in botanical medicine in the College of Medicine, established by Florida Apothecary;
• An endowed chair at the UCF RESTORES clinic in the College of Sciences, established by Jim ’81 and Julia Rosengren;
• The James and Julia Rosengren Endowed Distinguished Professorship in the College of Sciences, also established by the Rosengrens.

Also announced were additional major commitments made in honor of President Hitt’s legacy. Rita and John Lowndes will establish the John and Rita Lowndes Award in Theatre Excellence; FAIRWINDS will fund a renovation of the Hitt Library in the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center; and the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation has established the Dr. John C. and Martha Hitt Grand Rounds Endowment for the College of Medicine.

In addition, hundreds of UCF alumni and friends have made gifts in Hitt’s honor to support scholarships for first-generation college students — those who, like Hitt himself, are the first in their families to attend college.