UCF Board of Trustees Celebrates 40-Year Partnership with Brevard Community College

By Grant J. Heston Sept. 18, 2008

The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees met at the UCF-Brevard Community College Cocoa campus for its regular meeting and celebrated the 40th anniversary of the nationally recognized UCF-BCC partnership.

Thanks to the 40-year partnership, more than 12,200 students have earned BCC and UCF degrees. The UCF and BCC boards of trustees passed a joint resolution praising the partnership and reaffirming UCF’s commitment to guarantee BCC graduates admission into UCF and BCC’s commitment to the model of a two-year public college.
 
Officials from both institutions also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the joint-use Clark Maxwell, Jr., Lifelong Learning Center, the first such facility built in the state.
 
“We are really blessed to share this wonderful campus and partnership with BCC,” said UCF President John C. Hitt. “UCF takes its role as Brevard County's state university very seriously. Through our partnership campuses in Cocoa and Palm Bay and the Florida Solar Energy Center we are highly invested in the hopes and dreams of Brevard County residents.”

Including its BCC partnership, UCF has strong partnerships with six community colleges on campuses in 11 counties in Central Florida. There are four joint-use facilities, with two more currently under construction.
 
In cooperation with community college partners, the UCF Regional Campus System offers 24 different bachelor’s degree programs in addition to 18 minors. At the graduate level, regional campuses offer 11 master’s and two doctoral programs.
 
The UCF Regional Campus System serves about 8,500 students per semester – that rises to nearly 10,000 when online courses taught by regional faculty members are included -- and offers more than 1,600 classes. Last year, more than half of the undergraduate degrees UCF awarded went to transfer students.

BCC is a member of UCF’s regional consortium, which guarantees admission to UCF for BCC graduates, and is dedicated to producing graduates for the local workforce. More than 15,000 UCF alumni live in Brevard County.

The regional consortium “is the best system in the country, and we are here where it all started,” Hitt said.

BCC serves more than 37,000 students a year and is committed to its continuing its close relationship with UCF, said James Drake, president of Brevard Community College.

“This is a moment to celebrate a partnership that goes back 40 years,” Drake said. “This is the longest partnership between a community college and a state university, but also the strongest.”

Other business at the meeting included:

• President Hitt updated the board on the fall freshman class, which includes a UCF-record 63 National Merit Scholars. The members of the freshman class boast an average high school GPA of 3.75 and a SAT score of 1219 – a more than 50-point increase since 2002.

Also, the 500-member fall freshman class at the prestigious Burnett Honors College posted an average GPA of 4.1 and SAT score of 1370.

• Vice President for University Relations Dan Holsenbeck recognized State Rep. Ralph Poppell, District 29, and State Sen. Bill Posey, District 24, and thanked them for their outstanding service to UCF and BCC. Addressing the Board, Rep. Poppell said: “Thank you for everything you do for our community and our state. … It’s a pleasure to work for you in this community and state because of the great leadership you offer.”

Sen. Posey thanked the board and said: “I am so pleased to have seen UCF work so closely with Brevard Community College and the other community colleges within your reach to have a partnership to best serve the needs of the students in the community.”

• The board voted to bestow honorary degrees on two outstanding members of the Central Florida community. Howard L. Lance, chair of the board, president and chief executive officer of the Harris Corporation, will receive an honorary Doctorate of Science. Robert Vander Weide, president and general partner of the Orlando Magic and chief executive officer of RDV Sports, will receive an honorary Doctorate of Commerce.

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