The vision and passion of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 founding president transformed 1,227 acres of scrub and bushes into what has become聽one of the largest universities in the nation.
Charles N. Millican was born on October 9, 1916 in Wilson, Arkansas.
He earned bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degrees in business and religion from Union University in Tennessee, a master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in economics from George Peabody College in Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in business finance and economics from the University of Florida.
Millican served as pastor of Olive Branch Baptist Church in Mississippi before serving as a coordinator for the 44th College Training Detachment of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. After the war, he returned to school, joining the commerce department at Union University. He later joined the faculty at UF, where he was subsequently appointed the assistant dean of the Warrington College of Business Administration in 1956, followed by dean of the School of Business Administration at Hardin Simmons University in Texas, and then dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of South Florida in 1959.
In 1965, Millican was chosen by the Florida Legislature to help plan and build what was then called Florida Technological University. He had a budget of $75,000, an office above a drugstore in downtown Orlando and marching orders to make it happen.
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Considered the father of UCF, he is credited with selecting the university 麻豆精品 S檚 motto ( 麻豆精品 S淩each for the Stars), its Pegasus logo, the twin tenets ( 麻豆精品 S淎ccent on the individual 麻豆精品 S and 麻豆精品 S淎ccent on excellence 麻豆精品 S), and the campus 麻豆精品 S concentric circle layout, with a focus on making the campus walkable for students, staff and faculty members.