He encouraged the football team with shouts of 麻豆精品 S淕o boys! 麻豆精品 S� while puffing on his pipe, and he was proud that the first nurse he met when he went into hospice care was a UCF graduate.
麻豆精品 S淗e had a way about him that made an impression on everyone he met. He recognized the importance of everyone, and he made you feel that way, 麻豆精品 S� said Jeff Grasty, whose father served as a vice president under Millican and whose children came to know Millican and his wife, Frances, as grandparents.
麻豆精品 S淲e should all be really proud to say that he was a part of our family, and we should plan on telling his story over and over again. 麻豆精品 S�
Several hundred people gathered inside the Student Union on Monday to celebrate Millican 麻豆精品 S檚 fatherly love for UCF students and his dedication to what he helped transform into the nation 麻豆精品 S檚 second-largest university.
Millican, 94, died Dec. 1, at his Central Florida home. That day marked the 45th anniversary of his appointment as president of Florida Technological University, which would later become UCF. Millican had told friends earlier this year that he would like to spend Christmas with Frances, his wife of 64 years who died last December.
麻豆精品 S淗e was a role model for us all, and the picture of a life well-lived, 麻豆精品 S� said Roger Pynn, a UCF graduate and Distinguished Alumnus Award winner who is president of the Curley & Pynn public relations firm.
Pynn first met Millican when he was a student, and the two became close. Pynn said he was proud when Charles Millican asked a few months ago if he could introduce him as his 麻豆精品 S渁dopted son 麻豆精品 S� at a doctor 麻豆精品 S檚 appointment.
Pynn also recalled a recent honor that Millican told him was one of the proudest moments of his life.
On Oct. 22, he stood before some of the university 麻豆精品 S檚 most distinguished graduates to accept the Champion 麻豆精品 S檚 Award from the Alumni Association at the annual Black and Gold gala. Although Millican had typed up his notes on an old electric typewriter, he delivered the 14-minute speech entirely from memory.
麻豆精品 S淎s we drove home that evening, he told me it was his highest honor. He was so very proud of UCF graduates, 麻豆精品 S� Pynn said.
That powerful speech was Millican 麻豆精品 S檚 last public presentation.
Millican was chosen by the Florida Legislature in 1965 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.
With Frances by his side, Millican worked magic, turning 1,227 acres of scrub and bushes in East Orlando into a university to train future aerospace engineers and computer programmers.
Because the university that finally opened to 1,948 students in 1968 offered 35 degree programs in five colleges — not just aerospace engineering and computer science as first envisioned — the name of the school was later changed to the University of Central Florida.
Today, more than 56,000 students attend 12 colleges at UCF.
Charles Gray, who spoke on behalf of the community, said that Millican always had the university on his mind. He called Millican a visionary who designed the campus 麻豆精品 S� innovative concentric circle design to accommodate growth and selected the powerful Pegasus as the university 麻豆精品 S檚 emblem.
麻豆精品 S淐harlie and Frances enabled our community to achieve a dream of greatness, 麻豆精品 S� Gray said. 麻豆精品 S淲e are on the exciting journey of that never-ending quest for even greater achievement. Thank you, Charlie. 麻豆精品 S�
Millican 麻豆精品 S檚 contributions have led to economic development, education and partnership, helping to establish the region as one of the nation 麻豆精品 S檚 largest economies. He was also an ever-present public servant who taught in the College of Business and kept an office at the UCF Foundation after leaving the president 麻豆精品 S檚 office in 1978.
麻豆精品 S淗e never left his beloved university, 麻豆精品 S� said UCF President John C. Hitt. 麻豆精品 S淔ew universities have enjoyed the lifelong passion that he invested in UCF. 麻豆精品 S�
Born in Wilson, Ark., on Oct. 9, 1916, Millican was a Southern Baptist minister. His strong faith guided him throughout his life and supported him as he embarked on the journey to establish UCF.
The ceremony included the reading of some of his favorite bible passages and the singing of his most beloved hymns. The Millicans 麻豆精品 S� pastor, Rev. Shaun King from College Park Baptist Church, recalled how Charles Millican recently gave him one of his 麻豆精品 S渃rown jewels, 麻豆精品 S� a bible he received from the Bellevue Baptist Church when he was ordained as a minister in 1938.
It was also announced at the celebration that a pair of stars in the Pegasus Constellation have been named after UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 first couple. Certificates commemorating the stars were at the front of the Pegasus Ballroom, one on each side of Millican 麻豆精品 S檚 casket.
The ceremony concluded with the UCF Jazz Chamber Group playing 麻豆精品 S淲hen the Saints Go Marching In 麻豆精品 S� while President 麻豆精品 S檚 Leadership Council students served as honorary pallbearers leading the casket out of the ballroom.
麻豆精品 S淚 think Charlie and Frances would have loved everything about this moment, 麻豆精品 S� said Rick Walsh, a UCF graduate, chair of the Board of Trustees and a friend of the Millicans for 40 years.
Millican 麻豆精品 S檚 legacy will live on on the special , where viewers are invited to post comments in remembrance. Donations in memory of President Millican can be made to the .