CFE Federal Credit Union announced its commitment to ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown on Monday, becoming the second community partner to pledge $1.5 million toward the project.
The credit unionβs gift will help fund construction of the new academic building that will be the centerpiece of a new campus serving about 7,700 ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and Valencia College students.
βThe ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown campus will provide significant opportunities for Central Florida, and CFE is proud to support an initiative that will have such a meaningful impact on both a local and national scale,β said Joseph A. Melbourne, Jr., President and CEO of CFE Federal Credit Union. βBy investing in education, we can create a positive future for our community.β
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and CFE will celebrate the gift with a check presentation during the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ menβs basketball game against USF at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, in the CFE Federal Credit Union Arena. CFE will present an oversized check to Mike Morsberger, ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs vice president for alumni relations and development, during the game.
βCFE Federal Credit Union is a valued friend of ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and believes in the power of education to transform lives,β ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ President John C. Hitt said. βWe are grateful for its support in turning the downtown campus project into a reality.β
CFEβs gift comes just two weeks after the Orlando Magic became the first donor to the downtown campus, also pledging $1.5 million.
Pending approvals, the campus will open in fall 2018. ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown will offer students an innovative learning environment within walking distance of a wide array of internship and job opportunities in fields such as digital media, communication, public service and health-related programs. ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ will share the campus with Valencia College, which will offer programs in digital media, health information technology and culinary and hospitality, including workforce training and other certificates to increase access to education in the immediate downtown area.
The new academic building at ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown will complement a renovated Center for Emerging Media building where ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs nationally ranked graduate video gaming school, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, is located. One-third of the new building will be funded by private donations. The university also is contributing $20 million from its resources and asking the state for an additional $20 million.
CFE acquired the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Federal Credit Union in 2011. Since then, CFE has worked with the university to promote financial literacy. In 2013, CFE acquired the naming rights to the CFE Arena and became the official financial institution of the ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Knights. The following year, CFE received the Presidentβs Partnership Award for its substantial involvement at ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½. CFE currently offers two branches and five ATMs on ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs main campus, as well as a location directly across from campus on Alafaya Trail.
βWe have remained firmly rooted in our commitment to education, and our involvement with ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown will allow us to continue to support financial literacy efforts. Our goal is to provide students, faculty and community members with the necessary resources to make better financial management decisions,β Melbourne said.