The Florida Board of Governors on Thursday added ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs proposed downtown campus to a list it sends to the Florida Legislature, a critical step in the universityβs bid for state funds for the project.
The Board of Governors, which oversees the stateβs 12 public universities, added to its legislative budget request. State legislators often look to the boardβs list of priorities when determining which projects to fund.
Before the boardβs vote, ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ President John C. Hitt and Provost A. Dale Whittaker outlined the academic, economic and community benefits of the proposed campus, which Hitt called a βtransformational project.β
βAt its heart, this is a story about leveraging proximity to industry, to better prepare students for jobs,β Hitt said. βLocation-based education is part of our DNA, and our experience with the Rosen College (of Hospitality Management) and at Medical City gives us a head start on making downtown Orlando equally successful.β
βIn fact, there are more immediate opportunities for success downtown than existed at the start of our Rosen or Lake Nona projects.β
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown is a multi-year venture that eventually could be home to about 13,000 ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and Valencia College students.
The campus, proposed on about 15 to 20 acres in Orlandoβs Creative Village, would initially build from the strengths of ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs other academic programs in the area. ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs Center for Emerging Media and its graduate video game design and development school, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, are across the street from the Creative Village site.
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs proposal to the Board of Governors recommended moving programs related to interactive entertainment, digital media, art and film, as well as programs from the Nicholson School of Communication. Those suggestions came from a committee made up of about 30 faculty members, administrators and staff, with input from students.
Final decisions about academic programs at ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown will come later this spring.
Sen. Andy Gardiner, who also spoke to the Board of Governors today in support of the downtown campus, said it would βlay a foundation for the future of our communityβ and βchange Orlando for the next 100 years.β
As part of ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs presentation, the Board of Governors learned about the community benefits of the downtown campus from Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Valencia College President Sandy Shugart; Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Barbara Jenkins; and Daryl Holt, vice president and chief operating officer for Electronic Arts Tiburon.
ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs downtown campus also would include the regionβs first-of-its-kind program to allow students with intellectual disabilities to attend courses and achieve meaningful higher educational credentials.
A Florida Senate higher education committee endorsed the creation of such a program this week and also recommended establishing a coordinating center at ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ where parents of students with disabilities could learn more about services available to them throughout the state. The center could be located at ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Downtown, along with other support services for all students.