Mike Morsberger Archives | Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ News Central Florida Research, Arts, Technology, Student Life and College News, Stories and More Wed, 06 Jan 2021 16:01:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/blogs.dir/20/files/2019/05/cropped-logo-150x150.png Mike Morsberger Archives | Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ News 32 32 100 Days Left in Historic $500 Million IGNITE Campaign /news/100-days-left-historic-500-million-ignite-campaign/ Thu, 21 Mar 2019 15:27:17 +0000 /news/?p=95526 Since the campaign began on July 1, 2011, more than 103,000 donors have combined to make nearly 400,000 separate gifts, ranging from $5 to eight figures.

]]> Saturday, March 23, marks the beginning of the final 100 days of the IGNITE Campaign, a sustained eight-year effort to secure $500 million in private support to advance Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. Since the campaign began on July 1, 2011, more than 103,000 donors have combined to make nearly 400,000 separate gifts, ranging from $5 to eight figures.

As of Dec. 31, 2018, total gifts and commitments stood at approximately $479.5 million, or 96 percent of the goal amount.

“Being so close to the campaign goal, the question isn’t ‘Will we reach it,’ but rather, ‘By how much,’†says Mike Morsberger, vice president for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Advancement and CEO of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Foundation, the nonprofit organization that accepts gifts to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. “It is gratifying to see that our donors — many of them Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ faculty and staff — place their trust and confidence in the work we do at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to improve lives and livelihoods. It is my hope that before June 30, more people will make a gift to join in this historic effort.â€

“It is gratifying to see that our donors — many of them Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ faculty and staff — place their trust and confidence in the work we do at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to improve lives and livelihoods.” — Mike Morsberger, vice president for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Advancement and CEO of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Foundation

Morsberger adds the campaign grand total will be unveiled in October during Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s homecoming.

Donors to the campaign have chosen to support a wide range of priorities across the university, including student scholarships, endowed faculty positions, innovative programming, athletics excellence and new initiatives like Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Downtown and the Academic Health Sciences Center at Lake Nona. Over the past three years, the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Foundation has forwarded more than $75 million to the university for use in those areas and others.

The most ambitious fundraising initiative in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ history, IGNITE promises to fundamentally transform the future of the university by providing the margin of excellence that is so vital in public higher education. Alumni, friends, faculty, staff, students and partners can add their names to those who have already contributed on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s annual Day of Giving, March 28.

]]> Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Alumni Association Hosts AlumKnights of the Roundtable: 2015 Chapter & Club Council /news/ucf-alumni-association-hosts-alumknights-of-the-roundtable-2015-chapter-club-council/ Wed, 17 Jun 2015 14:00:38 +0000 /news/?p=66863 On Saturday, June 13, following the previous evening’s 8th Annual Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Jefferson Awards & Alumni Volunteer Reception, nearly 60 regional, college and special interest chapter and club alumni volunteers — from Central Florida and across the nation — attended the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Alumni Association’s AlumKnights of the Roundtable: 2015 Chapter & Club Council at the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ FAIRWINDS Alumni Center.

The morning began with a keynote address and Q&A by Anthony Jenkins, Ph.D., Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s senior associate vice president and dean of students.

Next, alumni staff presented this year’s Chapter & Club Awards, which included:

  • The College Chapter Challenge Award tasked college-based alumni chapters to engage in professional development activities within their chapters that add value to their degrees and make meaningful connections back to the university. This year’s winner hosted an evening to provide alumni with a tool that’s invaluable in the industry in which they work — customer service training, provided by best-selling author Tim Miles. Congratulations to the Rosen College of Hospitality Management Alumni Chapter!
  • The Regional Chapter/Club Challenge Award tasked regional chapters with executing events with a strong university connection — which isn’t always easy when you’re not in Orlando! However, this year’s winner impressed the selection committee by working on events with local businesses in their community, while also working with the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ regional campus closest to them on their signature event, Starry Knights. Last year, Starry Knights raised more than $6,000 for scholarships and, after this year’s event in July, they will be one step closer to their goal of endowing their chapter’s scholarship. Congratulations to the Space Coast Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Alumni Chapter!
  • The Constituent Chapter Challenge Award tasked special interest chapters with creating opportunities to create meaningful connections with our student population. Chapter volunteers participated as panelists for the 4EVER KNIGHTS Alumni Speaker Series and served as mentors in the 4EK Connect program. Their signature professional development conference, PRO CON, raised $8,000 this year and allowed the chapter to engage with students in various stages of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ experience. Congratulations to the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Young Alumni Chapter!
  • The Chapter or Club of the Year Award was presented to the overall chapter or club that covered all of the bases in not only event programming, but in communicating with alumni and building meaningful connections. The selection committee was impressed by the winning group, not only for their philanthropic events — participating in multiple events through the year in addition to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s annual day of service, Knights Give Back — but also in the goals they set and how they reached them. They’ve grown their LinkedIn following from just 10 members to nearly 300, while becoming a chapter only two years ago. The judges were thoroughly impressed! Congratulations to the Denver Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Alumni Chapter!

    • Chapter and club leaders then participated in breakout sessions on the alumni association’s strategic plan goals of communication, engagement, relevance and funding. After lunch, they continued with roundtable discussions on board management, social media, student engagement, professional development/career-focused events, and partnerships.

    Before wrapping up the day-long conference with a catered happy hour and Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Bookstore merchandise sales, attendees got to meet and participate in a Q&A with Mike Morsberger, the new vice president for alumni relations and development, and CEO of the foundation.

    Thank you to all of our dedicated alumni volunteers! Go Knights! Charge On!

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