{"id":14645,"date":"2018-09-13T21:07:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T21:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=14645&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-05-21T18:44:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T18:44:16","slug":"ucf-looks-back-first-day-classes","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ucf-looks-back-first-day-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Looks Back on its First Day of Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall \u00a02018 | By Nicole Dudenhoefer \u201917<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

[lead]During a morning convocation and dedication ceremony, President Charles Millican welcomed 1,948 students who became responsible for upholding the university\u2019s motto of \u201cReach for the Stars.\u201d These students would pursue studies to fulfill the region\u2019s high demand for scientists, engineers, business professionals and teachers.[\/lead]<\/p>\n

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[blockquote source=”Charles Millican, founding president of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½<\/em>” cite=”” color=”#8D7220″ css_class=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cAs members of the charter class, you will help establish the traditions and the reputation of an entirely new university. An opportunity and a responsibility such as this comes to only a few, but by working together we can make this a great university, one of which we can be proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[photo id=”14888″ title=”Pegasus_Story-Fa2018-FirstDay-ConstructionScienceAndAuditorium” alt=”A black and white image shows a construction site with a finished building and trees.” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

What is now the chemistry building was one of the first buildings on campus in 1968.

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1,227<\/span>
\nAcres made up the campus<\/span><\/p>\n

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300<\/span>
\nSeats in the auditorium<\/span><\/p>\n

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7<\/span><\/p>\n

Buildings on campus: a library, a science building, an auditorium, a village center, a utility plant and two residence halls<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[photo id=”14891″ title=”Pegasus_Story-Fa2018-FirstDay-Library” alt=”A black and white image shows a group of students standing at the back of a room, while others sit in chairs with books.” position=”left” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Even from the university’s beginning the library was a popular spot for students to hang out with friends and study.

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90<\/span>
\nInstructors taught the first classes. Today, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has more than 12,500 faculty and staff members.<\/span><\/p>\n

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55<\/span>
\nDegree programs offered. Today, students can select from more than 215 degree programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[photo id=”14890″ title=”Pegasus_Story-Fa2018-FirstDay-GuidesWithMillican” alt=”A black and white image shows two students wearing hats while one shakes hands with a man in a suit.” position=”left” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Two student guides wear the university’s first mascot, Citronaut, as they are greeted by Charles Millican, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½’s founding president.

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5<\/span>
\nFounding colleges: Business Administration, Education, Humanities & Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Engineering & Technology<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[photo id=”14889″ title=”Pegasus_Story-Fa2018-FirstDay-Convocation” alt=”A black and white overhead shot shows a large crowd outside while a man speaks at a podium.” position=”left” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

More than 2,000 people attended the university’s first convocation ceremony, which was held outdoors. Students today attend a similar ceremony, known as the Knighting, inside CFE Arena.

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15199,"template":"","categories":[979],"tags":[938],"class_list":["post-14645","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-focus","tag-charles-millican","issues-1242","issues-fall-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nÂ鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Looks Back on the 50th Anniversary of the First Day of Classes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fifty years ago, Central Florida changed forever when Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ \u2014 then known as Florida Technological University \u2014 opened for classes on October 7, 1968.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/ucf-looks-back-first-day-classes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Looks Back on its First Day of Classes\" 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