FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Brie Turek (407) 246-3106
Laura Bornfreund (407) 246-3423

MAYOR BUDDY DYER AND CITY OF ORLANDO HONORED
WITH UCF PARTNERSHIP AWARD

UCF President John C. Hitt Presents Mayor Dyer Prestigious Award for Commitment to Collaboration

ORLANDO, FL (October 12, 2005) – Last night, University of Central Florida (UCF) President John C. Hitt presented Mayor Buddy Dyer and the City of Orlando with the 2005 UCF Partnership Award for the City’s commitment to collaboration and cooperative efforts with the University.

“Dr. Hitt and University staff have become valuable and dedicated partners in diversifying our economy and growing high-wage, high-quality jobs,” said Mayor Buddy Dyer. “I am honored to receive the UCF Partnership Award and look forward as we continue to grow the strong relationship between our hometown University and the City.”

Next month, Dr. Hitt and Mayor Dyer will officially open the UCF Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) and School of Film and Digital Media. In October 2004, the City of Orlando formed a partnership with the University and invested $4.6 million to provide a permanent home for FIEA and the School of Film and Digital Media in Downtown Orlando.

“Mayor Dyer has asked the citizens of Orlando to 'imagine a great city.' The vision he has articulated is a most ambitious one, but one that is necessary and, in fact, is being accomplished,” said Hitt. “Coupled with critical support from the Florida Legislature, UCF’s foothold in Downtown Orlando is now not only an impressive one, but more importantly, it intimately involves us with the Downtown renaissance, the creation of prosperity, the rapidly growing digital media cluster and the building of our community.”

The former Expo Center, now transformed into a state-of-the-art production environment, will one day be home to more than 3,000 UCF students and faculty, activating the creative digital media village in the Downtown core.

Another University endeavor the City has already invested resources toward, is the development of a medical school. Recently, UCF received a gift of $12.5 million and 50 acres of land for a new UCF Healthcare Campus at Lake Nona from the Tavistock Group. The City has already devoted $80 million in creating the infrastructure for Lake Nona including: sewer manes and a sewer treatment plant, water manes, roadways and assisting in the creation of Park Lake Elementary School.

“The proposed UCF medical school has the potential to bring millions of dollars into the local economy as well as create additional healthcare opportunities for the Central Florida region,” Dyer stated. “The City of Orlando will continue its commitment and work to move this project forward with the University.”

In addition to digital media and healthcare, the City has long been apart of UCF’s growth to become the 8th largest university in the country with more than 45,000 students. From the Downtown Academic Center and the UCF Small Business Development Center, to the Downtown Media Arts Center and UCF Technology Incubator, the City of Orlando supports key University projects through financial and economic development resources.

“Partnerships like what we share with UCF promote collaboration, engage the community, diversify our economy, and bring unique ideas and opportunities to not only the City of Orlando and the University of Central Florida, but to the entire region,” said Dyer.

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