The University of Central Florida Unveiled the new Global UCF building located on Memory Mall Wednesday, August 31,2016. The 54,000 square foot 16,000,000 dollar building consists of 22 classrooms, a conference space, technology lab, testing lab, catering kitchen, lactation room, 2 showers and a mediation area.
“This building located at the core of the campus signifies UCF strong commitment to providing high impact educational experiences for all of our students, “ President John C. Hitt said during his speech.
“At UCF fostering our students as global citizens is more than just a noble pursuit. We believe that preparation is a game changer for student success and for our students to make the world a better place. We live in a society that is increasingly diverse and interconnected,” President Hitt continued.
The Global UCF Building will also be home to 3 of UCF’s main internationalization efforts; the English Language Institute, UCF Abroad, and Global UCF.
These efforts are not only for making UCF a more appealing place for exchange students to attend school but also for native students who have a desire to experience the world. According to Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence and International Affairs and Global Strategies Cynthia Young, UCF plans to have 3000 undergraduate foreign exchange students attending UCF and have 3000 UCF students studying abroad by the year 2020. Currently, UCF has 828 foreign exchange students from 114 different countries and around 500 students studying abroad.
The key initiatives laid out by UCF’s international affairs and Global Strategies for Global UCF s are,
1. Become UCF’s international hub that facilitates communication and partnerships across disciplines, colleges, cultures, and nations.
2. Increase both the number and diversity of students and faculty having high impact international experiences.
3. Become the university of choice in the state of Florida for international students, scholars, and global partners.
4. Strategically invest in innovative international initiatives through fiscal stewardship and a culture of cost containment.
Ms. Young believes UCF will accomplish these four initiatives by following a simple equation, “Scale*Excellence=Impact” her hope is to “Harness the power of scale to transform the Knights.”
