  {"id":79304,"date":"2017-10-24T09:45:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T13:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=79304"},"modified":"2018-06-18T11:54:45","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T15:54:45","slug":"president-hitt-the-right-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/president-hitt-the-right-time\/","title":{"rendered":"President Hitt: The Right Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve long believed that timing is important in life. Almost 26 years ago, the time was right for me to become 166su\u2019s fourth president.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the time is right for me to retire. With the firm belief that the future is bright for 166su, I will step down as president effective June 30, 2018.<\/p>\n<p>I make this decision in good health and of my choosing. The time is right for this decision because I\u2019ve never felt better about 166su.<\/p>\n<p>This is a special moment in time for the university: we are hiring hundreds of talented new faculty; attracting the highest-achieving students in our history; and making impacts in Orlando, the state, and nation.<\/p>\n<p>I am proud of our reputation as one of the biggest <strong><em>and best<\/em><\/strong> universities in the country. Through our size and constant pursuit of excellence, UCF changes the lives of our students \u2026 and our students change the world.<\/p>\n<p>Making this decision now provides the best opportunity for our momentum to continue. I know that our leadership team, including our trustees, vice presidents, and deans, will continue turning big dreams into reality.<\/p>\n<p>166su Board of Trustees Chairman Marcos Marchena will convene a search committee that will include trustees and representatives from the faculty, staff, student body, alumni, the Florida Board of Governors, and the Central Florida community.<\/p>\n<p>We will soon share additional information about the presidential search process.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1992, Martha and I have been honored to work alongside many exceptional people. Being at 166su has been one of the greatest joys of our lives.<\/p>\n<p>When we first visited campus, we had a powerful feeling that 166su was a special place. We could never have imagined then how special it would become.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you to everyone who has made our remarkable university what it is today. Martha and I are forever grateful for your support.<\/p>\n<p>Cordially yours,<\/p>\n<p><strong>John C. Hitt<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>President<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve long believed that timing is important in life. Almost 26 years ago, the time was right for me to become 166su\u2019s fourth president. Today, the time is right for me to retire. With the firm belief that the future is bright for 166su, I will step down as president effective June 30, 2018. I make this decision in good&hellip;","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":79306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[2510,2994],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-79304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-community","tag-john-c-hitt","tag-martha-hitt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>President Hitt: The Right Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"John C. 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