See how UCF has grown during President Hitt’s 20 years in office and offer your congratulations by visiting this anniversary website.

The University of Central Florida will hold a special on-campus celebration Thursday, March 1, to honor President John C. Hitt’s 20th anniversary in office. The event will begin at 2 p.m. in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union.

Students, faculty and staff members, and campus friends will have the opportunity to create handwritten notes for the president and record short congratulatory videos. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., and refreshments will be served during the reception that follows the program.

John and Martha Hitt joined the UCF family March 1, 1992.

“It is a special privilege to serve as president of a university. Society invests in universities not just its money, but something far more precious, the potential of enterprising men and women who seek to enrich their lives through higher education,” Hitt said during his inaugural address.

Since then, UCF has become one of America’s great success stories in higher education.

Typically, UCF sets new school records each year for the quality of its students and the number of degrees awarded. Enrollment has nearly tripled–making UCF the second-largest university in the nation. UCF has emerged as a major metropolitan research university with a global reach.

The on-campus celebration is one of several commemorations of  President Hitt’s achievements.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Hitt appeared on WUCF TV’s Metro Center Outlook, hosted by Diane Trees, director of the Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies at UCF.

In the episode, which can be viewed here, Hitt reflects on his accomplishments during the past 20 years, as well as his goals and influences.

The second part of the interview with President Hitt will be broadcast at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29. That episode will focus on regional partnerships and the changes and challenges that UCF and other public universities have faced the past two decades.

Information about where to watch WUCF TV can be found at http://wucftv.org.

Highlights of Hitt’s two-decade tenure also can be viewed at the UCF Library, which is running an exhibit dedicated to Hitt and his wife, Martha, through March 31.

“John C. Hitt: Twenty Years of Leadership” offers pictures, awards and other memorabilia that chronicle Hitt’s milestones at UCF. The display is on the main floor of the Library near the information desk.

Visit the UCF President’s website to read more about two decades of remarkable results.