Collections

The Archival collection of Dr. Charles N. Millican from the collection of Norman Van Meter, 1900-2004 contains photographs, news clippings, and personal letters about Charles Millican. The photographs range from social events to private family photos. This collection provides insight into the life and career of Dr. Charles Millican. Charles Norman Millican was born October 9, 1916 in Wilson, Arkansas. He earned a B.S. in Business and Religion from Union University in 1941. In 1946, he received his M.A. in Economics from George Peabody College and became Acting Head of the Commerce Department at Union University. The Millicans moved to Florida in 1948 where Millican studied for his Ph.D. in Business Finance and Economics. When Dr. Millican was appointed President of the new university in 1965, the university had no name, no buildings, no faculty and no students; he had to create the university over which he would preside. After Millican's appointment, he hired staff, found premises, and began the slow process of creating his university. He established the twin tenets of "Accent on the Individual" and "Accent on Excellence," which continue to guide the University, and the motto, "Reach for the Stars". Although he retired as President in 1978, Millican returned to teaching finance as a professor in the College of Business at the University of Central Florida, as it was now known, and earned the title President Emeritus. He chaired the Orange County Community Referendum Committee, which passed the resort tax that built the Orange County Convention Center. He has received Distinguished Alumnus awards from both the University of Florida and Union University, and he received honorary LL.D. degrees from Rollins College and UCF.

This collection contains materials related to the Knights Racing program, which spawned from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) chapter at Florida Technological University, now University of Central Florida. Materials found in this collection include newspaper clippings, chapter documents, photographs, plaques, racing car designs, and more. This collection provides insight into the Knights Racing program at Florida Technological University (University of Central Florida) and the groups involved. The Knights Racing Program has been a staple of the University of Central Florida since the creation of the FTU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1972. Before the program became widely known as "Knights Racing," the racing teams were simply referred to as simply the members of the ASME chapter. The program's name, "Knights Racing," originated with UCF's mascot change in 2007 which shortened the UCF's mascot from "The Golden Knights" to "The Knights." The Mini Baja Competition was coined under the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), who began to hold competitions for the Baja carts. This competition consists of students designing, building, and operating a recreational offroading vehicle. At the time of their creation, the Baja Racing Team and the Formula SAE team were one team; however, they separated in 2019 due to Student Government Association funding limitations. Since their divorce in 2019, the teams compete, design, and build their cars independently. As of 2021, the Formula SAE and Baja Racing Teams remain under the umbrella of the "Knights Racing Program" though they act independently.

Mary Monroe was a theatre student at FTU in the 1970s. Her collection of photographs, news clippings, and programs document the theatre performances during that time.

The Orlando Shakespeare Theater Collection contains playbills, programs, reviews, newspaper clippings, films, cassettes, reels, and schedules. It also includes items relating to the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival Partnership (OSF) such as Simply Shakespeare, Central Florida's first Shakespearean troupe, and the UCF Shakespeare Summer Institute as well as the NEH grant funded faculty study project "Hamlet: Exploring the Renaissance Mind in Action" which was presented in the Summer 1991.

This collection includes documents pertaining to the formation of the University of Central Florida's Academic Advising Council as well as its administration, initiatives, and achievements. There is also an official Academic Advising Statement and the Academic Advising handbook created for faculty.

Originally a volunteer organization, the UCF Alumni Association was founded in 1971 to foster relationships between the university and its alumni. Included in this collection are minutes, correspondence, brochures and related materials detailing the association's administration and outreach programs.

This collection contains scrapbooks, loose materials, and publications related to the UCF Arboretum. Comprised mostly of photographs, the collection also contains pamphlets, articles, and concept drawings.

The Assistant Director of Maintenance Records contain information concerning the growth of UCF since its inception. Among the documents in the collection are building blueprints, memos, work orders, photographs, letters, and official correspondence that detail UCF's physical growth.

The University of Central Florida Athletics Collection documents the history and operation of FTU and UCF sports and how University athletics have been chronicled in the media. The creation of several FTU and UCF sports teams are highlighted here, including the UCF football team in 1979. A large portion of this collection contains publications from most FTU and UCF sporting teams including yearly media guides used by local and national media outlets to aid in reporting on University sports.

This collection contains a wide variety of media used to document, promote, or analyze the University of Central Florida. While the bulk of the collection is video, the collection also contains audio and multi-media. News footage from around Central Florida pertaining to the University can be found here as well as historic media that chronicles the growth of both FTU and UCF. University advertising campaigns as well as University produced media highlight the many academic and athletic organizations that can be found on campus.