UCF lands $50M alumni gift
An alumnus donated $50 million to UCF—the largest gift in the university’s history—to transform its business college into a technology‑driven hub for business strategy. The donation is a single large gift positioned to reshape program capacity rather than broad alumni participation. (cfpublic.org)
The University of Central Florida said April 15 that alumnus Barry Miller is giving $50 million to its business college, the largest gift in the school’s history. (ucf.edu) The gift renames the school the Barry S. Miller College of Business after a unanimous vote by the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees on Wednesday. Miller graduated in 1995 with a finance degree. (cfpublic.org) University officials said the money will fund a multi-phase plan centered on financial technology, artificial intelligence strategy, cyber risk, trust and disinformation. The plan also includes five endowed faculty chairs and a new master’s program in technology leadership and innovation. (cfpublic.org) Miller said he wants students prepared for “a world where technology and business are constantly evolving,” and the university said the investment is aimed at business education built around data and decision-making. (ucf.edu) The timing matters for a university of this size. The University of Central Florida says it enrolls more than 70,000 students, making it the largest university in Florida and one of the largest in the country. (ucf.edu) A gift of this scale can change hiring and programs faster than annual fundraising usually does. UCF Foundation chief executive Rodney Grabowski said Miller wanted an investment “greater than a building or a name or even a program.” (cfpublic.org) Miller is president and co-founder of Voloridge Investment Management and Voloridge Health, according to the university. UCF’s profile of him describes him as a first-generation college student whose father worked as a contractor and developer. (ucf.edu) The previous record gift at UCF was $40 million from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett in 2021 for first-generation and minority students, Central Florida Public Media reported. This new pledge is larger, but it is also narrower, aimed at one college and a specific academic strategy. (cfpublic.org) For UCF, the immediate result is a renamed business school and a large pool of money tied to faculty, graduate training and technology-focused coursework. For students, the test will be how quickly those plans show up in classes, hiring and new programs. (ucf.edu)
