“At the time, we had Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida and citizens across the state were concerned,” Col. Grant Slayden said. “We had units flying in from Kentucky and others driving from New Jersey, Alabama and Georgia, all converging on Florida, and there was nowhere to put them. We got here and were welcomed with open arms with the full support of Dr. Kernek, Chief Beary and Jeff Morgan under [Dr. Hitt’s] leadership.”

For several days in September, UCF hosted more than 700 members of the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and other units as they worked around Central Florida. Soldiers slept in the Nicholson Field House and UCF Athletics locker rooms, ate meals served by student-athletes and coaches, and parked service vehicles at Spectrum Stadium and around campus.

“My brigade was responsible for 40 of Florida’s 67 counties and we immediately took maximum advantage of the central staging area [at UCF] where we could disperse across the state quickly, post hurricane,” said Slayden. “We ended up saving 327 people from rising water, providing shelter for 10,260 people, distributing 2 million bottles of water, almost 1 million MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) and 666 tons of ice — all staged from [UCF]. … It was amazing.”

For UCFPD, supporting the National Guard’s efforts is a natural partnership.

“We’re all in the public safety business: law enforcement, emergency management and the National Guard,” said Beary, who will retire on June 14 after 41 years in law enforcement. “The better we work together and the better we coordinate our efforts, the better service we provide to the citizens — and that’s what it’s all about.”

Hitt, who will step down from the presidency at the end of June, accepted the award with a message of continued community involvement from the university.

“People all around us need help and support, and it’s our responsibility as members of the community to do what we can to help our units as they attempt to safeguard the folks who live and work in these areas, including our own students and faculty and staff members,” he said. “We’re helping them help us.”

The mile-long road will be widened from two to four lanes and low areas will be elevated several feet to eliminate occasional flooding after heavy rains.

The reconstructed area will be from the campus entrance at Central Florida Research Park to the intersection of Gemini Boulevard South near the campus water tower. East-bound Gemini will also gain a new right-turn lane for easier access onto Libra.

During the 10-month project, at least one lane will be kept open and workers will coordinate the intermittent traffic flow, said Lee Kernek, associate vice president for administration and finance.

Drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes because the construction and lane shifts will slow traffic. Kernek said access will be provided to the offices and facilities served by the road, including the Libra parking garage. Project updates will be posted on all-campus email as needed.

Work on the road will not take place on game days during football season.

The engineer for the project is Harris Civil Engineers and the contractor is Stage Door II. The project manager is Trey Beck from UCF facilities planning and construction.

Another UCF project on the horizon will reasphalt several roads and reconstruct some sidewalks on campus. Affected areas will be Aquarius Drive, Andromeda Loop in front of Millican Hall, North Orion Boulevard and Greek Court. That seven-month project by contractor Allstate Paving won’t begin until May 2016.