Among Hickey’s triumphs: winning state approval for a medical school some argued would never get off the ground, then helping raise millions in private dollars to get it built.

Hickey is retiring after a career in teaching and administration spanning more than three decades, but he won’t be cutting his UCF ties altogether. He has been awarded emeritus status, meaning he could still be called on to advise the university in the future.

Here’s what Hickey had to say about some of the challenges he’s faced during his tenure as provost — a centuries-old academic title meaning “chief” — and executive vice president at UCF.

What brought you to UCF?

When I was looking at jobs at the time, I knew it was likely the last stop in my academic career. I had been at the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of Alabama at Birmingham at a time of rapid growth, not in the number of students but in research stature. It had an entrepreneurial environment built on interdisciplinary values: If you could imagine something and figure out a way to pay for it, you could do it. But not all universities are organized that way, I found.

So you saw the potential for that type of approach at UCF?

Here was a place where interdisciplinary cooperation was already in place. It had a dynamic environment and was actively looking for ways to form partnerships in the community. You’ll never hear someone here say something is impossible. It might be very difficult, but not impossible. Ambition is in the DNA of the institution.

For example?

When we proposed a medical school, people laughed at us. Some gave us a 5 percent chance of success. That just fueled the fire for us. Persistence and determination got us through it. The lesson: Don’t give up.

Elaborate on your job, since some may not be familiar with what a provost does.

The job of the provost is to help the president reach the goals of the institution. It includes everything from academic programs to the budget. But it’s been said that presidential dreams can result in provostal nightmares. It’s a big job. That’s why provosts tend to leave when a new president is chosen. But this job has been a good fit for me. I’m an operations guy. I don’t mind working in the shadows. Not only did I work well with our president, we genuinely like each other. Dr. Hitt’s record speaks for itself, but it started with Charlie Millican, our first president. The original dream was Charlie’s. The secret of our success has been consistency of purpose on the part of the presidents throughout our history. Dr. Hitt, for 18 years, has been extremely successful building on the foundation of those who came before him.

When it comes to academics, what has been your focus?

Access is one. I was a first-generation college student. I came out of a high school where few went to college. But I worked hard and got financial aid to go to college. Dr. Hitt comes from a similar environment. So access to a college education if very important to us. Higher education can make all the difference in the world to someone.

When you took the job, you told people you planned to stay six or seven years.

And I did. It’s time to do something else now, time to get out of the way. I started working as a kid, mowing lawns. So I’ve been working for 55 years. I’m going to take some time to unwind. That includes some tennis. I’m taking up a fitness program — it’s Navy Seals-type training. I haven’t read for pleasure in years, so I’m looking forward to getting back to that. There was just so much to read connected to the job, no time. I’ve been approached to do some consulting. But for now, I’ll be taking some time to figure out what comes next.

Any regrets?

Getting to the point of having to do layoffs. I would have loved to have not had to do that. The last three years of budget-cutting have been tough. But not a week goes by that someone doesn’t say thank you. I think we did better than a lot of other institutions.

What are you taking with you?

Well, they’re letting me keep my e-mail address.

Source: OrlandoSentinel.com, UCF provost helped spark historic changes, Terry Hickey leaves the job with many triumphs, including a new medical school. By Luis Zaragoza, Orlando Sentinel 4:12 PM EDT, July 1, 2010. Luis Zaragoza can be reached at lzaragoza@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5718.

Since 2001, Waldrop has served as vice chancellor for research and economic development at the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In this position, he has been responsible for 12 university-wide research support offices and 15 research centers.

Previously, Waldrop was vice chancellor for research at the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has a B.A. in Political Science, an M.A. in Physical Education and a Ph.D. in Physiology, all from UNC.

“Dr. Waldrop’s leadership at the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ of North Carolina has been outstanding, and we are pleased to bring this innovative academic leader and researcher to UCF,â€� said President John Hitt. “Tony will help us continue to offer an affordable, high-quality education to support a wide range of scholarship in the classic disciplines and emerging fields. He also will help us continue to support the economic, cultural, intellectual and societal needs of Central Florida.â€�

Waldrop will start at UCF on Aug. 1. Provost and Executive Vice President Terry Hickey, who has held the position since 2003, will retire on June 30. Vice Provost Diane Chase will serve as interim provost.

The provost is the second-highest ranking officer of the university and provides academic leadership for the university’s 12 colleges, multiple campuses and research centers and institutes. The provost oversees academic support services and student services and is responsible for curriculum, academic planning, faculty appointments, faculty development and promotion and tenure decisions.

“The opportunity to help UCF continue to ‘Reach for the Stars’ as one of the nation’s premier universities is very exciting,� Waldrop said. “My experiences and personal goals are very consistent with the university’s goals. I’m looking forward to getting started and meeting and working with UCF’s faculty, staff and students.�

Waldrop will be coming to a growing metropolitan research university with more than 53,500 students, more than 10,000 employees and external research funding of $121.7 million. The average SAT score for the fall 2009 freshman class was 1225, and the university ranks in the top 50 among universities and colleges enrolling National Merit Scholars

UCF received 93 applications from around the country for the position. A committee of faculty and staff members, chaired by College of Sciences Dean Peter Panousis, led the search and interview process.

“It speaks highly of UCF that so many qualified leaders from around the country applied for this position,� Hitt said. “I commend Dr. Panousis and the committee for the hard work they put into this important process.�

UCF’s new Department of Writing and Rhetoric will serve as a flagship program to coordinate comprehensive writing instruction and support across the university. As part of its mission, the new department will implement a “Writing Across the Curriculum” program called Knights Write to ensure students are prepared to write effectively in all of their courses.

Toward that end, Knights Write will provide support to help interested faculty members in all disciplines integrate writing into their courses to help students develop into more effective and versatile writers. UCF’s would be only the second writing curriculum program at a Florida public university. It could potentially grow into the largest such program in the country.

The new department and program changes were initiated by the College of Arts and Humanities and approved by the UCF administration.

“These changes will build upon our outstanding programs to create a unique UCF writing experience,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Terry Hickey. “This department will be a national model for how large public universities can improve students’ writing skills. These changes, along with the efforts of our dedicated faculty members, will further prepare students for success throughout their academic careers and after they graduate.”

Although universities are increasingly moving to stand-alone writing departments, few coordinate all of the writing support, services and scholarship as thoroughly as UCF’s Department of Writing and Rhetoric will. The university is investing about $1.7 million in the new program during the next four years.

To ensure students receive a consistent and rigorous writing education, UCF will convert 22 adjunct and 12 visiting instructor positions to 18 permanent instructor positions devoted to teaching composition. UCF will become one of only a few universities in the country that employ only full-time instructors to teach composition courses.

These changes will help create curricular consistency and rigor in Composition I and II courses (ENC 1101 and 1102) that provide a strong foundation for writing throughout the university.

The Writing and Rhetoric Department will be charged with coordinating university writing instruction and support, and designing coursework based in the best writing-related research in order to provide UCF students with a coherent and rigorous writing experience. Toward that end, Writing and Rhetoric faculty will provide support and consultations to colleagues from across the university.

“We expect these changes to increase student writing within the discipline, increase retention rates and shorten the time many students need to graduate,” said Jose Fernandez, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.

“Building the new department with tenured and tenure-track faculty whose work centers on writing and rhetoric is one of the strengths of this endeavor. These changes will empower them to better serve students.”

The department’s tenured and tenure-track faculty will conduct writing-related research with a strong emphasis on the scholarship of teaching, learning and writing in the disciplines.

The campaign kicked off with a breakfast at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center where the deans, directors, VP’s and the campaign volunteers enjoyed entertainment by the UCF Jazz Workshop led by Per Danielsson and selections from the UCF Conservatory Theatre’s recent production of Rent. Provost Terry Hickey and VP of Alumni Relations and Development, Bob Holmes, gave the volunteers words of encouragement and thanked them for their support in the campaign.

The campaign ran from March 16 through April 6 and ended with a celebration event at the Millican Statue in front of Millican Hall prior to the Symphony Under the Stars concert on April 15.

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