ORLANDO, Fla. — At this morning’s Board of Trustees meeting, President Alexander Cartwright announced that the University of Central Florida has reached the status of a Preeminent State Research University in the state of Florida.

▶ LISTEN TO ORLANDO’S MORNING NEWS EXPRESS PODCAST ON WDBO

This means that UCF has met twelve of the state’s thirteen preeminent metric goals, outlined in Florida’s Preeminence Program, established in 2013. These goals include meeting academic standards benchmarks, as well as set retention and graduation rates.

The final goal was to reach the designated graduation rate metric of 60%, as set by the state. According to Cartwright, UCF not only met this goal, but exceeded it, achieving a graduation rate of 63.8%, a 14-point increase in just four years.

“From the very beginning, UCF has been a university that defied expectations,” Cartwright said in his address to the Trustees. “We built, we dreamed, we charged forward. That spirit lives on today, and it has carried us to a milestone years in the making.”

UCF, having been established in 1963, is the second youngest university in the state to achieve this status, just behind Florida International University, established in 1965.

Reaching preeminent research status not only offers an air of prestige to these universities but also allots them additional funding to continue reaching future goals. This, Cartwright says, will include a Raise program for students and faculty, “the dedicated people who power our impact.” Expanded scholarships, purpose-driven spaces, and experiential learning will be the foundation of these new ventures.

“We will aim beyond the state’s new goal of 70% four-year graduation rate and solidify our place as one of the most student-success driven universities in the country,” said Cartwright.

What follows this designation will be the Board of Governors verifying the university’s metrics, after which the Board of Trustees will approve those metrics in April. In June, Cartwright hopes, the Board of Governors will then approve UCF’s preeminent status.

“We are already thinking about what’s beyond this designation, because preeminence isn’t about the title, it’s about what we can do with it,” said Cartwright. “We must invest in our people.”

Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.