Editing University of Central Florida (section)

==== Colbourn Hall scandal ====
In August 2018, the state university system's [[Florida Board of Governors|Board of Governors]] and the [[Florida Legislature]] opened an investigation into the university for misuse of state funds. On September 13, 2018, UCF admitted to misappropriating money intended for educational and operating expenses to build the new $38&nbsp;million Trevor Colbourn Hall, leading to the resignation of CFO Bill Merck.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Martin|first=Annie|title=UCF lambasted after admitting misusing state funds for new $38 million academic building|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ucf-funds-misappropriation-20180913-story.html|access-date=2020-09-05|website=orlandosentinel.com|date=September 13, 2018 |archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120002729/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ucf-funds-misappropriation-20180913-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2019, UCF severed ties with President Emeritus John Hitt after the investigation proved that UCF had misspent or planned to misspend over $85&nbsp;million between 2013 and 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aboraya|first=Abe|date=2019-01-22|title=UPDATE: UCF To Sever Ties With John Hitt Over Misspent Funds|url=https://www.wmfe.org/ucf-to-fire-four-employees-over-illegal-colbourn-hall-construction/96137|access-date=2020-09-05|website=90.7 WMFE|language=en-US|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920135235/https://www.wmfe.org/ucf-to-fire-four-employees-over-illegal-colbourn-hall-construction/96137|url-status=live}}</ref> Newly appointed president [[Dale Whittaker]], who was a provost at UCF during Hitt's tenure, resigned in February 2019 after just seven months in office over allegations that he also knew about the misappropriation of funds.<ref>{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Annie|date=February 21, 2019|title=UCF Board of Trustees accepts President Dale Whittaker's offer to resign|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-ucf-dale-whittaker-resignation-board-of-trustees-20190221-story.html|access-date=February 21, 2019|archive-date=February 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222014204/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-ucf-dale-whittaker-resignation-board-of-trustees-20190221-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gillespie|first=Annie Martin, Ryan|title=UCF President Dale Whittaker resigned 'to end punitive measures and threats.' But is his departure enough?|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-ucf-future-after-president-dale-whittaker-20190222-story.html|access-date=2020-09-05|website=orlandosentinel.com|date=February 23, 2019 |archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620052520/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/os-ne-ucf-future-after-president-dale-whittaker-20190222-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Board of Trustees Chairman Marcos Marchena also resigned that month.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Powers|first=Scott|date=2019-03-04|title=John Hitt a shadow in UCF investigation|url=https://floridapolitics.com/archives/289573-john-hitt-a-shadow-in-ucf-investigation|access-date=2020-09-05|website=[[Florida Politics]]|language=en-US|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627133449/https://floridapolitics.com/archives/289573-john-hitt-a-shadow-in-ucf-investigation|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2019, the final report into additional UCF construction projects revealed the balance of misdirected funds between July 2010 and August 2018 was $99.61&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|99.61|2010|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=UCF seeks to move on after final report on funding misuse|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/08/30/ucf-seeks-to-move-on-after-final-report-on-funding.html|access-date=2020-09-05|website=www.bizjournals.com|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110101359/https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/08/30/ucf-seeks-to-move-on-after-final-report-on-funding.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The report found that key people in the university leadership were aware of the misdirection of the funds. UCF was fined by the state for 120% the cost of the misused funds.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Powers|first=Scott|date=2019-08-24|title=Beyond Colbourn Hall: UCF probe report details 11 other projects in scandal|url=https://floridapolitics.com/archives/304103-beyond-colbourn-hall-ucf-probe-report-details-11-other-projects-in-scandal|access-date=2020-09-05|website=[[Florida Politics]]|language=en-US|archive-date=January 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131080646/https://floridapolitics.com/archives/304103-beyond-colbourn-hall-ucf-probe-report-details-11-other-projects-in-scandal|url-status=live}}</ref>