UCF and the Darden Restaurants Foundation Announce $5 Million Partnership to Launch Next-Generation Student Success Center

Building on 50 years of collaboration, UCF and the Darden Restaurants Inc. Foundation (Darden Restaurants Foundation) today announced a landmark $5 million partnership expansion to launch a state-of-the-art student success center designed to streamline graduation pathways and cultivate future-ready workforce talent.

Often, the daily challenges of life block graduation more than academic ability. With support from the Darden Restaurants Foundation, UCF aims to address these challenges and redefine how it champions upward mobility and student well-being. The future site of this center will be within Howard Phillips Hall on UCF's main campus and will house a unified ecosystem that integrates enrollment, academic navigation, mental health resources, food security programs and emergency financial aid to serve nearly 70,000 students annually.

"Our partnership with UCF reflects a shared belief that when you remove barriers and invest in people, you unlock potential at scale." - Susan Connelly, Darden Restaurants Foundation president

"This investment from the Darden Restaurants Foundation reflects what is possible when partners share a commitment to students, opportunity and the future of our workforce," UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright says. "Together, UCF and the Darden Restaurants Foundation are helping more Knights persist, graduate and step into meaningful careers that strengthen Florida's economy and expand opportunity for generations to come."

"Our partnership with UCF reflects a shared belief that when you remove barriers and invest in people, you unlock potential at scale," President of the Darden Restaurants Foundation Susan Connelly says. "The primary focus areas of the Darden Restaurants Foundation are helping fight hunger and investing in education. Through the Darden Restaurants Foundation Student Success Center, we are helping create a model that supports students holistically - from academic navigation to basic needs - so they can persist, graduate, and thrive in their careers and communities."

This investment strengthens a comprehensive approach to student success by growing access to scholarships, enhancing proactive success coaching, and delivering innovative, integrated support systems that remove barriers before they can derail progress. It reflects a shared commitment to creating an environment where students are prepared to graduate with confidence, step into meaningful careers and lead in a rapidly changing world.

The $5 million investment also establishes the Darden Restaurants Foundation Student Success Fund, which will directly support four core pillars of the partnership:

• Integrated Support: Implementing UCF's next-generation student support system, a personalized, holistic coaching framework designed to empower students.
• Persistence Initiatives: Strengthening student well-being and academic momentum by pairing individualized academic success coaching with wrap-around care.
• Essential Care: Funding food security programs and emergency assistance, which provide comprehensive relief through free groceries, fresh meals and short-term financial aid.
• Capital Infrastructure: Transforming Howard Phillips Hall into a modern student success hub designed to improve four-year graduation rates and career readiness.

Through this gift, Go For Launch - UCF's $3.5 billion campaign to accelerate its next era of impact - continues to turn ambition into action, opening doors of opportunity and shaping a future where every student has the tools to succeed and the momentum to go further than they ever imagined. This gift powers the campaign's Student Success pillar, advancing a bold vision to ensure every Knight has the support, resources and opportunities to thrive from enrollment through graduation and beyond.

Approximately 22% of UCF students are the first in their families to attend college. The innovative hub will redesign student care from initial recruitment through graduation, helping to build upon UCF's exceptional 93% first-year student retention rate and further accelerate our four-year and six-year graduation metrics.

Darden Restaurants Inc. (Darden) and the Darden Restaurants Foundation have been longstanding partners with UCF for more than 47 years, supporting key areas across the university including the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, the Barry S. Miller College of Business and Athletics. Most recently, this enduring relationship was strengthened by the establishment of the Joe R. Lee Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of the legacy of Darden's first CEO.

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