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Harris Corp. Donates $3 Million to College
With State Matching Funds, $6 Million to be Spent on Engineering, Computer Equipment
Harris Corporation Engineering Center

Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications technology company headquartered in Central Florida, has announced a $3 million donation to the College of Engineering & Computer Science.

The gift, along with an additional $3 million in state matching funds, will equip research laboratories in the new four-story Engineering III building. UCF will name the building the Harris Corporation Engineering Center, pending approval of the university’s Board of Trustees.

Howard Lance, Harris Corporation’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, announced the gift August 17 during a ceremony in the Harris Corporation Partnership Atrium in Engineering II. UCF President John Hitt and College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean Neal Gallagher also participated in the ceremony.

Including the state matching funds, the gift is the largest ever made by Harris Corporation to any college or university. The donation is also the largest ever received by the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
President and CEO Howard Lance - Harris Corporation

“We have UCF graduates employed at every level of our engineering organization,” Lance said. “We are delighted to provide this gift, which will support the advancement of the engineering discipline at this vibrant university and the continuing expansion of high technology in Florida.”

Harris Corporation’ donation will allow UCF to hire more high-quality faculty members and equip labs specializing in microwave and wireless communications, Computer Aided Virtual Environments, robotics, software engineering and large-scale designs. Research in those labs benefits the medical community, law enforcement, NASA, the military and other organizations.

More than 500 UCF graduates, most of whom attended the College of Engineering and Computer Science, are among Harris’ 12,600 employees.

“Harris Corporation’s generous gift will help UCF prepare more students to join the high-tech workforce that is vital to the economy of this region and the state,” President John Hitt said. “We look forward to strengthening an important partnership that benefits our students and faculty, Harris Corporation and the entire Central Florida community.”

President Hitt - University of Central Florida
Dean Neal Gallagher - College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Central Florida
“The increasing intensity of global competition makes our partnerships with industry more important than ever before,” Dean Neal Gallagher said. “We are honored by Harris Corporation’s confidence in our students and faculty, and we will meet the challenge by producing exceptional graduates who are well-prepared for high-tech, high-paying jobs.”

The college, which has 5,706 students, will have received more than $8 million from the Harris Corporation in donations and state matching funds once the current gift is received. Harris Corporation’s longstanding partnership with UCF includes prior donations toward the second-floor computer lab and first-floor atrium of the Engineering II building. The atrium and computer lab are named in the company’s honor.

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