The FTU Alumni Association was founded in 1971 to generate and further relationships between the university and its alumni, current students, their family and friends. By 1975 the association had become a formal entity of the university and in 1978 changed its name to the University of Central Florida Alumni Association. The organization fulfills many roles including the allocation of scholarships, membership and chapter generation, and the planning of over two hundred university events that include each year's homecoming. Additionally, the association began the Student Alumni Association in 1993, which has emerged as one of the largest student organizations at UCF. 1994 saw the release of a bi-monthly publication, called Pegasus Magazine, to increase communication with UCF alumni across the country. In 1998 the Alumni Association became part of the UCF Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Through this partnership the association abides by the mandates of the Foundation and has assumed a greater fund-raising role. However, the association still maintains its own governing board and supplies seventy percent of its annual operating budget.
The association's primary governing body is its Board of Directors (BOD), previously known as the Alumni Advisory Council in 1977-78 and then the Alumni Association Council from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. The composition of the board consists of both alumni and current students. These alumni simultaneously represent the university as graduates and as leaders in local business, politics, and professional fields. As part of its responsibilities, the BOD elects five persons to act as President, Secretary, Treasurer, and two members-at-large of the association's Executive Committee, which directly manages the affairs of the association. Each term of office lasts one fiscal year. In addition to the BOD and Executive Committee, the Alumni Association contains eight standing committees: Nominating, Athletics, Communications, Finance, Homecoming, Legislative Relations, Membership, and Scholarship. Special committees may also be created in order to fulfill specific needs of the association. Such committees, their chairs, and number of members are subject to the discretion of the association president.
From the guide to the UCF Alumni Association Records, 1964-2000, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, )
