The UCF Report, Vol. 17 No. 1, July 15, 1994

              ^UCF
Report
Total Quality Management    \^^
teams have come up
with several bright   NsJ^
ideas to improve the      >5£^>
way things are done at the
university. Please see column)1
page 4.
I The new CREOL building is
developing nicely. Please see
story on page 5.
Volume 17, No. 1
The newsletter for faculty and staff
July 15,1994
High school dropout earns doctorate
Mike McCumber will receive his doctorate degree from UCF next month.
Before you yawn, and start thinking,
"Ho-hum, one more guy with a 'Dr.'
before his name" you may want to look a little
closer.
Twenty-four years ago, you see, McCumber
dropped out of high school. He was 16 at the time,;
10th grader bored with classes and sure he could
make more money cutting meat full-time than he
'I can't believe this hard-headed
individual ever got this far.1
Mike McCumber, referring to himself
would ever earn with a high school diploma.
Besides, his older brother had already dropped out,
and his parents hadn't needed much education to
get by on their Ohio farm.
A meat cutter, as far as McCumber was concerned then, was all he cared to be. Until his 17th
birthday, that is, when he enlisted in the Air Force
because his uncle, a master sergeant, told him it
might be something he'd enjoy. It was in the Air
Force that McCumber regained an interest in
education, not because he necessarily wanted to, but
Please see DROPOUT, page 6
Miss Florida
Junior
wins
pageant
Megan Welch, a University of
Central Florida junior
majoring in broadcast
journalism, was crowned
Miss Florida 1994 late last month in
Orlando.
Welch, 20, who entered the pageant as Miss Mount Dora, competed
against 46 other titleholders from
throughout Florida for the crown. She
will now join other state titleholders
in the 1994 Miss America Pageant in
Atlantic City, N.J., Sept. 17.
"This feels just wonderful," Welch
said shortly after winning the title.
Being selected to represent the state
was especially sweet for Welch
because she narrowly missed the
opportunity a year ago when she was
first runner-up to 1993 Miss Florida
Nicole Padgett.
For winning the four-day Miss
Florida Pageant, which consisted of
talent, swimsuit, evening gown and
interview segments, Welch will
receive $16,000 in scholarship money
and a new car. She also earned $1,150
for winning the swimsuit and interview segments.
Welch will be spending most of her
time as Miss Florida promoting child
safety. She said that issue is very
important to her because Florida
ranks high in the number of deaths to
children caused by drowning, bicycle
and pedestrian accidents.
Please see MEGAN, page 2
UCF student Megan Welch, crowned Miss Florida in June, plans to use her
position to promote child safety. She is studying broadcast journalism.
4 faces
give BOR
new look
The Florida Board of Regents
will have a somewhat different look this fiscal year.
Gone are former chair Alec
Courtelis and J. Clint Brown as well as
Education Commission Betty Castor.
New on board are regents Dennis
Ross, Paul Cejas, Steven Uhlfelder and
Castor's replacement Douglas
Jamerson.
Jamerson and Uhlfelder both
joined the board, which governs the
State University System, in January
1994. Ross and Cejas were appointed
by Gov. Lawton Chiles this spring.
• Cejas, 51, is from Miami, and will
serve until 1999. Born in Havana,
Cuba, he is chairman and CEO of
CareFlorida Health Systems Inc. Cejas
also served as president and CEO of
Golden Glades Regional Medical
Center (1987-90) and was a Dade
County School Board member (1980-
88).
• Ross, 52, is from Tampa, and will
also serve a five-year term. A native
Floridian, Ross attended the University of Florida and the University of
South Florida. Currently, he is president and CEO of Jim Walter Corp,
where he has worked since 1980. Ross
also served as deputy chief of staff for
the Office of the Governor (1978-80),
Tampa director of administration
(1977-78) and public school teacher
(1967-68).
• Uhlfelder, 48, is from Tallahassee,
and will serve until 1997. Uhlfelder,
born in West Palm Beach, attended the
University of Florida and the University of Florida Law School. He is
Please see REGENTS, page 2
Next issue of The UCF Report is Aug. 5 • Deadline is noon, July 27
University of Central Florida
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