Rocky Santomassino

Q. As a member of the UCF College of Business Dean's Executive Council, what motivated you to include the university in your estate planning?

A. Having grown up in Orlando, I have always been strongly committed to my community. That means giving back to that community, and my particular interests lie with education and the arts. It was a very logical decision to include UCF in my estate plans as this institution played a major role in my educational journey.

Q. When you think about the future of UCF?maybe 20, 30 or even 50 years from now?what do you see?

A. The older I get, the more short term my vision. I would like to see UCF manage its growth over the next 15 years. The university has exploded in student population since 2000. This 12- year growth period has been exciting, but painful. From a budgetary perspective, times are tough, which is why controlling growth is essential.

I believe UCF is currently ranked 97th by U.S. News & World Report among public universities. Our focus going forward for the next 15 years should be on improving that ranking to No. 10!This would be a very impressive accomplishment for UCF, especially if this goal can be met by 2028, which would be the university's 60th anniversary!

Q. How will your planned gift shape UCF's future and help make some of those visions possible?

A. My planned gift is earmarked for the College of Business Administration. Specifically, it will be used for exciting and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit among business students. Hopefully, the results of this gift will yield a higher ranking for the business school, which, in turn, should help UCF in reaching its FIRST PLACE ranking among national universities after I've left this earth!

Q. What does it mean for you to be able to give back to UCF?

A. It's truly a gratifying, extremely fulfilling and unbelievably heartwarming experience to know you can make a difference with a planned gift.