Burnett House is buzzing with a multitude of hands preparing for the 17th annual UCF Women’s Club and Town & Gown Council Tea, an event supporting the Coalition for the Homeless. The event is the third of three events of the month at the on-campus home of Martha and UCF President John Hitt.

It is still a few hours before the tea, but Martha Hitt is ready and looks every bit the president’s wife as she opens the door with a warm and generous smile. Engaging and refined, she walks a perfect line between elegant and approachable. Her green eyes sparkle with a bright hello matched by the glint of an emerald eye winking from the Pegasus pin on her lapel. It was those green eyes that first caught the attention of John Hitt at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles north of Dallas. The gilded and jeweled horse is a nod to the steed on which the University of Central Florida Knight rides into battle.

It would be easy for anyone to get lost in the shadow cast by someone like Dr. John Hitt. Yet Martha’s steadfast and sure composure raises the possibility that she’s the light that makes the shadow possible. It is a trick to relate on all levels of a major university. As first lady, she must be equally as accessible to the wide-eyed freshmen investing their future as to the esteemed presence of visiting world leaders such as Desmond Tutu. “While some people may put on a front, she is genuine, consistent and cordial all the time,” says her husband. Asked what three words he would use to describe her: “Grace, beauty and giving.”

Transforming UCF

Daily, the Hitts manage the growth and needs on campus as well as the efforts and presence of the university within the community and globally. With more than 53,000 students and 11 regional campuses, UCF is the state’s largest university and the third-largest in the nation. In addition, the school is one of the largest employers in Central Florida. Combined with the adjacent Central Florida Research Park, it affects more than 46,000 jobs. Since Hitt’s arrival in 1992, enrollment has more than doubled, research funding has tripled and the number of doctorates awarded has more than quadrupled. Those are strong numbers for any university, but it is merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the seismic shift that has been happening at the end of University Boulevard for the past 18 years. There are raised admission standards, new facilities, a football stadium, arena and the UCF College of Medicine. With years of experience navigating the world of academia, Martha Hitt has a clear view on how things get done. “If the faculty isn’t strong and committed then the dreams don’t happen,” she says. “The academics were the No. 1 force, not the numbers; the numbers came after.” The numbers confirm her point. Freshmen in fall 2009 had an average GPA of 3.8 and a SAT score of 1225, both UCF records.

John Hitt admits that the potential of the school was clear from the beginning. “We came here thinking that UCF offered the greatest opportunity, but we couldn’t have anticipated how blessed we’d be.” While she nods at the description of her husband as a “gentleman and a scholar,” she understands his gifts better than anyone. “John always thought he’d teach and do research, but he’s really good at taking the big picture and assembling it in terms for people to understand.”

Helen Donegan, the school’s Division of Community Relations vice president and a close friend of the couple, adds, “The word ‘transformative’ comes to mind. I cannot imagine where we’d be without the Hitts’ vision. It has been beyond any expectations.”

Perhaps it is their modest demeanor and lack of pretense that has allowed them to ground a universe of more than 263,000 people - students, faculty, alumni and partners. Together they keep things between the lines without affectation and with a style that is genuine. Rick Walsh, a longtime friend and chairman of the UCF board of trustees, has worked closely with the Hitts since they arrived. “The reason they have been able to have the influence they have is that they began with a good foundation and offered a strategic plan for the university and followed that plan with the vision to become ‘America’s best partnership university.’ From partnerships with the region’s community colleges, the Economic Development Commission, athletics, the research park and Medical City, they have taken us to places we never thought we’d go,” Walsh says. He adds, “John has a great leadership team and faculty, but his secret weapon is Martha. She keeps the ducks swimming in a gentle and unassuming manner.”

A Love Of Books and Self-Refelction

Married for 48 years, they share a love of family, books, faith and sports. They have two children who live in Madison, Wis. - daughter Sharon and son Charles, and two grandchildren. A former college football player, John Hitt, 69, is no stranger to the gridiron and is well-known for his passion of the sport. Martha Hitt, 71, enjoys the game, but her eyes really light up when she talks about college basketball.

Both are avid readers. His tastes run to espionage and thrillers from the likes of Robert B. Parker and Daniel Silva; hers lean toward her favorite, Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. “When she writes you feel as if she’s having a conversation with you, you really feel a part of the book,” Martha says.

As to their reading styles, she says with a laugh, “John reads one book at a time; I read several at a time, whatever hits me. Right now I’m reading Three cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School At A Time by Greg Mortenson, or it may be Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir.” From the myriad titles, it is evident that still waters run deep on the reading palette of Martha Hitt. She considers Kearns Goodwin’s visit to the university as one of the highlights in their tenure.

The Burnett House is spacious and flooded with Florida sunshine. There’s room to entertain up to 100 outside around the pool. Walking through the house, Martha Hitt is as efficient as a museum docent in recognizing the prized pieces of art, mostly gifts from faculty, local talents and UCF patrons. It is clear that she values the treasures, their presence and meaning. There is a Jamali over the fireplace, African masks in the media room and a peaceful painting of a Florida egret that reminds her of the water birds she watches on their getaways to South Florida. One of her favorites is an Indian tribal bow and arrow from Bolivia that was given to anthropologist Allyn Steerman, former dean of the Burnett Honors College. The tribe’s chief asked her to deliver it to “her chief” - Dr. Hitt. “The best thing about being part of a university is getting to hear the stories,” Martha says.

In the land of black and gold, they live, breathe and even eat UCF. Many evenings the couple can be found among students at the campus eatery Knightro’s. It gives them the chance to watch and mingle with the Knight kingdom. “I’m most impressed with the students today, how they multitask and how altruistic they are,” she says. “I’m amazed at what students do outside the university for volunteer hours. This is part of something new, kids reaching out.”

When they want a reprieve to recharge, they head to Fort Myers where they have a boat and a place on the water. She reads, and he fishes. “Fishing, like golf, requires a consuming focus of attention for periods of time so you can’t think of anything else,” he says. “I love watching the water birds,” she says. “The pelicans are my favorite.” It is that introspective and contemplative time that fuels Martha Hitt. With an interest in Benedictine theology, her belief system is rooted in grace.

In her book, Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh writes: “I believe most people are aware of periods in their lives when they seem to be ‘in grace’ and others when they feel ‘out of grace.’ ” When asked whether their time at UCF has seemed to have been “in grace,” Martha Hitt is quick to credit her husband: “I am most proud of the contributions John has made. Something special has happened that has allowed us to blend together all of the experiences and people that we have known through the years with where we are now.”