Education

Education is one of the cornerstones of giving for Dr. Phillips Charities. The Phillips family believed education was an important ingredient of Dr. Philip Phillips’ success through his attendance at Columbia University. Following in his father’s footsteps, Howard Phillips was provided with a high-quality education at Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard by his parents. Howard became a strong advocate for education and found ways to help individuals who were not financially capable of paying for college achieve their educational goals. An early example of Howard’s assistance was providing low interest loans to aspiring doctors and other professionals. Through The Dr. P. Phillips Foundation, more than 40 professionals received low interest rate loans to complete educational requirements for eventual licensure. In 1961, Howard, along with other business professionals in the community, brought Junior Achievement to Central Florida to ensure children were financially literate and workforce ready upon graduation from high school.  When Florida Technological University (FTU now University of Central Florida) was founded in 1968, Howard contributed to the university for its inaugural events and also contributed generously towards the first endowed chair, student scholarships and capital projects.

More than 80 years later, enhancing educational opportunities for Central Florida students remains a focus of Dr. Phillips Charities. Today, Dr. Phillips Charities continues to fund education through organizations such as Junior Achievement, University of Central Florida (UCF), Orange County Public Schools, Osceola County Public Schools, 4Roots, Orlando Science Center, and many other educational programs throughout Central Florida. The board and staff of Dr. Phillips Charities have followed Howard’s lead and are proud that FTU has grown into UCF to fulfill its promise of becoming an emerging preeminent university, which is why Dr. Phillips Charities agreed to contribute $10 million towards the construction of the new College of Nursing building on the UCF Health Sciences campus in addition to providing support for UCF’s Downtown campus, and its Medical and Real Estate Schools.