Distinguished Alumni
TKE has many notable alumni. Our chapter at UCF has many members who have achieved notable success in their fields.
Ryan J. Vescio Esq.
Frater Vescio is the current Grand Prytanis of Tau Kappa Epsilon. In the past he has served as Grand Pylortes, Grand Crysopholes, Grand Grammateus, and Grand Epiprytanis.
After graduating law school, Frater Vescio was an Assistant State Attorney in the Homicide Unit of the Florida Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. During his 14 year career there, he has handled all types of criminal prosecutions. He was one of the first ever Florida prosecutors to handle cases involving human trafficking, worked in the office’s political corruption unit for over six years and for more than ten years has handled homicide cases, including death penalty trials and appeal issues. In 2019, Frater Vescio left the public sector and now works as a civil litigation attorney for the law firm of Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson, P.A. in Orlando. His practice includes the representation of clients in guardianship and probate matters, commercial litigation clients, and the victims of crime.
He was awarded the MADD Prosecutor of the Year for the State of Florida in 2007; received a Certificate of Commendation from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 2010 for prosecuting the largest child pornography case ever in Central Florida; and the Polaris Star Award from Florida Abolitionists in 2012 for his work in prosecuting cases involving human trafficking. Ryan’s civic involvement includes serving as a Director on the University of Central Florida Alumni Association, the Florida Bar’s Criminal Law Section Executive Council and a member of the Greater Orlando Human Trafficking Task Force.
Dr. Fred Carter
Dr. Fred Carter is a founder of the XI-Iota chapter at UCF.
Dr. Luther F. Carter has served as the president of Francis Marion University since 1999 and led the University during a period of exceptional growth and development. He has presided over the start of numerous academic programs, enhanced the fiscal stability of the University and its foundations, and expanded the prerogatives of shared governance in partnership with the University’s faculty.
His career service has been recognized by the National Governors’ Association (Distinguished State Executive Award), the American Association of University Professors (Ralph Brown Award), the S.C. Chamber of Commerce (Public Servant of the Year Award), the International Federation of German-American Clubs (Lucius Clay Award), the S.C. Humanities Council (Governor’s Award in the Humanities), the Southeastern Conference for Public Administration (Donato Pugliese Award), and the S.C. Regional Council of Governments (Public Official of the Year Award).
Colonel Mike Murdock
Colonel Harry Michael “Mike” Murdock ’74 dedicated his life to public service. He is described as immensely committed to impacting society and encouraging others to do the same — a commitment he showed continuously during his 21-year career as a U.S. Marine. But his dedication started long before he enlisted. While at UCF (then Florida Technological University), Murdock was heavily involved in the campus as one of the founding members of the Xi Iota Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon — eventually serving as the chapter president, coordinator of men’s intramural sports and an officer trainee in the Marine’s Platoon Leader Corps.
After completing a bachelor’s degree in physical education, Murdock moved on to a commission with the Marine Corps as a 2nd Lt. His career included time as an aide to the commandant of the Marine Corps, a planning officer during the Gulf War and a commander of a training battalion at the U.S. Marine Corps School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton in California. Murdock tragically drowned while looking for a safe crossing for a stranded platoon of trainees through a flash flood at Camp Pendleton in 1995. At the time of his death, he was unaware of his promotion to Colonel and received the title posthumously.
Garrison Cohen
Garrison M. Cohen is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Orlando office. Mr. Cohen represents clients in federal, state and bankruptcy courts, in arbitration proceedings, appeals and administrative hearings. Mr. Cohen advises and represents clients in all stages of litigation from case initiation through appeals, and covers a variety of legal issues in a diversity of jurisdictions.
Mr. Cohen's experience includes advising on and litigating matters involving business-to-business disputes, including business torts, breach of contract claims, shareholder disputes, commercial real estate litigation, and non-competition and restrictive covenant litigation. Mr. Cohen also has experience in complex commercial litigation matters involving the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), Florida Administrative Code, labor and employment matters, bankruptcy cases and construction claims. Mr. Cohen works with clients in a variety of industries, including real estate, healthcare, transportation, construction, aviation and financial services.