FIU Magazine - Spring 2014 - The Exile Violin - Vol29

MAGAZINE SPRING 2014 VOLUME 29

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20 fabulous years of telling the FIU story

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Using photography to change the world

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Diving deep to save the world’s only undersea lab

TEDxFIU FIU physicist Pete Markowitz and artist Xavier Cortada dazzled a crowd of more than 500 at the second annual TEDxFIU: Reimagine Possible in November 2013. The event showcases FIU faculty, students and alumni on a live stage sharing their great ideas, research and projects. Among the speakers were FIU anthropologist Tudor Parfitt talking about religion and identity, student Taiko drummer Aneysi Fernandez and alumna Pia Celestino ’13 demonstrating eyeglasses that read to the blind.

Markowitz and Cortada shared their collaboration on an art installation marking the discovery of the God Particle. To watch all of the videos from TEDxFIU 2013 visit go.fiu.edu/tedxfiu2013. The third annual TEDxFIU will be Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, and the theme is Fearless Journey. Tickets will go on sale in October.

Photo by Roldan Torres ’85

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GRADUATION SUCCESS FIU finds innovative ways to help students stay on track and graduate on time.

BUILDING BOOM New construction on both campuses has FIU redrawing maps.

ON THE COVER THE EXILE VIOLIN

Smuggled out of Cuba and now in the hands of an FIU concert violinist, this instrument has a story to tell.

ALUMNI RETURN TO THE CLASSROOM

Successful graduates shared career advice during a week that brought more than 100 of them back to campus.

IN PRAISE OF A MENTOR

An alumnus reminisces about Jeanne Kates, a beloved professor who shared lifelong lessons and offered lasting friendship.

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MAGAZINE.FIU.EDU ONLINE-ONLY STORIES, VIDEOS AND PHOTOS

FIU IS MAKING A SPLASH IN SOUTH BEACH with an expanding collection of educational and art spaces along Washington Avenue.

Home at last Artist-in-residence Marcia Littley brings new life to a fine violin that survived exile from Cuba.

Math games College of Ed Professor Charles Bleiker is turning low-income preschoolers into math geniuses.

ON THE EVE OF HER RETIREMENT, GRAHAM CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RUTH HAMILTON shares stories about her 35 years at FIU.

On Track Read more stories from students about how the Graduation Success Initiative helped them stay the course.

WHENEVER YOU SEE THE PLAY BUTTON, VISIT MAGAZINE.FIU.EDU TO GET MORE WITH OUR ONLINE VIDEOS AND PHOTO GALLERIES •

Flip through a digitized version of the first issue of FIU Magazine, published in Fall 1994.

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Share your FIU story at go.fiu.edu/memories.

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Browse a slideshow of past FIU Magazine covers.

BE FEATURED ON FACEBOOK! Send us a photo of yourself reading FIU Magazine - at home, at work or on vacation - and we will share it on our Facebook page! Email photos to magazine@fiu.edu.

FROM THE EDITOR More than a decade ago, I was living in Clearwater, Fla., when I decided to pursue a graduate degree. I visited Florida International University and was impressed by the beautiful campus, the academic possibilities in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center and the many opportunities offered by the university.

FIU was great then. It’s even better now.

Our university has made indisputable advancements with the addition of a law school, a medical school and countless other academic initiatives. At each step along the way, the university has had to carefully document, quantify and justify its plans.

The truth is actually far simpler than all the documentation would suggest: Everything we do is to serve our community. The students we have. The students we want to educate in the future. Their parents, siblings and spouses who share the dream of college education. The business owners of today and tomorrow who benefit from our research innovation. The public schools we engage with daily to improve learning for our children. The hospitals and the nonprofits we partner with to make this community

FIU MAGAZINE Editorial Advisory Board

Gisela Casines ’73 Associate Dean College of Arts and Sciences Paul Dodson Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Amy Ellis Assistant Director of PR and Marketing Office of Engagement Stephen Fain Professor Emeritus College of Education

plenty of sound economic statistics to support FIU’s expansion next door.

Yet again, this effort comes down to a straightforward objective. FIU wants to and can do even more for this community. We need space to bring this vision to fruition.

Our next horizon is to foster entrepreneurship opportunities and expand applied research to strengthen the South Florida economy. More jobs. Better jobs. A thriving

Sandra B. Gonzalez-Levy Senior Vice President

Terry Witherell

Nicole Kaufman Glasgow Vice President Assistant Vice President for Engagement Lazaro Gonzalez Marketing and Branding Strategist Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Susan Jay Director of Development College of Engineering and Computing Andra Parrish Liwag Campaign Communications Director University Advancement Larry Lunsford Vice President for Student Affairs University Ombudsman

Rafael Paz, Esq. Associate General Counsel

process of coming to an agreement about the land will be long and detailed. There are

Albert Maury ’96, ’02 (Chair) Michael M. Adler (Vice chair) Sukrit Agrawal Cesar L. Alvarez Jose J. Armas Jorge L. Arrizurieta Robert T. Barlick, Jr. Marcelo Claure Mayi de la Vega ’81 Gerald C. Grant Jr. ’78, MBA ’89 C. Delano Gray Claudia Puig Liane Sippin

FIU MAGAZINE Division of External Relations

Victoria Galan Assistant Director Communications College of Law

attract by providing an educated workforce.

and Exposition, a wonderful local attraction that my family has enjoyed for years. The

FIU Board of Trustees

Heather Bermudez ’06, MS ’12 Marketing Manager South Beach Wine & Food Festival

healthier and safer. The industries that call South Florida home and the ones we seek to Today, a top priority for FIU is gaining access to the 86-acre property adjacent to

Mark B. Rosenberg

Lourdes Balepogi ’00 President of Luly B

Maureen Pelham Director of Clinical Trials Division of Research

the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. It is now occupied by the Miami-Dade County Fair

FIU President

Karen Cochrane

Director News and Communications

Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 Editor

Alexandra Pecharich Managing Editor

Aileen Solá-Trautmann Art Director

Doug Garland ’10

Senior Multimedia Producer

Angeline Evans

Digital Media Manager

Writers

Mary Sudasassi Director of Public Relations Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences Duane Wiles Executive Director Alumni Association

JoAnn Adkins Joel Delgado ’12 Jamie Giller Dan Gretch MFA ’12

Magazine Intern Raymond Boyle

Mark Williams Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management Stempel College of Public Health Emmett Young Assistant Director Marketing & Communications Frost Art Museum

Photographers

Douglas Hungerford Tim Long Ivan Santiago ’00 Roldan Torres ’85 Roy Viera

economy. More reasons for our young, educated workers to stay in South Florida. It means more opportunity for our community.

I was heartened to see that the majority of people who responded to a recent Miami Herald poll support relocating the Fair so that FIU can expand onto the property. The poll underscores how much this community values the contributions of FIU. Thank you for believing in FIU. Be assured that in this effort and all of our initiatives, we never lose sight of our purpose and our mission to serve.

Until next time,

Copyright 2014, Florida International University. FIU Magazine is published by the Florida International University Division of External Relations and distributed free of charge to alumni, faculty and friends of the university. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. To reach us, call 305-348-7235.

Alumni Office: Write to Office of Alumni Relations at MMC MARC 510, Miami, FL 33199 or call 305-348-3334 or toll free at 800-FIU-ALUM. Visit fiualumni.com.

Change of Address: Please send updated address information to FIU Office of Alumni Relations, MARC 510, Miami, FL, 33199 or by email to alumni@fiu.edu.

Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 P.S. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook: facebook.com/FIUMagazine

13673_05/10 FIU Magazine is printed on 30% PCW recycled paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council

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ABOUT THAT LAST MAGAZINE We got plenty of feedback via email and Facebook on our Fall 2013 issue with the special section on Professor Tudor Parfitt’s research in Papua New Guinea.

After reading the fall issue of FIU Magazine, I can only say “Wow!”

Many thanks to you and to Professor Tudor Parfitt and the rest of the

You’ve come such a long way. Back in 1977 when FIU was an

Team FIU. The publicity you are doing is magnificent. A very important

unknown “community” college, all I could afford was FIU. (Other

stepping stone towards Gogodala’s Israel identity declaration one day.

schools were too far away and the big U of M was too expensive. I

I very much appreciated reading this latest magazine.

Tony Waisa Gogodala Tribal leader Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

was essentially stuck with FIU.) I wasn’t at all sure my degree would be recognized anywhere. But now I’m 2,000 miles away and I read about FIU in national magazines and get blown away by this fall issue. What a fantastic job the leaders of FIU are doing!

Dan Petkunas MBA ’79 Lt Col, USAF (Ret) Valencia, Calif.

I totally loved the last issue of FIU magazine. Great job. I especially liked the story you wrote about the Lost Tribe in Papua New Guinea.

You have made me proud of FIU. Keep up good writing like this about valuable contributions of faculty, staff and students. And please keep info about sports to a bare minimum.

Carol Hoffman-Guzman Ph.D. ’02 Miami Beach, Fla. I just want to congratulate you on the continuing professional quality of our magazine. From the great writing all the way to picking the correct font, it’s terrific and continues to improve. I always look forward to reading it.

Jorge Bouza BS ’85 Cooper City, Fla. I just got the Fall ‘13 issue of FIU Magazine and after reading it cover to cover, I felt compelled to write you this email. This issue is the BEST

I read the FIU magazine cover-to-cover this weekend. I loved it. As a new FIU employee, it was informative, engaging and visually pleasing.

Very impressive. I know how much work goes into producing a magazine and I wanted to let you know I think it is top notch!

Sara DuCuennois Office of Alumni Relations Got my Fall 2013 copy yesterday. Beautiful issue and fascinating content. My kids are fighting to read about the Lost Tribe! Thanks so much for the wonderful book review on page 52.

Darah Zeledon MA ’00 via FIU Magazine Facebook Kudos to Deborah O’Neil for her article on “The Lost Tribe.” Wow that was an amazing article! I started reading it to my husband and I couldn’t put it down! It wasn’t just good journalism - it was more than that. You captured the adventure and the mystery of Professor Parfitt’s life work as well as the highlights of this trip. I certainly hope you earn an award for that article - it was amazing!

Sandy Walker MS ’10 via FIU Magazine Facebook

issue of FIU Magazine I’ve ever seen! And honestly, I think it’s the best looking higher ed magazine I’ve ever seen (and we look at a lot in our office...lol). Every spread was dynamic, visually intriguing AND interesting to read. Congratulations on an incredible issue. I’m sure it’ll win its fair share of awards.

Simone Worsdale ’10 Miami, Fla.

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We welcome letters to the editor. Send your letters via email to magazine@fiu.edu or mail to FIU Magazine, Attn: Magazine Editor, Division of External Relations, MMC PC 515, Miami, FL 33169.

All letters should include the writer’s full name, year of graduation and a contact phone number.

Agroecology students at Miami Northwestern Senior High School tend to fish in the school’s aquaponics lab, a key initiative of FIU’s partnership with the school and JP Morgan Chase.

Photo by George Storr

PRESIDENT’S CORNER MARK B. ROSENBERG

It’s a great time to be a part of the FIU family!

The FIU’s partnership with JP Morgan Chase and Miami-Dade

FIU’s students, alumni, faculty and staff are

County Public Schools to create a college-going culture at Miami

advancing our goals as a solutions center and a

Northwestern Senior High School (MNW) in Liberty City, is in its third

beacon of hope in our community.

year. Students at MNW are scoring better on achievement tests,

STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering and

graduating at a greater rate, earning scholarships and becoming

Math—education is the key to our nation’s future, but qualified STEM

better prepared for college and careers. This year MNW received its

teachers are in short supply. The National Math and Science Initiative

first-ever “A” grade in state rankings.

recognized our efforts to educate the science and math teachers of

FIU students are Worlds Ahead! Take Jenifer Bound, a senior

tomorrow with a five-year $1.45 million grant. With this grant we are

hospitality management student. She won a $5,000 Soul of Cooking

creating FIUteach, replicating NMSI’s successful UTeach program.

scholarship from Badia Spices. Her unique spice rub “Holy Smokes”

We will graduate more than 50 well-prepared math and science

was launched at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival

teachers each year who, in turn, will prepare children in our public

presented by FOOD & WINE. A percentage of worldwide sales of the

schools for tomorrow’s workplace.

spice blend will benefit FIU students in perpetuity and will soon be on

We also are forming close ties with the National Academies. I am serving on the National Research Council committee that studies barriers and opportunities related to completing two- and four-year

shelves at Publix and other grocery stores throughout South Florida.

Keep an eye out for it!

Our alumni are making outstanding contributions! One great

degrees in STEM. We will release a report to the nation in about a year

example is law alumnus Abraham S. Ovadia. He made a milestone

with recommendations to improve STEM education at the college and

gift to fund career planning and placement for FIU law students. The

university level.

gift is the largest to date from an FIU College of Law alumnus to the

FIU researchers are making a difference! About 35 million people

law school, and is one of FIU’s largest gifts from an individual alumnus

in the world – more than 1 million in the U.S. – have HIV/AIDS. Sadly,

under the age of 30. Abraham knows the value of an FIU education –

more than 1 million people die each year from the disease. Professor

he has hired FIU law grads to work with him at his firm.

Marianna Baum is providing hope. Dr. Baum is a dietetics and nutrition professor at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social

We have so much to be proud of as Panthers. I look forward to bringing you more great news very soon!

Work whose groundbreaking research found that multivitamins combined with selenium delay the progression of HIV. She conducted this research in collaboration with Professor Adriana Campa, doctoral student Sabrina Sales and Harvard researchers. For more on this and other exciting FIU research, visit research.fiu.edu.

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ON THE PROWL

Former FIU researcher now president of Costa Rica Costa Rica’s new president, Luis Guillermo Solis, has ties to FIU. Back in 1999 he worked as a research associate in FIU’s Latin American and Caribbean Center and served as a coordinator at

Holy Coley!

Photo by Doug Garland ’10

FIU’s Center for the Administration of Justice.

Later he collaborated with FIU President Mark

Women’s basketball star Jerica Coley—considered by some the greatest

Rosenberg, who at the time was chancellor for

student-athlete in FIU history—will have accomplished feats of greatness on and

the Florida State University System, on “The

off the court by the time 2014 ends. In January she claimed the title of leading

United States and Central America: Geopolitical

scorer in the nation with an average 30 points per game. Then in March the

Realities and Regional Fragility.” The 2007 book

senior All-American scored her 3,000th point to join an elite list of only 10 college

is part of a Harvard University series on recent

women to have reached that milestone. The first FIU athlete to have his or her

U.S.-Central American relations and covers

number retired while still actively competing for the university, the All-American

economic and political issues. Rosenberg

point guard attributes her success to “a lot of hard work and a lot of good

joined his friend in Costa Rica on election day

coaching.” Applying that same hard work to her studies, Coley will graduate in

in February and inauguration in May.

December with a degree in nutrition and dietetics, likely with honors.

Treasures: A leather-bound facsimile of the 15th century’s most lavish illuminated Hebrew manuscript — a document that includes intricate hand-drawn decoration — belongs to the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. The original 948-page “Rothschild Miscellany” presents in detail the religious and secular Jewish customs of the time. The museum’s reproduction is one of only 550 made in the 1980s in a painstaking process that included the milling of special paper, hand application of gold leaf, hand binding and even aging of the pages’ edges. Likely crafted in the workshops of Ferrara, Italy, the original takes its name from the family that purchased it in Paris after 1855. Stolen during the Nazi occupation, the book reappeared in New The museum’s replica copy of the Rothschild manuscript was a gift from Dr. Sol and Mitzi Center of Miami.

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York after the war and was eventually returned to its rightful owners. They made it a gift in 1957 to the city of Jerusalem.

Rea Do mag

ON THE PROWL

Celebrity Semester

It’s been a busy spring as noted writers, journalists, a political strategist, a comedian, an actor and several celebrity chefs graced FIU with their thought-provoking words and, in the case of the latter, a bowl of lobster bisque.

Romance author Nicholas Sparks shared

Actor Mayim Bialik, best known for her

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Michael

his journey into the world of writing and film

roles in Blossom and The Big Bang Theory,

Chabon appeared at The Wolfsonian-FIU’s

producing with nearly 700 student fans. He

discussed her successful pursuit of a Ph.D

first design festival in March. He led a

revealed that many of his novels have been

in neuroscience. The degree would serve

dialogue with virtual reality pioneer Jaron

based on true stories, including the 60-year

her well as she auditioned for The Big

Lanier and New York Times Magazine

marriage of his wife’s grandparents who were

Bang Theory as Sheldon’s female friend. “I

contributing writer and Wired columnist

the inspiration for The Notebook.

watched a 30-second clip of Sheldon online

Clive Thompson about the challenges and

and thought, this is like every person I went

opportunities of the digital age.

Political analyst Donna Brazile

to grad school with.”

Best-selling author Amy Tan visited BBC

served as the keynote speaker for both campuses during the Women

Lifestyle maven Martha Stewart

to receive the Creative Writing Program’s

Who Lead conference. Through

proclaimed, “What a campus! I want to

Lawrence A. Sanders Award for Fiction. The

anecdotes, jokes about Miley Cyrus

go here!” after touring the impressive new

Joy Luck Club author talked about the writing

and her occasional southern drawl, she

Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism

process and the family members who inspired

reminded the audience of women’s role in

Management’s new restaurant-management

the characters in her books. The animal lover

leading our country. “We’re not telling men to

lab at BBC. Stewart was in town to host

even invited onto the stage her two lapdogs,

leave the room, just scoot over.”

a dinner that kicked off the 2014 Food

Bobo and Tux.

Read more from Donna Brazile magazine.fiu.edu

Network South Beach Wine and Food Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain offered

Festival.

Comedian W. Kamau Bell sought to prove that race is just an invented construct

diners a one-of-a-kind meal based on materials found in The Wolfsonian-FIU.

CNN anchor Candy Crowley talked about

often used to classify people according to

He scoured the museum’s collection of

how the Internet continues to impact the

stereotypes. “Believing in race too much is

documents related to the golden age of ocean

trajectory of the journalism profession. She

like believing your fantasy team is playing

liner voyages to find inspiration among some

warned students, “I’m not anti-Internet. It’s

for you,” he said in a lecture hosted by

400 old menus. Fellow famed chefs Eric

just that we have to learn how to take control

SGA-BBC.

Ripert and Daniel Boulud assisted in creating

of it. It’s taking control of us. Don’t mistake it

the meal, which included deviled quail eggs,

for life. It’s virtual for a reason.”

lobster bisque, fried Blue Point oysters and pheasant, among other delicacies.

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ON THE PROWL FIU ESTABLISHES EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH BOOKER T. WASHINGTON SENIOR HIGH FIU’s partnership with inner-city Miami Northwestern Senior High School has resulted in such tremendous success—the previously low-performing school this year earned its firstever “A” grade from the state—that the winning formula will be applied at a second school come fall. Students at Booker T. Washington Senior High School in Overtown will soon have the chance to take college-level courses and participate in a variety of enrichment activities geared to preparing them for careers. Called by Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho “the most transformational force of education reform in America today,’’ the Education Effect, as FIU’s program is known, focuses on promoting 100 percent graduation, improving college and career readiness and increasing the engagement of parents and the community.

Booker T. Washington senior Chad Thomas regales attendees at a celebration to announce FIU’s new partnership with his school. Photo by George Storr

The Lennar Foundation has stepped up to provide $1 million to cover costs related to items such as science equipment and teacher development.

FOREST IN THE SKY How would trees growing on skyscrapers fare in winds exceeding 100 miles per hour? Italian developers reached out to FIU’s Wall of Wind to find out. Today Milan’s two residential Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) towers host several hundred trees on their balconies in addition to thousands of shrubs and groundcover plants. But first, the unique design needed testing. FIU’s International Hurricane Center and its Wall of Wind—with a capacity to simulate Category 5 hurricane winds, making it the most powerful university research facility of its kind—helped determine realistic wind loads for different types of trees.

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ON THE PROWL

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Questions for the philanthropist

By Jamie Giller | Photo by Ivan Santiago ’00

Retired FIU employee Patrick J. Russell recently made a $1 million gift to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer and allied (LGBTQA) students. The money will help FIU’s Student Affairs Division provide educational and social programs, lectures, academic courses and leadership development. Russell spent 30 years at FIU as director of cooperative education, assistant dean of students and director of Broward programs before retiring in 2006.

1. Did you have any support growing up when being gay wasn’t widely accepted?

No. I did not even know the word “gay” until I was a teenager. I felt pretty alone and hoped to grow out of whatever “it” was. While in Catholic school, I remember having to list the reasons why homosexuality was a sin, which were later written on the blackboard.

I cannot remember even one of those reasons now, but I remember feeling very stressed that day.

2. So, how did you handle growing up gay?

I grew up in Rochester, N.Y., in an Italian, blue collar neighborhood where I learned to act tough even if I definitely was not. Basically I learned at an early age to always be on guard and not to be “too gay” out of self-preservation. I didn’t experience much distress in South Florida, and FIU was a safe place for me. It was pretty much “don’t ask, don’t tell.” There have always been some pretty great gay people at FIU even if they were not “out” as such.

3. What’s one myth about being gay we should settle once and for all?

That one chooses to be gay! False, false, false.

4. Why is it important for a university to have LBGTQA programs?

The programming makes for visibility without shame. Pride is something the LBGTQA community always talks about, and I want that pride to show at FIU. 5. What is your vision for the LBGTQA community at FIU? I want LGBTQA students everywhere to experience the same rights as everyone else—academic freedom and freedom of expression in a safe environment. I want them to feel secure in themselves, safe and, most of all, included.

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Travels: France For the past few summers, groups of undergraduates have traveled to France and back through time as part of the study abroad course “Art, War

a list of the best U.S. online graduate

and Human Rights.” Taught by Honors College Fellow John

engineering programs by U.S. News &

Bailly, the students spend a month visiting landmarks and

World Report.

experiencing French history firsthand, reaching all the way back to the Roman conquest of Gaul. To gain understanding of the more-recent past, students visit the beaches of Normandy, site of the D-Day invasion of 1944, and meet with

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College of Engineering’s Master of Science in Construction Management program ranking on

College of Law ranking on a list of the best U.S. law schools by U.S. News & World Report.

Joseph Weismann, a Holocaust survivor who adds a personal

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note of reality to their studies. Among their assignments: research the life of a solider buried at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Shown here is Corey Ryan ’12 at the Catacombs of Paris. To read his essay reflecting on his time at Normandy Beach, go to magazine.fiu.edu.

ARTS & SCIENCES DEAN TAPPED AS NEW PROVOST FIU has chosen a new provost. College of Arts & Sciences Dean Kenneth G. Furton will take the university’s top academic post beginning in July.

He will replace departing Provost Douglas Wartzok, who steps down after five years in the position.

Furton is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar in forensic chemistry who has authored more than 700 publications and presentations and has been awarded more than $10 million for his research during the past 20 years. He is the founding director of FIU’s International Forensic Research Institute. In 2007, he became dean, having previously served as chair of the chemistry department and associate dean of budget, facilities and research. He earned a bachelor’s degree in forensic science from the University of Central Florida and a Ph.D in analytical chemistry from Wayne State University and completed post-doctoral studies in nuclear chemistry at the University of Wales, Swansea, U.K.

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ON THE PROWL A SALUTE TO ONE OF OUR OWN The sacrifice made by the late U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Michael Felsberg ’03 inspired FIU to name its newly refurbished softball field after the alumnus, killed in action in Iraq in 2004. The standout student-athlete—who ran with distinction for the FIU cross country/track & field team and graduated with a near-perfect GPA—left a legacy of selflessness that the university continues to recognize. Already the recipient of a posthumous Torch Award and highly decorated during his nearly 10 years of service to his country, Lt. Felsberg—whose name also graces a scholarship endowed by his parents, President Rosenberg embraces Arlene Felsberg, mother of the late Paul Felsberg, during the FIU softball field’s renaming in honor of the fallen soldier. Photo by Roy Viera

an annual FIU track meet and the FIU athletic spirit award—with this latest honor gains a lasting place in the FIU family.

PUBLIC TV AIRS FIU DOCUMENTARIES South Florida public television has shown two documentaries by FIU faculty and staff in recent months.

A half-hour documentary by Kate MacMillin and Juliet Pinto, professors in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, features interviews with geologists, engineers, community leaders and others on the subject of sea level rise in South Florida.

And a seven-minute documentary by FIU External Relations filmmaker Tim Long and FIU Magazine editor Deborah O’Neil highlights the research of Religious Studies Professor Tudor Parfitt and his 2013 trip to Papua New Guinea. The documentary, The Lost Tribe, focuses on Parfitt’s interaction with a tribe of former cannibals that claims to be a Lost Tribe of Israel.

Doug Garland’s award-winning photo of ROTC cadet Jake Cruz

FIU EARNS AWARDS FOR CREATIVE ENDEAVORS The Office of Alumni Relations and FIU Magazine recently earned several awards in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) regional competition.

Alumni Relations’ 2013 combined fishing tournament and

View the documentaries go.fiu.edu/risingseas go.fiu.edu/losttribe

rockin’ dock party took top honors in its category, and the department’s successful campaign to increase alumni engagement through social media also was recognized.

FIU Magazine garnered three prizes, among them the top spot in the category of graphic design for a periodical, as well as awards for feature writing and photography.

“These awards highlight the talent of the magazine team and they also speak to what a special place FIU is,” editor

Photo by Tim Long

Deborah O’Neil said. “The great stories of this university inspire us to do our best work.”

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FIU Mag history

By Deborah O’Neil

Photo by Doug Garland ’10 12 | SPRING 2014

Founding editor takes a look back

By Todd Ellenberg MS ’91 Ever feel that time is elastic, sometimes crawling and other times speeding by? I experienced the latter when Deborah O’Neil, the wonderful editor of FIU Magazine, asked me to share some memories of the founding of this publication for its 20th anniversary issue.

Twenty years—impossible! But time is relative, especially when viewed in the context of the events of the day. And when I think back to the early 1990s at FIU, the pace of progress defied conventional logic.

I joined the communications staff in 1988, just a scant 16 years after FIU opened its doors. For many universities that’s just a brief blip, but at FIU so much had been accomplished by then. The institution really hit the fast track when Modesto A. “Mitch” Maidique became the fourth president in 1986, and his bold, visionary FIU Vice President Terry Witherell and FIU Magazine founding editor Todd Ellenberg

plans took root. It was an exciting period marked by constant change as well as the emergence of a distinct identity. However, the perceptions of and conversations about FIU had not caught up with the reality of the dynamic, forward-thinking university.

The communications at our disposal to tell the FIU story were limited. There was the local press and a Web that was still in its infancy.

We produced an employee newsletter and some high-level communiqués to donors and civic leaders—but no publication serving alumni, donors, and friends. Given the flurry of activity and accomplishments, a high-quality, color publication was needed to get the stories out there. FIU Magazine was an idea whose time had come.

With my partner-in-arms, director of publications and creative director Terry Witherell (now vice president of External Relations) we set about birthing this periodical. However, we never would have left the starting gate without the full support (and funding) provided by the late Paul Gallagher, the vice president for University Advancement, Budget and Support Services, and other top administration.

From the get-go, we were both very deeply involved—selecting the most compelling stories, writing and editing, photography (often shot by Terry herself), designing—all the pieces that need to come together to go to print. It was no easy task given the tight resources at our disposal, but throughout long days, evenings and weekends putting it together, it was a labor of love.

Looking back at our debut issue, I’m reminded of the remarkable people and times. There was a profile of Ron Jones, the founding director of the Southeast Environmental Research Center, an outspoken and passionate scientist deeply committed to the preservation of the Everglades.

A story theorized on how Hurricane Andrew, which had devastated our community just two years earlier, could impact the convergence of ethnic communities. We looked at the construction boom transforming the campus. Over the course of the first few years, the magazine matured as we covered virtually all areas of the university and became appreciated by our readers, as well as those covered in its pages.

As FIU has progressed and grown over the last 20 years, so has this magazine. It’s a delight to receive every issue and revel in its storytelling and design, which reflects the vibrancy of a special university that means so much to our community.

There are 44 issues in all, spanning two decades. You are reading issue No. 45. Each is a snapshot of FIU in the here and now. We take you back through the years with these highlights from our back issues.

Volume 1, No. 1 Fall 1994

“Welcome to FIU Magazine. Observers have noted that Florida International University typifies the dynamic, young urban university and in its rapid growth, diversity and increasing recognition, it mirrors the emergence of Miami as a major cosmopolitan metropolis. We hope to capture that excitement and variety in FIU Magazine.”

—Todd Ellenberg First Editor’s Letter The university’s construction boom was highlighted in the first issue.

Flip through the first issue of FIU Magazine and browse a photo gallery of all the magazine covers magazine.fiu.edu

Among the projects underway at MMC at the time: The Ziff College of Education building, the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, new residence halls and a five-floor addition to the library.

SPRING 2014 | 13

}

Spring 1995 Sociologist Anthony

Fall 1997

Maingot uses the mango tree to examine Haiti’s

A “museum of ideas” is born with the donation of the Wolfsonian collection and building by Micky Wolfson, the largest gift in FIU history.

economic, political and social problems. “Even as she waits for May when the fruit will be at their best, Elsie is worried.

She wonders whether her grandchildren will know a mango season.

She frets as the sidewalks in front of her hotel become what the rest of the city has become: one giant mass of humanity crowding every available open space. It is a crisis of Malthusian dimensions.”

Fall 1995

FIU’s MFA program in Creative Writing is named one of the nation’s 10 best.

Fall 1996 Cindy Russo ’78 is featured as Florida’s Most Successful Basketball Coach of the ’90s.

} Summer 1996 FIU Magazine marks Miami’s Centennial with an essay by FIU alumnus Cesar Becerra ’98, MPA ’01 who reminded us to remember the state’s 10,000 year history.

14 | SPRING 2014

Summer 1997 Creative Writing Professor Campbell

Fall 1998 Science is the focus of this issue with stories on eye disease research, the university’s new biomedical engineering program and a study

McGrath wins poetry’s most distinguished

on the immune system of sharks (conducted

award, the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for

by Sylvia Smith, pictured above, then an FIU

Spring Comes to Chicago.

professor of biology).

Spring 1999 A new university logo is unveiled with the tag line “Hope, Knowledge and Opportunity.”

Fall 1999 FIU mourns the death of founding president Charles Perry.

“The founding of a great public university is an achievement only a handful of contemporary Americans can lay claim to,” said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique. “He is our Jefferson.”

Spring 2002

profile

The Florida Board of Regents is abolished in favor of local governance at the state universities. FIU’s first Board of Trustees is

Fall 2000

The cover says it all.

selected: Betsy Atkins, Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier, Paul Cejas, Alvah Chapman, Armando Codina, Albert Dotson Sr., Patricia Frost, Adolfo Henriques ’76, Miriam Lopez, David Parker, Victor Romano ’02, Rosa Sugrañes and Herbert Wertheim.

Lehane Dennis

’01

Summer 2004 The major Hollywood motion picture Mystic River, based on the novel by FIU Creative Writing alumnus Dennis Lehane MA ’01, opens in theaters.

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Winter 2005

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His Holiness The Dalai

IONAL U NIVERS ITY WINTER 2005

FIU M

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Lama of Tibet graces the cover after his second

“The developm ent of the good warm hear heart, the t, and the good brain the development of — these must go together.”

visit to FlU.

–His Holin ess The Dalai

Lama of Tibet

The new Cente brings revere r for the Study of Spirit d spriritual scholars leaders and uality of all faiths respected to FIU as spirituality it inspires in the scien study of ces, arts and huma nities.

Spring 2001 The issue reads like an FIU catalog of greatness with profiles on alumna Marleine Bastien ’86, MSW ‘87, founder of Haitian social service agency Fanm Ayisen Nan Miyami; alumnus Mike Lowell ’97, then a Florida Marlins third baseman; Professor Judith Stiehm, who pushed for the United Nations Security Council’s signing of a resolution on women, peace and security; Professor Mira Wilkins, an acclaimed

Also in this

Fall 2003 Nanotechnology researchers in the College of Engineering, among them Professor Surendra Saxena, above, look to use extreme temperature and pressure to yield new nanomaterials.

Spring 2004 FIU announces a new agreement with

international business historian; and alumna

Tianjin University of Commerce to establish

Carmen Argamasilla ’87, a rising star in the

hospitality management program in China.

issue:

University community gathers to honor outstanding alumni and facult y at annua l Torch Gala.

Winter 2006

FIU hurric ane rese archers forge bre akthrough s during unpreced ented hurric ane seaso n.

Newly renam ed Colleg Carlos Costa e of Law Clinic serv immigrants es fleeing perse cution.

The Amernet String Quartet brings chamber music to FIU as the new ensemble-in residence.

Winter 2007 Dozens of FIU scientists are working to monitor, restore and assess the health of the Florida Everglades through the Southeast Environmental Research Center.

world of corporate communications.

SPRING 2014 | 15

N

E

Winter 2008

FIU’s new football coach

FIU’s wide-ranging efforts to go green include maintaining the FIU nature preserve, offering healthy eating options, the construction of certified “green buildings,” the purchase of biodiesel fuel buses, ramped up recycling efforts, a new composting program in the organic garden and more.

Mario Cristobal tells the magazine, “all the ingredients are there” for FIU to win a championship and when it happens, “It’s going to be one of the most beautiful stories in the history of sports.”

T.Y. Hilton

Summer 2008

Everyone agrees that the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum designed by architect Yann Weymouth is, itself, a work of art.

}

Summer 2007

Fall 2010

Football fever takes hold with the powerhouse

Winter 2011-12 FIU and Miami Northwestern Senior High

team that brought FIU its first championship

School begin a partnership called “The

and the return of the FIU Marching Band.

Education Effect,” which aims to transform the Liberty City landmark school with a $1 million donation from JPMorgan Chase.

Spring 2012 FIU Magazine travels with the Alumni Association to California wine country to tell

} Fall 2008

the stories of alumni working in Napa and Sonoma valleys.

Fall 2012

FIU debuts a bold new logo

Spring 2011

and athletic mark.

A newly redesigned magazine brings the story of FIU’s legendary Four Horsemen: Mike

Fall 2009

Maher ’97; Frank Peña ’99; Alberto Padrón ’98, ’MBA ’09; and Eddie Hondal ’88, MS ’00.

FIU ushers in a new era as Mark B.

The Wall of Wind blows minds with its unprecedented capacity to generate wind speeds of a Category 5 hurricane.

Spring 2013 The Jewish Museum of Florida on South Beach joins FIU in an historic partnership.

Rosenberg succeeds President Modesto A. Maidique, who led the university for 22 years.

Fall 2013 Winter 2009-10 g a M a 2010

E z I N

ER u WINT zine.fiu.ed maga

FIU Magazine takes its first overseas trip to one of the most remote places on the

The magazine cover no one can forget: FIWHO? introduces the FIU community to the university’s new Worlds Ahead branding campaign.

Fall 2011 From the Panther Paw Challenge winning cake to the FIU Blue Man, we’re Blue & Gold all over.

The FIU Alumni Association celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Torch Awards.

16 | SPRING 2014

planet – Papua New Guinea – to write about Religious Studies Professor Tudor Parfitt’s research on the Gogodala tribe.

Man on the sea: Photographer Noelle Theard captured this image during a monthlong trip in West Africa.

Through a lens brightly Photographer Noelle Theard aims to capture the beauty of life amidst the struggles

By Alexandra Pecharich Noelle Theard MA ’10 is a photographer and an educator. Born in El Paso, Texas, to a French mother and a Haitian father, she has used her talents to develop opportunities that empower others. One of those—a nonprofit foundation in Haiti that provides local people with cameras and photography instruction—has gained international attention. She served as photo director for the recently published, acclaimed book “One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race” and currently teaches as an adjunct professor in FIU’s African Diaspora Studies program. FIU Magazine spoke with her weeks before the birth of her first child.

SPRING 2014 | 17

Young women in Mali and a boy in the desert were among the images photographer Noelle Theard brought back from West Africa.

You initiated a project to help rent strikers in Brooklyn share their plight

individuals, gives them some control, not

through photos. Tell me about that.

over their situation but how their situation is

I worked closely with the tenants so they could document the conditions in the

—Noelle Theard MA ’10

Tell me about FotoKonbit, the nonprofit you founded to put cameras in the hands

situation. We tried to create a human interest

of Haitians.

Our point is to create not only artistic

outside to take these folks seriously. We also

representations of Haiti that challenge the

wanted to show a level of joy in day-to-day

status quo, challenge stereotypes, but also

life. Despite the dilapidated conditions, you

to provide a set of skills for young people

had families working and doing their best to

so they can learn a trade and perhaps make

live a dignified life.

a living by, for example, photographing

So you encouraged their social activism

weddings and baptisms. Especially in Haiti,

rather than saying, “I am a professional,

art for art’s sake is not enough. The key is to

and I can tell your story.”

provide people with something practical at

Absolutely. The best way to understand someone’s situation is to try to see it through

the same time.

In part, this echoes what you aimed to

their eyes. This has a twofold advantage. It

accomplish in Brooklyn: allow people to

gives you a perspective that you, the viewer,

tell their own stories.

could never have because you don’t live 18 | SPRING 2014

represented.

building with the goal of improving their piece that would encourage people on the

“My goal is to really open up minds to consider the world differently.”

their life. And it also empowers groups and

Yes. Haiti is a tough place to live where it’s

The image at left, taken by a resident, captures the plight of rent strikers in a Brooklyn tenement. Below, Semebene McFarland, who has a skin condition that causes her to lose pigment, was photographed by Noelle Theard for the book One Drop, which explores racial identity in America.

easy for photojournalists to get stereotypical pictures of struggle. From the outset, the three of us who started this wanted to try and do

that would challenge judgments, stereotypes and assumptions.

The many different ways in which

You studied art in France and at Parson’s New School of Design in New York. At FIU you took a different path

things a little differently: Teach folks how to

people in the book choose to self-

by earning a master’s degree from the

take pictures so that others could actually see

identify—“black,” “mixed,” “multiracial,”

African Diaspora Studies program, where

what they see. A news photographer might

“Afro-Latino”—makes one realize how

you teach today.

concentrate on problems, but a lot of times

complicated and personal questions of

these folks would rather focus on what’s

race truly are.

working. Sometimes the pictures are really

It’s a big deal to have that choice. We’re

I enrolled because I wanted a theoretical background to give my artistic work a floor to stand on, so to speak. Now teaching

entering a moment where difference is

visual arts and popular culture classes, my

definitely embraced. I think that’s what

goal is to really open up students’ minds to

of photos and personal stories of people

the book is really good at capturing: these

consider the world differently. My courses

of color, each of whom shares his or her

nuanced situations about what it means to

fall within FIU’s Global Learning Initiative,

experience of being black. You took most

be black.

which aims to expose every single student

unexpected.

“One Drop” presents an arresting array

of the photos, and your own story is included.

How would you describe your work?

in the university to a variety of perspectives.

I definitely work in a documentary

I think that’s changing the intellectual culture

tradition but one that is involved and

at FIU. You want graduates of FIU to be as

personal story, but it’s not something that I

subjective. I try to incorporate my

broad-minded as possible. n

shy away from. This question of, “Who are

experience and personal journeys. As an

you?” just gets under your skin. I figured I

artist, I try to capture the beauty of life in

could contribute to positive conversation

those every day “in-between” moments.

It was hard to go so public with my

SPRING 2014 | 19

20 | SPRING 2014

Graduation Success FIU’s ambitious effort to boost graduation rates is delivering results and gaining national attention

By Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 | Illustration by Chris McAllister

S

ocial work major Shanice Lum You

for a university this large. And it promises to

struggled during her first semester at FIU.

increase another 3 points this year.

Far from her Connecticut home, she felt alone in this big city and her classes were tough.

When she got an F in Intro to Statistics, it was the first time she’d ever failed a class.

In higher ed, there’s nothing unusual about

“From 41 percent to 50 percent in two

Contact your advisor immediately.

Meanwhile, in the School of Social Work, her advisor Shimon Cohen also got an alert as

years,” said Robertson. “That’s real. We

part of the electronic tools he uses to monitor

are transforming the way we administer the

the progress of the 350 students he advises.

undergraduate curriculum.”

All of Cohen’s students are social work

Universities around the country are taking

majors and he’s an expert on the program’s

Lum You’s new-student experience. But

notice. Last fall, FIU was one of only two

requirements. He’s also a social worker

experts will tell you that how a university

public universities in the U.S. recognized

himself – and one of the 69 new advisors

responds to students in this vulnerable

with a high profile national award from

brought on through GSI and assigned to each

moment can make all the difference to their

the Association of Public and Land-grant

major — so he’s able to offer students a first-

academic success. The right intervention

Universities for making visible progress

hand understanding of the field.

can turn a potential dropout into a

toward improving graduation rates. National

He immediately reached out to Lum You.

guaranteed graduate.

higher education leader Lawrence Abele

She told him: I really want to be a social

What happened next is a case study

served on the APLU committee that

for how big universities can give students

reviewed applications for the award, Most

the individual support they need, and, in

Visible Progress: Opportunity Award.

the process, boost the nation’s four-year

worker. I don’t want to switch majors.

Cohen could see that she had grades of B or higher in her social work courses. She just

“I’m a suspicious guy,” he said. “I went

needed extra help to get through statistics.

graduation rate of 41 percent and six-year

into FIU’s website and drilled down as far as

So they went to work on an academic plan

graduation rate of 59 percent.

I could. When I did that at some schools the

to retake Intro to Statistics the following

results weren’t so positive. At FIU, you really

semester. He sent her to the tutoring center.

high-tech and high-touch safeguards that

built a solid system for all students. I thought

She put in the extra study hours.

FIU collectively calls the Graduation Success

FIU’s program was fantastic.”

Lum You’s grade triggered a series of new

Initiative (GSI). Led by Undergraduate

While most undergrads have never heard

Cohen checked in with her all semester long. “He’d call and say, if you need help

Education Dean Douglas Robertson, FIU has

of the Graduation Success Initiative, they will

invested significantly in research, technology

tell you, straight up: FIU has got my back.

and new personnel to make systemic

Lum You’s falling GPA sent up a red flag in

Lum You got an A. In December, when her

changes in how 38,000 undergraduates

the new electronic system that maps out each

GPA climbed high enough to qualify Lum You

get from the first day of school to the

student’s four-year plan for graduation.

for an internship, Cohen noticed.

commencement stage. In the process, FIU’s

Her FIU inbox lit up with messages: You are

come on over,” You said.

The plan worked. Second time around,

“He sent me an email saying, ‘You did it!’”

six-year graduation rate climbed 9 percentage

no longer on track to graduate. Social work

Lum You recalls. “I showed my mom, ‘Look

points in just two years, virtually unimaginable

majors must earn a C or better in statistics.

he’s so proud of me!’”

Continues SPRING 2014 | 21

Continued

Lost in the system A few years ago, FIU might have lost

Students, effectively, were getting lost in

many years, he was howling in the wind.

the system — held back by a failing grade,

“It seemed criminal,” said Abele, who

someone like Lum You. With too few advisors

by uncertainty about what to study, by the

became one of the most respected provosts

and a weak academic support system, there

unavailability of required classes. All too

in the country during his 16 years at Florida

was no easy way for the country’s seventh

often, the students were dropping out.

State University. “How can higher education

largest university with more than 50,000 total

That, in large measure, explained

students to detect a problem with any single

FIU’s lower than national average on-

individual. In the same way, there was no

time graduation rate. The country’s other

mechanism to reconcile course requirements

behemoth public universities face the same

arise from high college dropout rates seemed

with course availability. That meant high

challenges. Arizona State and the University

obvious to Abele. Plenty of data shows that

demand classes were filling up and students

of Central Florida were both cited last year by

adults with college degrees earn more money

couldn’t get the classes they needed to

U.S. News & World Report for low four-year

and experience more job satisfaction than

graduate.

graduation rates.

those without. When students quit college,

Another problem was the undergraduate

Four years ago, FIU administrators began

lose almost 50 percent of its students and still stay in business?”

The economic and educational issues that

however, they are left with the economic

trajectory. In the old system, there was a

to carefully examine graduation rates and

burden but not the economic advantage.

period when students would fall off the

systematically fix the problem. They didn’t

About half of FIU students who drop

map. Robertson called it, “The Bermuda

quite know it at the time, but FIU was on the

out leave with debt, according to Douglas

Triangle,” the sophomore year during which

vanguard of a profound transformation in

Wartzok, who served as FIU’s provost during

students could not yet declare a major. Many

higher education.

the implementation of GSI. “The real concern is the debt of students who don’t graduate.

found themselves drifting with no academic home or clear educational path. Advising for freshmen and sophomores was centrally

An economic imperative National education leader Lawrence Abele

We need to minimize that number.”

The federal government disperses some

housed, and the student-advisor ratio

has been talking about college graduation

$112 billion annually in student loans. The

hovered around 800:1.

rates for as long as he can remember. For

national three-year default rate hovers around

22 | SPRING 2014

15 percent and has been rising. When

were dropping out for financial reasons. Not

students cannot pay back their student loans,

so. When surveyed, 62 percent of 8,700 FIU

taxpayers bear the cost.

for the students.”

The message has finally penetrated the

seniors poised to graduate said the No. 1

halls of academia. In 2008, a national survey

And that’s not all, Wartzok points out:

reason they were struggling to finish their

asked university administrators for their Top

“Student debt cannot be erased through

degree was that the classes they needed

10 educational concerns. Graduation rates

bankruptcy, so the long-term consequences

were full. Only half that number said money

didn’t make the list. By 2011, graduation

of default are much greater on the borrower

was the issue.

rates made it to No. 5.

than in other circumstances.”

Beyond the economics, Abele saw a more

Data like that affirms what Abele has been

In the end, it was the private sector,

saying for years. Universities need to stop

and not higher education, that shifted the

fundamental failure. Educational leaders were

blaming students for low graduation rates

agenda. The Gates Foundation, the Lumina

pointing fingers in all the wrong places. One

and take responsibility for fixing the problem.

Foundation, the Helmsley Trust and industry

common explanation for sagging graduation

That’s how Robertson sees it also.

leaders like retired Lockheed Martin CEO

rates was that the students were not college

“If you place student success as a top

ready to begin with. One study showed that

priority and look at it from a student point of

failure of American universities to keep

assumption was wrong, Abele said. Some 65

view, figuring out what to do isn’t so hard,”

up with global competitors, particularly

percent of the students leaving college early

Robertson said. “If you get rid of the barriers

in science, technology, engineering and

were in good academic standing and a third

and provide the support, good things happen

math. The broader issue of workforce

were A students.

At FIU, leaders assumed students

Norm Augustine began talking about the

competitiveness opened the door to more targeted conversations about where universities need to improve.

College graduation rates became a national Continues

SPRING 2014 | 23

Continued conversation in 2010 when President Obama pledged to raise the nation’s college graduation rate to 60 percent in 10 years.

“In a single generation, we’ve fallen

happens,” said Robertson.

Student response was overwhelming.

“We heard a lot of, ‘I need classes. Please help me,’ “ said Consuelo Boronat, the lead

declare a major. The Bermuda Triangle has disappeared. Undecided majors are no more at FIU. With that shift came the addition of 69

from first place to 12th place in college

researcher in the Office of Retention and

new advisors around the university, each

graduation rates for young adults,” Obama

Student Success. “These poor kids. It’s an

assigned to a specific major. In many

said at the time.

institutional problem. We are not providing

ways, the advisors are on the front lines

Universities have rallied behind the

enough of the classes they need. It is our

confronting the problem of graduation rates,

president’s challenge. More than 500,

fault. We have the power to do something

student-by-student.

including FIU, committed to Obama’s goal by

about it.”

signing onto Project Degree Completion, led

The university moved quickly to add

Research is also applied in ways that help students make smarter decisions about

by the Association of Public and Land-grant

course sections and find money for

their education. One study showed that

Universities and the American Association of

students in need of financial help. The triage

journalism majors who earn less than a B

State Colleges and Universities. The pledge

delivered the results Robertson wanted.

grade in English Composition have a less

calls on universities to award an additional

FIU’s graduation rate jumped 9 percentage

than 18 percent chance of graduating.

3.8 million bachelor’s degrees by 2025.

points, a startling result with an undeniable

“This initiative is an economic competitiveness imperative for the future of the country and the individuals involved,” said M.

With this data, an advisor is equipped to

message: Yes, it is possible to move the

have a conversation with a student about

needle on graduation rates.

whether the major is the right fit. The idea

Meanwhile, new programs were coming

is to match student interests, skills and

Peter McPherson, president of the Association

on board. Robertson established the Office

passion with the right program, said Charlie

of Public and Land-grant Universities.

of Retention and Graduation Success with

Andrews, the director of the undergraduate

Ph.D.-level behavioral scientists. Their task is

advising center.

For FIU, the issue has now become a funding imperative. Starting this year, the

to figure out where and why FIU was losing

Florida Legislature is tying state education

students, and then recommend solutions.

dollars to university performance. One of

The research has zeroed in on a handful

“Failing one class isn’t the end of college,” he said. “It creates an opportunity for students and advisors to know something is

the key measures in the performance matrix

of bottleneck core courses like College

going on. The conversation needs to be, is

is graduation rate. This year, FIU fared

Algebra with high enrollment and high

this really what you want to do?”

well in the performance funding formula,

failure rates. They went a step further and

tying for third with UCF among the state’s

looked at what percentage of students who

universities. With that comes an expected

fail one of those classes ended up dropping

$7.2 million in new state dollars.

out: about 20 percent.

Something had to be done. So, in the case

Transforming undergrad ed FIU tackled the graduation rate problem looking for immediate and sustained

of college algebra, the university opened the

to help you find a new dream.”

And that is part of the paradigm shift at FIU. Everyone works together to help each student succeed, whether they are majoring in biology or journalism.

new Mastery Math Lab in 2012. In 2013,

“We are graduating from FIU,” Andrews

FIU saw the pass rate climb 20 percent.

said. “If where you are at isn’t right, let’s find

results. Structural change was needed, but

Research also found that students who

Robertson also wanted to make an impact

had accumulated 75 hours of credits without

now. So as FIU began phasing in long-term

declaring a major were the most likely to

programs, Undergraduate Education pulled

never finish their degree.

up the files of every student in the 2008-

Andrews promotes the idea: “We are going

“It became clear we should get them into

the place that is.”

Creating high-tech solutions As part of GSI, personal attention to students is supplemented with technology:

2014 cohort close to finishing their degree.

majors as quickly as possible,” said Wartzok,

MyMajorMatch, MyMajor, My_eAdvisor,

Then advisors started making phone calls.

who will step down as provost June 30.

Panther Degree Audit. All are online systems

“At the very granular level we reached out

So FIU redrew the undergraduate

that provide students with information and

to these students to see what they needed

roadmap. Starting with the Fall 2012

guide them throughout their undergraduate

to graduate and to try to make sure that

entering class, every student is required to

education.

24 | SPRING 2014

In 2012, Karen Cifuentes was in the U.S. Army stationed in New York when she was accepted to FIU as a transfer student. From New York, she mapped out her bachelor’s degree using FIU’s online system. It told her which of her community college credits would be accepted so she didn’t repeat courses. She planned every class she would take from day one to graduation.

“Everything is there for you,” she said.

Breaking it down: The Graduation Success Initiative Requiring a major: All undergrads are now required to declare a major when they enroll at FIU, placing them immediately on a path to degree completion. The university no longer has an “undeclared major” option.

“You know exactly how to graduate in four years. And if you want to do it even quicker, it tells you how.”

Shimon Cohen was the advisor to both Cifuentes and to Shanice Lum You. The GSI digital tools provide him with countless ways to keep up with his students. For instance, he can generate student reports based on GPA.

Hiring new advisors: FIU hired 69 new, master’s degree level academic advisors and placed them within the colleges to specialize in each of FIU’s 81 undergraduate majors. FIU now mirrors the national best practices with a student-advisor ratio of 380:1.

Those who are falling below 2.0 hear from him. He asks questions like: “What are you going to do differently to improve your grades?” If they say, “Study more,” Cohen asks, “How do you study more? Maybe how you study is the issue.”

Creating a research team: The new Office of Retention and Graduation Success in Undergraduate Education is staffed with five behavioral scientists who research and analyze why students are not completing degrees.

And then he makes it real. “They have to sign a contract that is an action plan to get back in good academic standing,” he said.

The My eAdvisor tools also allowed Cohen to detect an issue that was creating hardship for social work majors. The prerequisites that students struggled with the most – statistics, economics and American government – were all crammed into the same semester.

Adding online tools: MyMajorMatch allows students to explore career options and majors prior to enrolling or when they change majors. Major Maps provides students with a step-by-step guide to course selection from day one to graduation. My_eAdvisor lets students know if they are staying on-track and keeps them connected to their academic advisor within their major.

“So the first thing we did was redo the map so those three classes are in different semesters,” Cohen said.

Cohen still communicates regularly with Lum You. She’s on track to graduate in December 2014. Meanwhile, she’s hoping to land an internship in child welfare or foster care.

“The fact that I’m applying for an

Establishing accountability: All student and advisor activity is tracked and available in a centralized dashboard system that is available to senior academics and administrators. On any given day, a dean can see a wide range of statistics such as what percentage of eligible students have applied to graduate or which advisors have not responded to student emails.

internship says I’m almost done,” she said.

“I’m excited to get out there and make a difference in people’s lives.” n SPRING 2014

| 25

Check in and check out all the new buildings that are part of FIU’s recent construction boom.

ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER 4 (AHC-4) Purpose: Scientific research facility for the College of Medicine and College of Arts & Sciences, wet and dry labs, classrooms and seminar rooms Size: 136,082 SF Cost: $57.5 million Cool feature: A customized mass spectrometer laboratory Opened: March 2013

SATELLITE CHILLER PLANT Purpose: Improve campus energy efficiency Size: 14,000 SF Cost: $7.1 million Cool feature: Plant provides chilled water for laboratories when power goes down Opened: April 2013

PARKVIEW HOUSING Purpose: Student living Size: 620 beds with 290-car parking garage Cost: $55 million Cool feature: Floor-to-ceiling, glassed-in common room overlooking FIU Stadium Opened: August 2013

26 | SPRING 2014

BBC RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT LAB Purpose: Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management advanced food production lab and brewing science lab Size: 140 seats Cost: $2 million Cool feature: Two-story wine tower and spirits demonstration bar Opened: September 2013

STOCKER ASTROSCIENCE CENTER Purpose: College of Arts & Sciences Astronomy research observatory, classrooms Size: 10,233 SF Cost: $4.4 million Cool Feature: Control room inspired by the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” Opened: January 2014

BBC WOLFE UNIVERSITY CENTER RENOVATION Purpose: Modernize interior and exterior of the Panther Square gathering area with new facades, new seating, and a coffee shop.

Marianne Wolfe Theater also being renovated Cost: $3.25 million Opened: March 2014 Cool feature: A bronze panther statue for Panther Square

MANAGEMENT AND NEW GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES BUILDING (MANGO) Purpose: College of Business and FIU Online, classrooms Size: 107,912 SF Cost: $35.7 million Cool feature: First floor mall with Starbucks, Panda Express, Taco Bell Opening: July 2014

ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER 5 (AHC-5) Purpose: Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, College of Arts & Sciences and International Hurricane Center research facilities, classrooms, offices Size: 121,465 SF Cost: $44.9 million Cool feature: Cantilever that houses laboratory space Opening: Summer 2014

AMBULATORY CARE CENTER Purpose: In partnership with MiamiDade County, a health treatment and diagnostic center open to the public Size: 32,023 SF Cost: $8.6 million Cool feature: The new 109th Street bridge spanning 8th Street will lead pedestrians to the center Opening: November 2014

PARKING GARAGE 6 (PG6) Purpose: Parking, bus port, retail Size: 2,000 parking spaces, 35,000 SF Cost: $42.6 million Cool feature: Pedestrian bridge linking PG5 to Engineering & Computer Science Building Opening: January 2015

STUDENT ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER (SASC) Purpose: Honors College and University Graduate School offices, Enrollment Services, Student Financials, classrooms Size: 73,173 SF Cost: $25.6 million Cool feature: 750-seat auditorium, largest at FIU Opening: June 2015

SPRING 2014 | 27

Hear the violin played by violinist Marcia Littley magazine.fiu.edu

28 | SPRING 2014

T

he violin has been played, that much is

before Fidel Castro, listening to his father

clear. Its maple surface has the nicks

play folk music deep into the night.

and notches, scratches and grooves

Before reaching Littley, this violin had

that come from daily loving use. Its orange-

weathered a revolution, survived a house

for being a Jew. “Miller hará sonar su violin,”

red varnish is faded. Its fingerboard is

fire and endured years of oblivion. Its journey from a fine craftsman’s studio in

local theaters would advertise. “Miller will

warped. Its sound post needs replacing. And then there’s the glue repair in the corner, from the time a previous owner, in a moment of high passion, hooked the violin frame with a bow and tore a chunk clean off.

“This is definitely not a museum piece,”

19th century Europe to a concert hall in 21st century Miami is a tale of dislocation, exile and serendipity. It’s also the story of how a single fiddle can transcend borders, cultures and even time, connecting lives in the most unexpected ways.

make his violin sing.”

“Music was like a religion to him,” his son Victor said. “It filled his life with something other than work. Violin was an expression of inspiration, joy and relief.”

Victor’s father practiced every night after

says FIU artist-in-residence Marcia Littley,

dinner: Mozart sonatas, Argentine tangos,

the latest musician to play this 162-year-old

Hungarian csárdás. Sometimes he made up

violin. “It’s a performer’s instrument.”

his own melodies.

And yet, for six decades, this fiddle went

The label inside Victor Amram’s violin

unplayed. Until Fall 2013, that is, when Littley

offers a clue to its origin. It says “Antonio

said. “He played all the time and tried to

and the violin found one another.

Guadagnini, Torino, Anno 1851.” Antonio

perfect himself.”

In October, six months and nearly a dozen

Guadagnini descended from a long line of

“He had this compulsion to play,” Victor

Those evening sessions became the

concerts into their unlikely romance, Marcia

Italian violinmakers. His great grandfather,

Littley and the violin were center stage at

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, is considered

a concert of the Amernet Quartet at FIU’s

one of the finest craftsmen of string

Victor and his sister left the island at their

Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

instruments in history, often mentioned with

father’s urging. Jose Amram never made it

Stradivari and Guarneri.

out. He died of a heart attack in 1963.

Littley, as second violin, sometimes played in tandem with the lead. Other times, she

Nearly a century after it was made, the

soundtrack for Victor’s childhood.

In 1959, Fidel Castro took over Cuba.

The violin was still in Cuba. The family

flirted with the cello or viola. She had a few

violin turned up in Cuba, played by Alexander

arranged to have it smuggled out, along

short solos. As she played, Littley swayed

Prilutchi, concertmaster of Havana’s

with some family jewels. Its elegant black

her body and wrinkled her brow, a frown of

Orquestra Filarmónica. One of Prilutchi’s

case was swapped for a frayed brown one,

intense focus on her aquiline features.

private pupils was a textile manufacturer

to escape the attention of Cuban customs

and violin enthusiast named Jose V. Amram,

agents. The violin made it to Miami, where

Victor’s father.

Victor and his sister settled.

Littley was the most versatile performer on stage that night, adjusting her approach to make her partners sound perfect. Constant

Jose Amram was a Sephardic Jew who

Today Victor runs a business distributing

throughout was the clarity, the warmth, and

escaped unrest in his native Turkey to move

equipment used to milk cows. Neither Victor

the richness of that borrowed violin.

to Cuba in 1922. There, he fell in love with

nor his sister played the violin. It barely

a pianist and singer named Estrella Ortiz

survived an apartment fire in the 1970s. “The

sat the violin’s owner, Victor Amram. Until April

Veranes. They married and had a son (Victor)

only things that made it out were the violin,

2013, the violin had been dormant on the top

and a daughter (Raquel).

the family jewelry and the cat,” Victor said.

Thirty feet from the stage, in the front row,

shelf of his closet in suburban Miami-Dade County, waiting to be brought back to life.

Victor Amram strained to make out the line

Jose Amram sold shoelaces and other

Victor’s sister died in 2012, and Victor

products by day and practiced violin at

took sole possession of the violin. He

night. He dreamed of one day playing in the

wanted to authenticate the label dating back

of Littley’s violin. He gripped the program in

philharmonic, studying under Prilutchi and

to 1851, and he asked for his daughter’s

one hand and a wooden cane with his initials

eventually buying the maestro’s violin.

help. Connie Amram works as an office

in the other. His eyes were rimmed red.

When he heard Littley play a fleeting solo,

On weekends, Jose Amram moonlighted

manager in FIU’s Division of External

as the violin accompanist and his wife as

Relations. She called the School of Music

he was transported back to the living room

the pianist to silent movies. He went by the

and was referred to the school’s violinist-in-

of his childhood home in Cuba, in the years

stage name “Miller” to avoid discrimination

residence, Marcia Littley.

Continues SPRING 2014 | 29

“Her violin was forcing her to work harder Every musician dreams of picking up an instrument and just knowing.

“I always tell my students it’s the hair-onthe-back-of-the-neck test,” Littley said.

Musicians can go an entire career without experiencing that moment. Or worse, they find the perfect instrument and aren’t able to afford it.

Littley had that moment once before, with the violin she now owns. It dates to

“In the 19th century, labels were made

for the same result and giving back less.

and put into violins that weren’t of that

Now she’s a different fiddle player,” Calloway

maker,” Solars said. “Violins would be made

said. “It’s as if you take a runner training

in France, given the label and sold at a lower

at altitude and bring her down to sea level.

price point. Still, this is a beautiful, well-

Suddenly the rest of the field is not capable

made violin.”

of competing. Because she’s been running up hill the whole time.”

In October, the Amrams sent the violin to

The Amram violin has been appraised at more than $35,000. But Victor says he has no plans to sell it. He wants Littley to keep

New York for a new sound post and bridge,

playing it as long as she wants, not only

adjustments that will increase its power

to carry forward his father’s memory, but

and richness.

because she loves to play it and a violin’s

the 1600s and has an arched top, creating a sweet sound. Problem was, the vigorous players in the Amernet quartet sometimes drowned her out.

When Connie Amram visited FIU with the family violin, Littley was immediately struck by its flat top. “That was a clue that it was going to be a pretty powerful projecting instrument,” Littley said.

Littley drew her bow across the strings. It was the first time since 1963 a musician had played it.

“It was instantaneous,” Littley said. “It inspired me.”

Cellist Jason Calloway was also in the studio. He turned around in surprise.

“It sounded better than her violin,”

“It’s like a miracle it worked out this way,”

Calloway said. “Brighter and louder, more

Connie said. “Marcia loves the instrument

open, more penetrating.”

and the sound. She cares about it so much.

sound improves with use. “The more it’s played, the better it gets,” he said.

Ultimately, Victor wants to keep the violin in

My grandfather’s dream was to play it in

the family. He has six children, one of whom

few days. She brought it to rehearsal. First

an orchestra, and now it’s become a reality

played violin as a child. He hopes his father’s

violinist Misha Vitenson and violist Michael

through Marcia.”

violin will be played for centuries to come.

Littley asked to borrow the violin for a

Solars says a fine violin will get passed

Klatz agreed with Calloway: the sound was a

from hand to hand, generation after

perfect fit for the quartet.

generation. Any individual owner is but

That was in April, and the FIU Chamber Players concert was a week away. She called

A certified Antonio Guadagnini violin is

a temporary guardian. “We are passing

Connie. “Would you like to hear the violin in

exceedingly rare and can fetch six figures

through the lives of these violins,” he said,

performance?” Littley asked. “Would your

at auction, says Jonathan Solars of Florian

“not the other way around.” n

father allow me to play it?”

Leonhard Fine Violins of London.

Littley has since played the violin in nearly

At FIU Magazine’s request, Solars and

Dan Grech (@dgrech) is a Media Innovation Fellow at the FIU School of Journalism and

a dozen concerts and in a studio recording in

Leonhard examined photographs of the

Mass Communication. He has worked at

May. She uses her own bow and case. “I feel

Amram violin. They concluded that Antonio

Marketplace, the Miami Herald and WLRN and

like this is an instrument that I was meant to

Guadagnini did not make the instrument,

has taught journalism at Princeton University

play,” Littley said.

even though it bears his name.

and Columbia Journalism School.

30 | SPRING 2014

Photos, from left, beginning on opposite page: Jose Victor Amram serenades his daughter Raquel Maria on the balcony of their Havana home in the 1940s; Jose Victor Amram poses with his prized violin in this undated photo taken in Havana; Violinist Marcia Littley with the storied instrument; Littley with Victor Juan Amram. Photos courtesy of Connie Amram and by Doug Garland.

SPRING 2014 | 31

SAVING

How FIU stepped forward to bring the world’s only underwater ocean laboratory back into operation and advance marine science research around the world

By JoAnn Adkins | Photo courtesy of DJ Roller/Liquid Pictures 3D

32 | SPRING 2014

S

ix miles off the coast of Key Largo,

“This is the only job I’ve ever had,” he said.

contained underwater breathing apparatuses,

60 feet below the ocean surface rests

Though it operated out of the public

or scuba, became mainstream among

a yellow metal structure atop a stilt-

eye, Aquarius did have a fan base. Largely

researchers. While scuba diving revolutionized

like base. At first glance, it appears

comprised of researchers, diving enthusiasts

the world of marine science, it still presented

abandoned, disappearing into a seascape

and environmentalists, a grassroots effort

significant limitations on data collection,

of corals and sponges, and surrounded

was initiated in 2012 to save the world’s

observation and experimentation. The more

by schools of fish. But a quick peek inside

only undersea lab. Among those supporters

time divers spend underwater, and the deeper

reveals a complex human habitat designed for

was Miami technology entrepreneur Manny

they swim, the more nitrogen their body

research and exploration – the only one of its

Medina, who founded Terremark Worldwide

absorbs (a process known as saturation). That

kind in the entire world.

and is now chairman and CEO of Medina

means a diver may only have 90 minutes or

Capital Partners. Medina’s involvement

less before he or she must surface to avoid

scientists to leave the terrestrial world behind

would turn out to be key to rescuing the

the dangers associated with the build up of

and live among their research subjects for

one-of-a-kind facility.

gas in the bloodstream.

The Aquarius Reef Base allows marine

days, even weeks at a time. It was deployed

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and U.S.

“Imagine trying to do your job, a full

in 1993 by the National Oceanic Atmospheric

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart even made the trip

day’s work, in only 90 minutes,” said Deron

Administration. But in 2012, looming federal

to Aquarius in a public appeal to save the

Burkepile, coral reef researcher and assistant

budget cuts threatened to surface the world’s last remaining undersea research lab.

One of the main challenges facing Aquarius was obscurity. For nearly

Sixty feet below the ocean’s surface, the Aquarius Reef Base allows marine scientists to leave the terrestrial world behind and live among their

a variety of missions. Quietly and resourcefully,

gift of time.”

In Aquarius, researchers can a time. When the time comes to return to the surface, a 16-hour decompression process lowers

a modest operating budget, offering a temporary home for researchers on

FIU. “Aquarius gives scientists the

saturate for days and weeks at

research subjects for days, even weeks at a time.

two decades, it existed on

professor of biological sciences at

the facility’s pressure, gradually undersea lab. But the clock was ticking.

In the spring, a meeting was quietly

allowing accumulated gases to exit the body. When the process is completed, the

Aquarius labored away, providing information

organized by a group of Aquarius

researchers can swim to the surface as if they

for more than 600 research papers on

supporters. A small contingency from FIU

were never underwater.

conservation, ocean acidification, habitat

was asked to attend. Mike Heithaus, marine

protection, and global climate change over the

biologist and executive director of FIU’s

of two missions in Aquarius, Burkepile has

course of 117 missions.

School of Environment, Arts and Society,

earned the distinction of being called an

was among those.

aquanaut. He has experienced, first-hand,

The rescue plan

The plan was simple — find a new host

Having spent 20 days over the course

the invaluable opportunity of living among his

institution to maintain operations and

research subjects. Convincing him and FIU’s

of its existence. When Aquarius appeared

develop a business model that would not

other marine scientists that the university

on a list of government programs targeted

be dependent on government funding. As

should take over Aquarius was like convincing

for elimination, few noticed, except those

the meeting progressed, it became clear

a fish it should swim. But others weren’t as

scientists who understood its unique potential.

to Heithaus that FIU was being asked to

easily swayed.

Meanwhile, most Americans were unaware

“It was a tough time for us,” said Aquarius

save Aquarius.

Director Tom Potts. “You go to bed thinking about Aquarius. You wake up thinking about Aquarius. We lived with the uncertainty.”

As a graduate student, Potts was first

The Aquarius aquanauts Undersea exploration is a relatively young

The university solution Months of discussions, formulating business plans and evaluating risks were

science. In the 18th and 19th centuries,

undertaken by university officials. By January

introduced to Aquarius above water in 1990

scientists began documenting the variety of

2013, the decision was clear. Aquarius is an

while it was being prepped for deployment.

species that roamed the oceans, but they

unparalleled resource for finding solutions

Upon graduation, he was named Aquarius’

relied on nets dragged across the bottom of

to some of the world’s most pressing

science director. By 2009, he became director

the ocean to bring dead and dying organisms

environmental issues. FIU announced it

of Aquarius. It would be tough to find someone

to the decks of their ships.

would assume operations.

who knows the research facility better.

Then, in the mid-20th century, self-

Continues SPRING 2014 | 33

Gift Establishes Medina Aquarius Program The Medina Family Foundation has contributed a $1.25 million gift to establish the Medina Aquarius Program. Manuel D. Medina, founding and managing partner of Medina Capital, says the gift is his family’s way of giving back to the ocean, which has provided them a lifetime of inspiration and enjoyment. For FIU, the gift helps give Aquarius stability.

“Aquarius offers tremendous research and

Then, just as dollars were running

“When I first heard Aquarius was going to be

educational opportunities, and we’re ensuring

scarce last fall, Manny Medina, the Miami

shut down, I was totally disappointed. I thought

that this investment of American taxpayers

businessman who believed in the project’s

I had missed my chance,” said Shantz, a

continues to provide critical research results to

potential, stepped forward. The Medina

Washington, D.C., native. “It was kind of surreal

the country,” Heithaus said. “For our students,

family’s gift of $1.25 million establishes the

to realize it would become part of FIU.”

Aquarius offers fantastic new possibilities. It’s

Medina Aquarius program. For FIU, the gift

a natural fit for the work we’re doing in the

helps give Aquarius stability.

Florida Keys and throughout the world.”

Aquarius is more than a 400-squarefoot habitat. It is tethered to a life support

Shantz was joined by Laura Bhatti, also from Burkepile’s lab, along with Christian Lopes from Professor James Fourqurean’s

The worldwide response In September 2013, NASA commissioned

lab and Mark Barton from Professor Kevin Boswell’s lab. While they were primarily there

buoy on the surface that houses power

the first saturation mission of the FIU era.

to conduct research, each of the students

generators, air compressors and data

While primarily a facility for marine research,

took time throughout the week to conduct

connections. A short boat trip away is a

Aquarius also serves as a training site for

virtual field trips with schoolchildren from

land-based facility where operations are

astronauts.

all across the country via Skype. They were

monitored. Most importantly, Aquarius is

“Living and working in Aquarius is perhaps

staffed by a small, highly skilled team led by

the closest thing on earth to actually being

Potts and Roger Garcia, Aquarius’ director of

in space,” said William L. Todd, program

operations. The crew has made a seamless

manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA.

transition to FIU. Garcia, who was born in Cuba and grew

During the fall mission, four international astronauts, including two from the United

even able to virtually attend and teach classes at FIU while saturated.

“Aquarius presents FIU with unlimited opportunities,” Heithaus said. “Imagine being able to take a class that is broadcast live straight from a coral reef.”

up in Miami, spent 20 years in the Navy as

States, one from the European Space Agency

a field medic, combat diver and Navy diver

and one from the Japanese Aerospace

implementing a business plan to help ensure

before joining Aquarius. His resumé includes

Exploration Agency, spent a week in Aquarius.

its long-term viability. The plan relies on a

marine reconnaissance deployments, two

Days after the astronauts surfaced,

While its primary focus is research, FIU is

diverse funding portfolio of educational and

Mediterranean deployments, a 1980s combat

Aquarius made waves with an inside peek

government missions, private industry and

mission during the attacks on Libya and

on a live broadcast of NBC’s TODAY Show,

philanthropic support.

deployments in the Middle East. At Aquarius,

captivating more than 4.2 million viewers. CBS

Garcia’s No. 1 priority is the safety of all those

This Morning followed up with a segment that

it is a unique resource allowing our

who dive to the habitat, but he’s also been

aired later in the fall.

students, faculty and collaborators to better

“FIU is committed to Aquarius because

known to serve as boat captain, maintenance

In November, FIU sent four biology

crew and even housekeeper. With no job too

students – one undergraduate and three

said FIU College of Arts & Sciences Dean

big or small, Garcia’s management style is

graduate students – to the habitat for the

Kenneth G. Furton, who along with Heithaus,

simple – “Get it done.”

university’s first research mission since it

led the charge to bring Aquarius to FIU.

understand and preserve our environment,”

After spending months preparing for

assumed operations. For Burkepile, it was a

“While much work remains to ensure

the inevitable shutdown, the crew worked

rewarding experience to witness two of his

Aquarius continues to operate well into the

tirelessly throughout the spring and summer

students taking up residence in Aquarius on

future,” he said, “we have renewed confidence

of 2013 to return Aquarius to operations by

the 10-year anniversary of his first saturation

due to the substantial local, national and

the fall. Still, there was concern about where

mission. Ph.D. student Andrew Shantz,

international organizations and individuals who

the operational support would come from in

whose work focuses on protecting the

have shown their commitment to its growth

the future.

world’s reefs, was among them.

and longevity.” n

34 | SPRING 2014

1 week, 111 alumni

Immeasurable Impact

By Joel Delgado ’12

Photos by Doug Garland

G

erald Grant Jr. ’78, MBA ’89 has always understood the importance of alumni contributing to their alma mater. But it’s not just monetary contributions that matter to this Board of Trustees member and longtime

donor. He believes that giving of one’s time and talents is equally important, and so he championed a way to Watch a recap of the week go.fiu.edu/paw2014

connect successful graduates with students.

In February, Grant’s vision became reality during Panther Alumni Week, or PAW, during which more than 100 working professionals returned to campus to offer advice, share stories and impart wisdom to the next generation.

Some alumni were invited to speak by their former professors while others signed up on their own. Some addressed individual classes, while others participated on panel discussions on a range of topics.

Social work student Aneishia Richardson actively scribbled notes during the panel she attended. “I normally wouldn’t be able to hear from professionals that are doing what I want to do and what I’m passionate about,” she said. “The fact that they took the time to speak to us is very valuable.”

Many alumni appreciated the chance to reengage with the university. “They’re glad to be able to come back and share their experiences,” Grant said. “You don’t realize the impact you actually make on a student just by giving them a few tidbits on how to be successful.”

Continues SPRING 2014 | 35

Learn.

Engage.

Give.

MONDAY:

TUESDAY:

Armando Cruz ’01, MS ’05

Diana Beltran ’07

“It’s not about knowing everything, but what you’re willing to teach yourself.

Take the initiative. Learn and grow.”

“Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.”

As a member of the FIU Alumni Association, you represent our university and all the best that FIU has to offer!

Your support is vital as FIU strives to reach its next horizon and stay World’s Ahead.

Join today to receive thousands of discounts and professional development opportunities, and engage with a network of active chapters all over the world.

FIUalumni.com/join

Cruz participated on FIU’s track and field team from 1998 to 2001 and today is cofounder and CEO of Cruz Country Fitness and Physical Therapy in Miami.

What’s the biggest message you want to send to students?

When approaching your career, come from a giving perspective. Don’t just come to take.

Employers want to know what value you are going to bring to their company. Figure out how you can offer value. Once you do that, everything else flows from there.

What did sports teach you that has helped you succeed in life?

The mindset of “If I want something, I have to work for it.” Sports taught us to be competitive. No one is going to give me my spot; I have to earn it. I have to push every single day. Being persistent with training and being consistent in what I do, day in and day out, will help me continue to grow as a person.

I also learned not to be afraid to fail because if you’re afraid to fail, you’re afraid to live.

What was the most rewarding part about being a student-athlete at FIU? I miss a lot of that higher-end competitiveness of the sport itself. I have taken that competitiveness and applied it to other areas, but there is nothing like competing in sport.

Beltran is the sustainability manager for hotel and resort chain Wyndham Worldwide. She is currently working on a master’s degree at Columbia University.

Why come back to speak with students?

To show them that you can follow your dreams, especially with the support of such an amazing school and professors who can get you the right connections.

How did FIU prepare you for your career?

My freshman year, my dream was to be in international business. Then I found out about the hospitality school, and that matched my passions: travel and languages.

I apply everything I’ve ever learned at FIU to what I do.

Which class at FIU influenced you most?

The person who really opened my eyes to sustainability was Professor Nancy Del Risco, whose class on the subject I took my senior year. I adapted sustainability to what I was studying at the time, which was hotel operations, and made it my passion.

WEDNESDAY:

THURSDAY:

FRIDAY:

Carlos Duart ’94, MS ’98

Cristina Molina ’08, ’09 (double BA)

Lilliam Folguiera ’96

“Never make a decision because you’re desperate. Figure out what you want and chase it like a bulldog.”

“Continue to work at your practice even if at times it is difficult or you question it. Remain confident that you will find solutions for yourself.”

“Surround yourself with people who are just as good or better than you are and challenge yourself. Empower the people around you and work as a team.”

Molina is a studio artist and an assistant professor of new media and animation at Southeastern Louisiana University in New Orleans. Her art combines psychology with conceptual elements.

Folguiera is the managing partner of Projectability, a Miami-based marketing company. She is currently working on an MBA at FIU.

Duart is president of architecture and engineering firm CRD Maguire, headquartered in Miami. He also serves on the FIU Foundation Board of Directors.

Why come back to speak with students?

For me, it’s a way of giving back. FIU did a lot for my family and me. My dad got his degree here after he had had five kids because it was an affordable opportunity.

What’s the biggest message you want to send to students?

Two things. First, work hard. Second, a lot of success occurs by just “being there.” Take the opportunity to network, go places, meet with other people. You would be surprised how many opportunities present themselves just because you put yourself out there.

What changes strike you the most since you graduated from FIU? How FIU’s reputation has grown to a worldwide level. I travel a lot, and I’m surprised how many times people know about FIU, whether I’m dealing with people from South America or in Europe.

Why come back to speak with students?

As an FIU undergraduate, I learned a lot through guest speakers. It’s easy to take the advice you receive from professors for granted because you see them on a weekly basis, but a stranger with different experiences can have a big impact. I want to have a similar impact.

What is the biggest challenge you faced in pursuing a career in art?

The arts aren’t really perceived as a necessity. So one of the big challenges is to legitimize for yourself and the world why you should be making art. A way to overcome that is to find personal meaning in what you’re doing, to know that you’re contributing to society in a positive way and educating the public on the importance of art.

What do you miss the most about FIU? I miss my professors and the colleagues I worked with during my time at FIU. The studio program here really provided a good model of a collaborative practice. I miss getting together with my friends and classmates, and working all together in a supportive environment.

Why come back to speak with students?

I have fond memories of my time at FIU and I definitely wanted to give back. When you’re taking classes and working, you’re a little bit isolated and you don’t always hear what happens in the real world. I think it’s valuable to have someone talk to students to dissipate the fears they have about life after college.

How did FIU help prepare you for your career?

It was my first exposure to a business environment, not only because I worked on campus, but also through my interactions with people and the classes I took. I learned the basics of marketing and business as well as how to interact with my peers and with other professionals.

What advice would you give students?

Go for an internship and do a lot of research about the field you want to enter in the future.

Look into career paths that are connected with the major you are studying.

SPRING 2014 | 37

CLASS NOTES

Michael P. Maher ’97 and Florencia Rossato ’11 were married May 18, 2013, in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Guests included several distinguished alumni, among them: Franco Battistini ’95, Jason Becht ’98, Troy Easley ’94, Matt Endara ’95, Walter Gonzalez ’96, Chadwick Hornik ’97, Jeffrey Jaramillo ’96, Juan Lardizabal ’96, Ramon Lopez ’01 and Roberto Valcarce ’89. Maher serves on FIU’s Executive Alumni Board and is a senior director with Synergy Business Consulting. Rossato is a paralegal in Coral Gables.

1970s

Whitney K. Schiffer M.Acc. ’88 was

Tony Argiz ’74 was honored by the

American Jewish Committee of Miami and Broward with the 2013 National Human Relations Award for his work in defense of Israel and human rights.

William J. Spratt Jr. MS ’74

joined Akerman LLP as a partner in the firm’s Healthcare Practice Group in Miami. He has 25 years of experience in healthcare law and is recognized as a leader in that area by the publication Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and The Best Lawyers in America.

Eduardo Gil ’75 is the senior vice president and chief financial officer for Davidson Realty Inc. and made the Jacksonville Business Journal 2013 List of Ultimate CFOs.

Duffy Keys ’75, owner of B Cellars Winery &

Tasting Room in Calistoga, Calif., saw his wines receive four double gold and two gold awards at the 2014 American Fine Wine competition.

Jose Villalon ’79 is the

corporate sustainability director at Nutreco and served as chairman of the board for WWF’s Aquaculture Stewardship Council. He is married to Anita Villalon and has two children, daughter Gabriela and son Santiago.

1980s Carlos Modia ’82 was appointed chief

financial officer of Espirito Santo Bank after serving as senior vice president and chief operations officer since 2005.

38 | SPRING 2014

Celina Saucedo ’99, MPA ’11 was promoted to

promoted to director of audit and attest services at Berkowitz Pollack Brand Advisors and Accountants.

director of administration at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Broward County.

1990s Frank Gonzalez ’90 was appointed principal-in-charge at Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLC. Laura P. Templer ’90 has joined the law

firm of Sirote & Permutt and is based in the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office. She defends mortgage servicers against claims of consumer fraud.

Emilia A. Quesada ’92 was named a 2014 Top Lawyer by the South Florida Legal Guide for Civil Litigation. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation.

Brenda K. Supple ’93 has been named

shareholder by international law firm Greenberg Traurig at its Miami office. As assistant general counsel for Greenberg Traurig, she advises the firm in the areas of professional responsibility and risk management.

Cheryll Messam ’95, MS ’99 is a certified professional

life and corporate coach and recently wrote a self-reflection e-book called “Life is Just for Living. So How am I Doing?”

Ileana Salort-Horta ’96, MS ’97 was appointed director at Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLC.

Jennifer Olmedo-Rodriguez ’99 was recently promoted to

shareholder at the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

She and her department were also honored as South Florida’s Real Estate Litigation Department of the Year

by Daily Business Review.

2000s Captain Paul Defay ’02

was appointed United States Air Force engineering flight commander at the 241st Engineering & Installation Squadron. He served previously as cyberspace operations officer and network systems deputy flight commander of the 119th Command & Control Squadron.

Joel Gandara ’03, an Honors College alumnus, is the founder of Underwear Station Inc., a distributor and manufacturer of men’s underwear and swimwear.

Alexander E. Binelo ’03, MS ’05

was promoted to principal in the audit department of Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLP.

David Van Rooy MS ’03, Ph.D ’05 wrote “Trajectory: 7

Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” with the purpose of helping people build successful and meaningful careers. David is donating all proceeds from author royalties to military veterans entering the workforce.

Xiomara Uran ’06 is the Spanish interpreter for Rutgers University School of Law. She works in the school’s clinics, where law students, under faculty supervision, represent clients from within the community.

Alumni Association Lifetime Member

Catalina Orozco ’07 has been named

assistant director of human resources at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore.

and Business Development which has him working closely with several policy partners and advocacy organizations around the world.

successfully defended her thesis in March to earn a master’s degree in English literature from FIU this spring.

She is currently the project manager in FIU’s Office of Publications.

Jose Pagliery ’11 is a technology journalist at CNN, where he reports on cybersecurity and privacy. He previously wrote about small business, immigration and health care policy for CNNMoney.

Richard F. Puerto MS ’07 was

Natalia Aguero ’12 and

Kristina Mur ’07

promoted to partner in the tax department at Verdeja & De Armas LLP in Coral Gables.

Emmanuel Trenche ’07 is vice president

Allen Feliz ’12

were married January 17, 2013, in Key West and later celebrated with friends in Cozumel, Mexico.

of marketing communications at clearCI, an intelligence software company that helps businesses compete in today’s digital era.

He was selected to speak at the Strategic Competitive Intelligence Professionals in May.

Juan Brizuela ’13 works as the news

2010s

Joshua Dieguez ’13 was elected

Hector Mujica ’11 serves as a social responsibility strategist for Google, overseeing the company’s employee philanthropic engagement in Latin America and parts of the U.S. He is also the company’s public policy lead for U.S. Hispanic Community Outreach

[

correspondent for FIU’s School of Architecture and the Department of Art and Art History for the College of Architecture + the Arts. chairman of the Miami Lakes Neighborhood Improvement Committee.

Emmanuel Okwor ’13, a specialist in virtual construction and green building, has accepted a position as a project engineer with general contractor Foster Construction of South Florida.

To submit a class note visit go.fiu.edu/classnote

]

Women’s basketball head coach

Cindy Russo MS ’78, already the winningest coach in FIU history, recently recorded another milestone: her 700th win. The FIU alumna has devoted 35 years to turning out stellar studentathletes. Among her accomplishments: six FIU appearances in the NCAA Tournament, seven trips to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, 22 consecutive winning seasons (1981-2003), seven conference tournament wins and seven All-American players under her wing.

Support FIU’s Future. Leave a Legacy.

Make a philanthropic investment that will benefit generations to come and secure your legacy through a planned gift to FIU. Learn about the many ways that you can make a difference, provide for the future and save taxes. Call us at the FIU Planned Giving Office at 305-348-6298 and visit us at

Alumni Association Lifetime Member

.

SPRING2014 2013 | 39 SPRING

Remembering Professor Jeanne Kates

Alumnus pays tribute to the mentor and friend who nurtured and challenged him

By Khaleel Seecharan ’02, MA ’03

Looking back, I worked harder for her than

to catch up or a phone call to say hello.

for any of my other professors. She made

When a good friend and fellow alum planned

reminiscing about our time at FIU, a fellow

me want to be not just a better student, but

a road trip in 2008 that allowed him to visit

alum and I began talking about Professor

a better person. From her I learned the value

her in South Carolina for a few days, I flew

Jeanne Kates ’82, MA ’84. It was only one of

of teamwork and mentorship. She gave me

up from Miami as a surprise. I can still see

many conversations about the political science

lifelong friends who prepared with me in the

her exclaiming, “I knew it! I knew it was

professor that I have had with her former

trenches.

you, Khaleel!” when she realized I was the

In New York this past winter, while

students since she passed away last July.

Professor Kates taught an obscure course that put FIU on the national map. It was an

Upon her retirement in 2005 after more than 20 years of teaching, Professor Kates asked me to take over her course. It was

promised surprise guest. She opened her home to us and treated us like family.

I last spoke to Professor Kates a few months

experiential course with the goal of preparing us for competition at Model United

prior to her passing. I was

“I worked harder for her than for any of my other professors.

Nations conferences.

She made me want to be not

Participating teams

just a better student, but a

formulate political

better person.”

positions based on of the countries they FIU alumna, Professor Kates taught us skills in

an honor I could not refuse because I, the

research, negotiation and public speaking.

student, was now afforded the opportunity to learn through the lens of the teacher. This

we would use in our professional lives every

experience gave me the chance to share with

day, Professor Kates made the course truly

a new generation the lessons I had learned

special. She handpicked every student who

under her leadership. Many of the students

participated in the course. Some students

I taught never met Professor Kates, yet they

were clear standouts, and some required a

speak just as highly of her as I do. When the

little work. In all of us, however, she saw great

2006 team won the Outstanding Delegation

potential, and she never wavered in that belief.

Award—a rejoinder to awards earned earlier

She worked to nurture us in areas we could

under Professor Kates’ direction—she was

improve upon. She pushed us to challenge

the first to call and congratulate us, much to

ourselves. She served as a voice of reason

the delight of our team.

and wisdom when we stumbled. And when we

the hope of visiting. She was too ill to receive guests but, as she always did, she told me friendship, how proud she was of me and that she cherished our time together.

represent. A two-time

Beyond just instructing us in the skills that

and I called to say hello with

how much she appreciated my

— Khaleel Seecharan ’02, MA ’03, shown here with Kates and her husband Jack

the actual policies

driving through South Carolina,

My friendship with Professor Kates grew

We all have our own Jeanne Kates, the FIU professors who work tirelessly for their students and push us to places we were not sure we could go. Professor Kates is no longer with us, but those fortunate enough to have been her students continue to honor her memory and carry on her indomitable spirit.

Khaleel Seecharan is an administrator at Ariadne Labs, a Harvard-led venture dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery. He held several administrative positions at FIU and served as an adjunct instructor in political science and the director of the Model United Nations Program.

achieved heights we could not have imagined,

over the years. We kept in contact: yellow

Share your own story of a cherished professor

she recognized our hard work.

roses (her favorite) for her birthday, an email

at go.fiu.edu/memories.

40 | SPRING 2014

VIP:

Very Important Panther

Chad Moss ’95 • Senior Vice President, Moss & Associates • Bachelor of Science in Construction Management • Member, FIU Foundation Board of Directors • 2010 Torch Award Recipient • Lifetime member, FIU Alumni Association

Q: Your family started Moss & Associates 10 years ago, and today you can claim construction projects in no fewer than a dozen states. What has been your biggest contribution to the company’s growth?

A: Building relationships with key clients and hiring strong employees.

Q: Success in the construction industry means staying up on innovation. How is Moss & Associates doing that?

A: Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the link between design, construction and the facilities manager. We early on recognized the potential of this technology—which digitally captures processes and information spanning an entire project—and invested in its development and the development of our team. Our construction technology department excels at implementing this technology, and we have realized cost and time savings on projects of 5 to 10 percent while maintaining the highest quality standards.

Q: Your company helped establish FIU’s Moss Built Environment Informatics Laboratory for use by students in the construction management program with the College of Engineering and Computing. What was your motivation?

A: The lab will teach the building blocks of BIM/virtual technologies, something Moss is very passionate about.

Q: How has your FIU degree made possible your success?

A: It was the foundation! It also led to a relationship with my university that has helped me grow personally and professionally.

Q: Busy as you are, why do you make time to serve on the FIU Foundation Board of Directors?

A: I really feel like we are making a contribution to the university’s success, and I am inspired by my engagement with students, staff and fellow board members.

Q: Do you have a motto by which you live, or phrase around which you rally in tough times?

A: “This situation is temporary. You will overcome!”

Q: How do you want to be remembered down the road?

A: As someone who gave people chances and means to grow their careers through education and job opportunities.

Photo by Doug Garland

SPRING 2014 | 41

Its gate wide open, FIU’s entrance at SW 116th Ave. and 8th Street welcomes a lone car onto an unpaved road in 1970, two years before the campus would see its first students. In contrast to the current manicured grounds on both campuses— maintained by as many as 67 groundskeepers during the warmer months—back then, brush and wild vegetation blanketed the place.

Get a look at the same spot 44 years later at go.fiu.edu/historyphoto