WINTER 2019-20 VOLUME 44
Latin Grammy Producer of the Year
TONY SUCCAR on fame, family and FIU
8
ON THE COVER: El productor del año Two-time alumnus Tony Succar is a two-time Latin Grammy winner.
10
Compassion for early AIDS patients Nurse Cliff Morrison ’74, MS ’76 paved the way for humane care in the 1980s.
13
A go-to for international and public affairs The Green School is growing its reputation as a resource on complicated world issues.
16
Finding causes of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s FIU is a leader in discovering the environmental factors behind neurodegenerative diseases.
22 24
Against the odds An immigrant graduate student catches the attention of those seeking to diversify STEM.
Future doctors try their hand in the lab Medical students are taking on greater research opportunities.
26 28 29
I’m with the band The marching band is bigger, better and badder than ever.
Making campus their cause A group of professionals has taken students and BBC under its wing.
From wheelchair-bound to mentoring hero Carlos Sabater ’81 turned life’s lowest point into a rallying cry for serving others.
32
Golf great Pat Bradley ’74 remembers the good times Our most successful pro woman athlete recalls her days at a just-opened FIU.
THE HIGHS (AND LOWS) OF FOOTBALL: FIU fans saw their emotions flutter throughout the 2019 football season, but one thing is for sure: The Panthers never let things get boring. The highlight came in November when the team bested crosstown rival University of Miami (the triumph is pictured here) by a score of 30-23. The victory inspired unabashed pride and helped FIU qualify for the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, in December. While that final game did not result in a win, fans appreciated the great ride. Photo by Margarita Rentis ’17
FROM THE EDITOR If you need inspiration in the new decade, look no further than FIU. In this issue you will meet students, faculty and alumni to watch in the years to come. They are breaking barriers, breaking ground and transforming the future in new and exciting ways. Take Angelica Moncada. Pursuing a Ph.D. from the Department of Earth and Environment, she has drawn the attention of leaders within the National Science Foundation and elsewhere as someone unstoppable—even in the face of obstacles. Read how she overcame uncertainty with perseverance to achieve her goals while paving the way for others like her. Professor Jason Richardson and the rest of the team working within the Brain, Behavior and the Environment program are making strides in understanding the causes and mechanisms of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. With millions in funding, they are looking at ways to prevent and even cure debilitating illnesses that affect tens of millions worldwide. Their contributions over the next 10 years could prove critical to all our health. Cover subject Tony Succar, a two-time alumnus of the School of Music, continues to take Latin sound in innovative directions. The 2019 Latin Grammy Producer of the Year is a young man capturing international acclaim. Alongside the above, you will find several stories whose opening chapters were written generations ago. Cliff Morrison graduated in the 1970s and established his legacy in the 1980s. Drawing upon his faith and his FIU training, the nurse established a clinic for the earliest AIDS patients. His success in urging compassionate care at a time when many in the medical professions showed little mercy for those afflicted with the disease was the subject of the 2019 documentary 5B. In the early 1980s, another young man, Carlos Sabater, suffered near-death just months before starting FIU. Wheelchair-ridden, he found a way through his pain and has since devoted himself to lifting up those around him. His dedicated mentorship inspired the accounting firm from which he recently retired to establish a scholarship endowment within the College of Business. And retired professional golfer Pat Bradley, one of FIU’s first graduates, continues to reign as the university’s most successful woman athlete. Nearly 46 years after she earned her degree, the lady is still participating in charity tournaments and supporting her alma mater. We’d love to tell your story. Drop me a line at magazine@fiu.edu. I promise to write back. Sincerely,
Alexandra Pecharich
On the Cover: Tony Succar at the Latin Grammys in November 2019 Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for LARAS
FIU MAGAZINE Editorial Advisory Board
Anthony Rionda Director Governmental Relations
Millie Acebal Director Marketing & Communications College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts
Tyson Rodgers Assistant Director of Communications Athletics
JoAnn Adkins Director Marketing & Communications College of Arts, Sciences & Education
Ileana Varela Associate Director Marketing & Public Relations Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Atilda Alvarido Special Assistant to the Provost Office of the Provost
__________________________________
Linda Curiel-Menage Assistant Vice President for Campaign Planning & Communications University Advancement
Mark B. Rosenberg
Jessica Drouet Senior Account Manager Marketing & Communications Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work Amy Ellis Communications Manager Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs Stephen Fain Professor Emeritus Faculty Administrator Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President
FIU President
FIU Board of Trustees
Claudia Puig (Chair) Jose J. Armas (Vice Chair) Cesar L. Alvarez Leonard Boord Dean C. Colson Gerald C. Grant Jr. ’78, MBA ’89 Donna J. Hrinak Natasha Lowell T. Gene Prescott Joerg Reinhold Sabrina L. Rosell Marc D. Sarnoff Rogelio Tovar FIU MAGAZINE
Division of External Relations, Strategic Communications and Marketing
Ellen Forman Associate Director Communications College of Business
Sandra B. Gonzalez-Levy Senior Vice President
Diana Hernandez-Alende Senior Account Manager College of Engineering & Computing Cristina Jaramillo Account Manager Marketing & Communications Student Affairs Gregory Miller Digital Marketing Manager College of Law
Terry Witherell Vice President Karen Cochrane Assistant Vice President Alexandra Pecharich Editor Aileen Solá-Trautmann MSM ’18 Art Director
Pablo G. Ortiz Vice President Vice Provost Regional and World Locations Maureen Pelham Director of Research Development Office of Research and Economic Development
Photographers Carl-Frederick Francois ’16, MS ’17 Doug Garland ’10 Kim Kulish Margarita Rentis ’17 Ivan Santiago MFA ’16
Copyright 2020, Florida International University. FIU Magazine is published by the Florida International University Division of External Relations, Strategic Communications and Marketing 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 University Advancement, MARC 5th Floor, Miami, FL 33199 or by email to cpajon@fiu.edu. Letters to the Editor: FIU Magazine welcomes letters to the editor regarding magazine content. Send your letters via email to pecharic@fiu.edu or mail to FIU Magazine, Division of External Relations, MMC PC 515, Miami, FL 33199. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. All letters should include the writer’s full name and daytime phone number. Alumni, please include your degree and year of graduation. 20055_02/2020
FIU Magazine is printed on 30 percent PCW recycled paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
Dr. Herbert Wertheim with, from left, daughter Erica Wertheim Zohar, wife Nicole Wertheim and daughter Vanessa Wertheim
Historic $10 million gift will enhance arts programs
A
pair of benefactors who have invested millions in support of
helped make possible construction of the Wertheim Plant Research
educating the next generation of health care professionals has
and Teaching Conservatory and the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim
made a bold statement.
Performing Arts Center. Opened in 1996, the latter is a signature
Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim in December announced a
building on campus and houses the performing spaces as well as
stunning $10 million gift to the School of Music within the College
offices associated with music and theater. Additionally, the center
of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA). The largest
is home to the largest pipe organ in the Southeast, a magnificent
donation ever made to a music school at a public university in Florida,
instrument named in honor of Dr. Wertheim’s mother.
it speaks to their belief that the study of performing arts should be a priority in our world. “This gift expresses our continuing passion for and commitment
“The Wertheims’ gift represents a transformative commitment to the performing arts in South Florida and beyond,” said Brian Schriner, dean of CARTA. “Together with the Wertheim family, we will expand
to FIU, our extraordinary hometown university,” Dr. Wertheim said,
the school’s global identity, fuel our community’s cultural vibrancy and
“and the importance of the performing arts, an essential aspect of
catalyze South Florida’s creative economy.”
quality of life.”
An inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr. Wertheim
The couple behind the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
currently serves as honorary chair of the university’s $750 million
and the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Next Horizon campaign and has previously filled many volunteer
stepped up to fund the dreams of students who choose to pursue
leadership roles at FIU. In addition to investing financially in
careers as musicians, singers and composers as well as students
the university, the Wertheims have shown their commitment by
studying acting and production in the theater department. The pair’s
attending campus events such as the medical school’s annual white
generosity will help establish several new programs to elevate the
coat ceremony, a rite of passage for first-year medical students.
school’s reputation globally. Funds will also provide for scholarships,
Notably, the pair in 2018 wiped out the loan debt of 10 graduating
the hiring of additional faculty, the hosting of guest artists, travel
medical students who would otherwise have started their careers
expenses for students participating in competitions abroad and
owing tens of thousands of dollars.
facility enhancements. The Wertheims have been contributors to FIU for more than three decades, and their philanthropy has greatly impacted several programs. In addition to the colleges of medicine and nursing, the two WINTER 2019-20 | 3
ON THE PROWL
61 percentage of those who earned undergraduate degrees in academic year 2018-2019 who are women source: FIU Office of
TROPICAL PLANT RESEARCH GETS A NEW HOME FIU has broken ground on a building for the International Center for Tropical Botany, an innovative collaboration between FIU and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. The center is located at The Kampong, a garden in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood and is supported by a $2.5 million gift from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust and a matching $2.5 million gift from the Batchelor Foundation. “The work we are doing here is ultimately about saving plants, saving lives and improving our overall
Analysis & Information
quality of life,” said Chris Baraloto, an associate professor of biology and director of the center. The facility
Management
will be used to advance research that preserves tree canopies, improves pollination, supports sustainable farming and identifies new plant-derived medicines.
Biologist granted millions for coral reef research A $3 million so-called “big ideas” grant from the National Science Foundation has made possible molecular biologist Jose Eirin-Lopez’s trip to a remote island in French Polynesia to study the last remaining healthy coral reefs on earth. Nearly everywhere else, corals are dying and disappearing due to ocean warming and disease. Eirin-Lopez will study the surviving coral in an attempt to understand how and why it alone is surviving in the face of great environmental challenges.
FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios serves as a “creative collider” under the direction of the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts. The 16,000-squarefoot space hosts innovative exhibitions, classes, research laboratories and events. It also gives students and young alumni a chance to gain hands-on experience and interact with industry professionals. Left: Shari Gayle MIA ’16 works with award-winning interior designer Alfred Karram Jr. 4 | WINTER 2019-20
Remembering humanity’s darkest hour One-hundred-year-old Holocaust survivor Julian Eisenstein participated in FIU’s Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week in January, a series of activities that also marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camp. Eisenstein shared stories of the horrors he witnessed as well as the resilience with which he built a successful life in the United States. Pictured with him at left are Anni Lupu, a fellow with Hillel at FIU, and Jon Warech, the organization’s director.
Securing the Super Bowl
South Florida’s David Grutman, an owner and partner in several Miami-based restaurants and night clubs, taught a unique entrepreneurship course for students in the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Bowl LIV, FIU was approached by Miami-
Mover and shaker teaches coolest class ever
Dade Police to create a scale model of
Miami-based hospitality and nightlife
Hard Rock Stadium. Architecture students
entrepreneur David Grutman in the fall
As part of security preparations for Super
made multiple visits to the site as part of their collaboration on the piece, which was 3D printed on campus in the College of Communication Architecture + The Arts’ Robotics and Digital Fabrication Lab. The 4-foot-by-5 foot model was constructed of multiple components that personnel could take
gave students a one-of-a-kind education. Part-owner and creative director of the nightclub LIV at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach as well as several other high-end dining and entertainment ventures—to which students took field trips—Grutman taught a seven-week entrepreneurship course for the
apart by hand during tabletop training exercises to study access routes and entry/exit points
Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism
throughout the various sections of the building.
Management. To address topics such as “how to use digital and social strategies to create
Educating the public on coronavirus
excitement and launch a brand” and “how
Just moments after the World Health Organization declared China’s
to foresee trends and build experiences that
coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, FIU experts went
deliver,” Grutman invited industry insiders
live online to break down the crisis—from how the virus is spread to the effects the outbreak will have on global trade, travel and financial markets, as well as politically inside China and beyond. “That the WHO declared this a public health emergency of international concern is very responsible and appropriate,’’ said Dr. Aileen Marty, a professor in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and an expert in
to class, among them renowned music producer and media personality DJ Khaled, rapper-songwriter-fashion designer Pharrell Williams and Fontainebleau owner and real estate developer Jeffrey Soffer. “In order to be successful, you must make everything you do personal,” Grutman told students. Bringing
infectious diseases. “This one is far more contagious [than similar viruses], and we’re seeing
in close friends and business associates
it spread at rates we’ve never encountered … despite our best efforts to contain it.’’
proved the event guru’s point: Relying on his
Marty, as well as professors from the Steven J. Green School of International & Public
own contacts and connections, he helped
Affairs, shared the latest news and their opinions. Many have since been called upon by
inspire young people who now feel ready and
media as the situation continues to escalate.
equipped to take on the big challenges. WINTER 2019-20 | 5
ON THE PROWL
NASCAR vehicles rep FIU The Panther logo made its rounds at Homestead-Miami
Treasure: A lasting pain
Speedway in November courtesy of Jeffrey Taraboulos ’96, MAcc ’00, Robert Taraboulos ’97 and Jorge De La Torre ’96, founding partners of the accounting firm of Kabat, Schertzer,
Inheritance: Blood at the Root
De La Torre and Taraboulos. The alumni showcased their
speaks to the unsettling history
pride by splashing the FIU name prominently on the hood
of trees in the black community.
and rear side panels of No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD
Referencing the fear and spectacle
Motorsports with Gary Keller. Engine trouble impacted the
associated with the crime of lynching, the work recognizes the trauma
car’s finish but not before the university got plenty of exposure in the fast lane.
that endures for decades and even
And coming up, the SciAps racing team, featuring SciAps business development specialist and
generations. Alumna Rhea Leonard
NASCAR driver CJ McLaughlin, will be competing at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 21
MFA ’18 created the powerful piece,
and proudly sporting an FIU logo on the back quarter panels of car No. 93. SciAps Inc. is a Boston-
acquired by the Frost Art Museum. Leonard works in a variety of media, has been included in a number of
based instrumentation company specializing in portable analytical instruments. The National Forensic Science Technology Center at FIU has partnered with the company on a variety of testing and evaluation projects.
exhibitions and was featured in the New York Times during Miami Art Week for her participation in “Who
FIU forensic science helps advance fast DNA profiling
Owns Black Art?” Says the artist,
FIU’s National Forensic Science Technology Center in Largo,
“By working with specific kinds of
Florida, has attracted a private partner in a shared quest
experiences encountered by Black
to promote faster DNA identification in the service of the
people, I aim to affirm, thus validate,
criminal justice system. The goal: developing technology
their inner, personal realities in public
that can provide a full DNA profile in 90 minutes so as to
to a wider audience.” Inheritance: Blood at the Root, 2018 Cast pewter and walnut wood 11 ½ x 2 x 2 inches
6 | WINTER 2019-20
potentially identify (or rule out) suspects while a crime scene is still under early investigation. Massachusetts-based life sciences firm Thermo Fisher Scientific will work with FIU personnel to develop a go-to resource for law enforcement agencies within the state and beyond.
ON THE PROWL
5 QUESTIONS FOR THE
law school dean FIU Law dean Antony Page gets around. Canadian-born, he holds triple citizenship—he’s also British through his parents and American by choice—and has spent time overseas as a diplomat in Europe and Asia. Educated as an attorney at Stanford, he is an expert in corporate governance and worked for the London and Los Angeles offices of a New Yorkbased firm before making his way to the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law as a professor and later vice dean. These days, Page—who arrived at FIU in 2018 with his wife and two teenagers—can’t say enough good things about South Florida, where he has poured his energies into meeting leaders in the local legal community and gaining a fuller understanding of the FIU law school’s place in a thriving metropolitan area. What are your priorities? We will nurture our many strengths, which include a student-centered culture that leads to success for our graduates. On that, we have a proven track record: In 2019, FIU Law placed No. 15 on a list of “Best Value Law Schools,” a national ranking that recognizes schools with excellent student outcomes and whose graduates do not incur overwhelming debt. Another great strength: our faculty’s scholarship. The quality and quantity are first rate with FIU Law performing very well in a recent study of scholarly impact. From these positions of strength, a priority is to increase our interdisciplinary offerings. In many sectors, there is a growing demand for job candidates with legal training, although not necessarily a license to practice. Examples include our new master’s degrees in legal technology and health care law. The FIU College of Law was founded more than 100 years after the school from which you earned a J.D. What does it mean to head such a young institution? It is exciting! Since our founding nearly 20 years ago, the college has exceeded all expectations. [In 2019, U.S. News & World Report named it a top-50 public law school.] But we are focused on achieving even more. So much is possible, and I feel highly optimistic that we will progress to the next level. Our faculty, staff and other stakeholders all take seriously the connection between the academic enterprise and the “real world” impact that law schools should have upon the populations they serve. Does FIU’s location in South Florida have any bearing on the type of law taught? Miami is widely considered the business and legal hub of the Americas. International law is thus important for the college, and we are one of only a handful of U.S. law schools that include a required course in international and comparative law in our first-year curriculum. Many of our faculty have strong connections in the international community. Have you cracked the code on why FIU law grads are exceptionally good at acing the Florida bar exam, almost always besting the other Florida law schools? Two factors. First, our students: They are very talented and exceptionally hard-working. Second, our faculty: They deliver a rigorous curriculum that includes not only substantive knowledge of legal doctrine but emphasizes development of writing and analytical skills. Critical in all of this are professors Raul Ruiz and Louis Schulze, who implemented a unique program that teaches students how to teach themselves. This promotes success in law school, on the bar exam and in the practice of law. While eschewing “teaching to the test,” the program uses sophisticated data analyses to support students and capitalizes on cutting-edge methods from educational psychology and cognitive science. What about living in South Florida have you enjoyed most, so far? Cortaditos! Palm trees! Manatees! Sunshine! The vibrancy and excitement! More importantly, the friendliness of the people. My family and I have been welcomed with open arms. n WINTER 2019-20 | 7
Alumnus
Tony Succar reigns as Latin Grammy Producer of the Year By Alexandra Pecharich Barely 10 years out of FIU, two-time graduate Tony Succar ’08, MA ’10 in November of 2019 won the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year. Nominated in four categories, he also took Salsa Album of the Year for Más de mi. The 33-year-old Peru-born, Miami-raised sensation accepted the honors live on national television and weeks later landed on campus to perform at President Mark B. Rosenberg’s annual holiday party for employees, where more than 1,000 Panthers rocked to Succar’s infectious beats. In between, he performed in Guatemala, Peru and Tenerife, Spain. No wonder then that the usually high-energy entrepreneur-composer-arranger-percussionistband leader sounded exhausted one afternoon in December, even as he discussed the biggest moment of his life. “It feels rewarding,” he says. “It feels very good to be able to get that industry recognition from the academy. It’s one of the things that we all dream of.” Earning the pair of Grammys marked the pinnacle of Succar’s still very young career and validates not only his two music degrees from FIU but his every creative decision of the last decade. That includes spending five years on his first studio album, a Latin tribute to Michael Jackson, which featured more than 100 instrumental and vocal superstars, among them Tito Nieves, Jon Secada and La India. The masterpiece received rave reviews, and it reached 8 | WINTER 2019-20
No. 1 on Billboards’ Tropical Albums chart.
well and FIU will accept you. “And that’s
Succar still builds whole concerts around the
exactly what happened.”
“It was huge,” Succar recalls. “I brought dancers and lighting engineers, and I got a
salsa-fied Michael Jackson covers, much to
Once on campus, Succar pivoted to
whole DVD and CD out of it, called Live at
the delight of fans. Controversially, however,
music—the family business—and reveled
the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. My
the album was disqualified from eligibility
in playing as a member of the Latin jazz
professors were like, ‘Dude, this kid is crazy.
for Latin Grammy nominations as the Latin
ensemble and learning from a cadre of top
Why does he complicate his life? Why doesn’t
Academy deemed its bilingual lyrics less than
jazz musicians on faculty.
he just do it like everybody else?’ I said, ‘No, I
51 percent Spanish.
“Mike Orta was one of the guys that truly
want to stand out from the crowd.’” (Notably,
At the time, Succar unsuccessfully
gave me the opportunity to become who I
the school asked him to return as an artist-in-
contested the ruling and even started a
am. He was such an incredible pianist and
residence in 2012, the youngest person to ever
change.org petition to get the decision
such a great role model,” Succar recalls of
hold the position.)
reversed. Today, though, he says that the
the renowned musician who taught at FIU
good that came out of the setback— including
from 1992 until his death in 2018. The others
says. “People might see me right now and
a positive response from older, seasoned
Succar remembers as “also amazing” include
think, ‘Damn, how did he get to the Latin
industry professionals who stepped up as
Orta’s brother, Nicky Orta, and several folks
Grammy thing so young, independently,
mentors—has him feeling as positive as ever.
still teaching at FIU.
with no labels, no investors? How is he the
“I think everything happens for a reason,”
Jazz percussion professor Rodolfo Zuniga
“That’s the moral of the story here,” Succar
producer of the year?’ I was just going step
he says. “My whole life has been a challenge,
’03, MA ’05 recalls instructing a talented and
by step and making sure I was heading in the
and every step of the way it’s been work
ambitious Succar back in the day. “A lot of
right direction.”
hard, you make it happen, you celebrate that
students come through the School of Music
moment and you keep going and conquer the
and some move on, but he was always very
next thing.”
committed,” Zuniga says. The older man
FIU as launchpad Overcoming challenges and then killing it pretty much sums up how Succar’s career unfolded at FIU. A high school soccer player
Ain’t no stoppin’ Succar has a full schedule for 2020. He has
remembers Succar’s willingness to work with
plans to drop an album in April or May even as
everyone and his determination to complete
he concentrates on his artistry as a performer
not one but two music degrees before going
by doing shows in Latin America and Europe.
on to hit it big. “It’s really hard to achieve what he has
“With me, you’re never going to be able to predict my next move,” he says. “There’s a big
with dreams of earning a sports scholarship,
achieved,” Zuniga, himself a two-time
band jazz album I’m finishing up. Maybe after
he had his application for admission flatly
alumnus of the school, says of Succar’s
that I'll go back to Michael Jackson, or the
denied: poor grades.
rising career. “I was surprised that it got
Beatles, or maybe do an ’80s tribute or maybe
off the ground as quickly as it did after he
I hook up with Bruno Mars and do an album
of soccer trophies to campus to speak with
graduated. But in reality, when I look back,
with him. You just gotta go with the flow and
the folks in charge. Dad wanted to explain
he was working, leading his own bands and
see where it takes you.”
that young Tony truly had spent all his time on
learning as much as he could with his family
the playing field—with great results—and now
since he was really young.”
He tells the story of his father taking a box
was ready to direct the same attention to his schoolwork. Problem is, no one was buying it. “It doesn’t work that way, sir,” Succar
Also on tap is educational work for the Latin Grammy Foundation and, one never knows,
With his musical parents supporting him
maybe more stops at FIU. Succar performed at
all the way—Mom sings in his Mixtura band,
TEDxFIU in 2012 and kicked off the university’s
and Dad manages his career—it’s no wonder
capital campaign in January of 2019, in
recalls the response to his father’s
Succar made his academic exit from FIU
addition to playing concerts in between those
entreaties. Ultimately, though, “He tried so
with a bang. In 2010, instead of holding his
years as part of the FIU Music Festival.
much he convinced them,” Succar says.
required graduate recital in the typical recital
The deal: Take an assessment test and
hall, capacity 30-40, Succar opted for the
the proud alumnus, “whenever I can help, for
summer course at Miami Dade College, do
campus concert hall, which holds 600 people.
me it’s an honor.” n
“I’m always going to be back for sure,” says
WINTER 2019-20 | 9
10 | FALL 2019
On human dignity An FIU nursing alumnus recalls his pioneering efforts to humanize AIDS care in the early 1980s
I
By Vanessa Vieites ’12, MS ’17 | Photo by Kim Kulish
n the 2019 documentary “5B,” FIU nursing alumnus Cliff Morrison ’74, MS ’76 recounts seeing a growing number of male patients withering away in the beds at San Francisco General Hospital, nary a visitor in sight. It was 1981, and an epidemic
of rare forms of pneumonia, tumors and other illnesses began to strike men in the prime of their lives. Soon after, the phrase “gay cancer” would appear in newspaper headlines across the nation, inciting a wave of public fear. The following year, public health officials began referring to the disease as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and researchers would soon discover the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes it. By then, some scientists and health care practitioners suspected that AIDS was a bloodborne—not an airborne—illness, and not something one could “catch” through casual contact. Still, fear of contracting it was so widespread that hospital staff, in efforts to avoid infection even by indirect contact, allowed food trays to pile up in hallways outside AIDS patients’ rooms and left those suffering from the disease to sit in soiled sheets. William Darrow, a professor of public health in FIU’s Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, back then worked for the Centers for Disease Control. He remembers well the alarm the epidemic set off among those coming into close contact with victims of the disease. “Initially, we didn’t know how easy or how difficult it was for whatever was causing [AIDS] to be spread, so we had to take caution,” he says. “But once the data started to come in, this disease looked more like a sexually transmitted disease to me. So I didn’t have fears, but lots of people did.” A clinical nurse specialist, Morrison saw how such fears impacted even the way doctors and nurses tended to the sick. The lack of feeling appalled him, and he felt there had to be a better way. “Somewhere in that time, I began to think, there are a number of people here who agree with me—nurses that I consider my allies, doctors of infectious diseases that I had worked with. So [I thought], maybe we should have an AIDS unit, but we should do it for different reasons,” recalled Morrison, who cautioned against simply sequestering patients to keep them out of sight, as some had earlier suggested. “Let’s do it so that we can consolidate the care,” Morrison appealed, “so that we can develop the expertise and develop a standard.” Continues WINTER 2019-20 | 11
Continued
their friends and family had abandoned
into their rooms without it,’ and I said, ‘No,
Funded by the city of San Francisco and
them. But this revolutionary care was not
this is our policy.’”
run by registered nurses, the unit provided
without pushback. A few nurses felt their
specialized care to AIDS patients. There
lives were at risk and that it was unjust for
these patients had much to do with the
was, however, one caveat: Nurses in 5B
the hospital to mandate that they not wear
deep-seated homophobia prevalent at the
were not allowed to wear any protective
protective medical equipment when face-to-
time. “People hated homosexuals and they
medical gear, including gloves, gowns or
face with AIDS patients. Fearing they would
felt like [they] shouldn’t have to provide care
masks, when talking to or treating patients.
contract the disease, a small group of nurses
to these people, and they would find every
If they weren’t able to cure these patients,
unsuccessfully sued Morrison in 1984.
excuse in the world not to do that.”
And so in 1983, ward 5B was born.
Morrison believes that the aversion to
Darrow, the FIU professor who worked at the CDC, agrees with Morrison’s
“My time at FIU really prepared me very well,” Morrison says of his education in devising treatment strategies. “My BSN helped me tremendously. I was able to reach back and think about what I had learned and apply it to help patients.”
assessment. “We have a long history of discrimination, stigmatization, treating people, particularly from vulnerable populations, very badly, and AIDS response is another case.” Morrison would go on to help administer the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation AIDS health services program in 12 cities around the United Sates, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale. He applied his expertise to replicating the standard of care he had established in California, which became known as the San Francisco Model.
Morrison as a young nurse
Looking back at the resistance he they could at least treat them humanely,
Having worked closely with researchers
encountered all those years ago, Morrison
at the University of California-San Francisco
says he never once questioned whether
and medical experts at San Francisco
the work was worth the repercussions,
working with that this is a disease that is
General Hospital, Morrison and others felt
and credits his upbringing as the root of
more geared to nursing than anything else
confident that the health and well-being
his compassion. “It was a combination
that we’ve ever seen because there isn’t
of his fellow nurses were not at serious
of things,” says the devout Catholic and
that much that medical science can do, but
risk, although that was not yet established
North Florida native, “the family values
there’s a lot that nurses can do,” Morrison
scientific fact.
that I was taught growing up, the fact that
Morrison thought. “I started saying to the nurses I was
said. “The most important thing we can do
“We provided education and training for
I grew up with a religious foundation. I
nurses, and most went along with that, but
went into nursing, and all of those things
there was a group who said, ‘Absolutely not.
complemented each other greatly. My work
Nurses embraced their patients, held their
We want to wear masks, gowns, gloves for
matched where I was as a person, and I
hands and even ate lunch with them when
everything that we do. We don’t want to go
stayed true to myself.” n
is to touch our patients.” Ward 5B was run with compassion.
12 | WINTER 2019-20
Students like Dessiree Gonzalez regularly engage with guest speakers on a variety of pressing global topics at the Green School’s public events.
Breaking ground, creating leaders The Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs is educating students and the public about world events as its reputation grows on the national stage By Gisela Valencia ’15, MA ’19 A history major asks the former Slovenian minister of defense
Republic visited the Green School to lead conversations about
about the current state of democracy in Eastern Europe.
democracy, security and foreign policy.
Students lean forward in their chairs as three attorneys general
The high-level and prolific programming—the school produces
from Latin America discuss transnational organized crime. A
more than 100 events annually—points back to the heart of its
group of undergraduates welcomes to class a former member
mission: equipping students to become the next generation
of the U.S. House of Representatives who will give feedback on
of leaders.
their policy research topics. Welcome to the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs.
“Our students are the future,” Green School Founding Dean John F. Stack Jr. explains. “They have this fire to succeed. They work hard to achieve their goals. We’re helping them get where they want to be. It’s our calling, our passion, to prepare these
Programming that builds leaders During the fall 2019 semester alone, Poland’s ambassador
students for the work they have ahead of them.” One way to do that is by allowing students to learn first-hand
to the United States, the secretary general of the Organization
from folks in whose footsteps they want to follow, whether a
of American States and the former president of the Dominican
guest speaker on campus or a member of the Green School’s Continues WINTER 2019-20 | 13
Continued
microphone during the question-and-answer period that concludes each session. “We’re very impressed with the quality of the Green School students and their questions, their thoughtfulness,” Davidson says. “In a time when there is a lot of cynicism in politics and world affairs, it’s refreshing to see young people who are engaged in these matters.”
Breadth and depth One reason students are fearlessly stepping up to the plate goes back to the education they’re receiving, an education that emphasizes finding solutions from a variety of angles. Groundbreaking on phase II of the Green School complex
Shlomi Dinar, associate dean of graduate studies and innovation, says the school
faculty, who represent nearly 40 countries and
human rights and labor. The event brings
has developed a curriculum that allows
whose ranks include a former president of
together some of the brightest minds on
students to draw connections among
Costa Rica as well as former U.S. government
subjects of national and transnational
diverse disciplines.
officials, among them a former U.S. deputy
importance, among them the heads of
assistant secretary of defense.
influential think tanks, current and former
“It requires us to look at it in a complex
elected officials and journalists from The
way. There are so many different aspects
New York Times and The Washington Post.
that explain a particular phenomenon, such
Creating conversations “The Green School is a shining star in the
“Leaders at this level have very intensive
“The world is complicated,” Dinar says.
as immigration or global poverty. To really
academic field,” says Volker Anding, a retired
discussions during this conference,” says
understand these topics, we have to look at
German ambassador and former German
Anding of the event, which is open to the
them from numerous perspectives.”
consul general in Miami.
community. “The Green School is offering
This dimension of the Green School struck
outstanding, educational and thought-
Steven J. Green, a global entrepreneur and
regularly attends public lectures presented
provoking seminars to the public. This is
former U.S. ambassador to Singapore. In
by the Green School. He is particularly
very important.”
2015 he, along with his wife Dorothea Green,
Anding now lives permanently in Miami and
impressed by its commitment to creating
The bimonthly magazine The American
daughter Kimberly Green and the Green
conversations in the community and prizes
Interest, which focuses on foreign policy,
Family Foundation, made a $20 million gift to
the school’s annual State of the World
international affairs, global economics and
the school.
conference, which focuses on global relations
military matters, has co-sponsored the
and U.S. foreign policy.
conference since its inception.
Presented for the first time in 2018, the
Publisher Charles Davidson says the
“To make a political difference, to make a social difference, you have to integrate many factors of lifestyle—health, safety,
conference is organized by Green School
highlight for him is meeting students, many
governance and laws,” said Green at the
Senior Fellow David J. Kramer, a former U.S.
of whom attend multiple panel discussions
time. “The School of International & Public
assistant secretary of state for democracy,
over the two days and line up at the
Affairs deals with the integration of these
14 | WINTER 2019-20
ideas and truly creates a platform for
They have also gone on to organizations
tomorrow’s leaders.”
such as the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch, the nonpartisan public
Interdisciplinary nature International relations sophomore Gabriella Roldos says the 360-degree approach is helping her become a well-rounded
policy think tank German Marshall Fund, the business organization Council of the Americas and the World Bank. Green School students are also among
In dangerous times, FIU’s strength shines More than 4,400 people in early January viewed a Facebook Live presentation by the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs that provided context and analysis of the
professional. Roldos, whose goal is to work in
the hundreds of FIU students who annually
foreign policy, participated in a trip to Israel,
intern in D.C. through the university’s
Jordan and Palestine through the Green
partnership with The Washington Center, an
School’s first study abroad program to the
independent non-profit that connects young
region. The experience fueled her desire to
people to experiential learning opportunities
fellow of the school and former U.S.
study Middle Eastern foreign policy and the
in the public, private and non-profit sectors.
assistant secretary of state for human rights,
Arab-Israeli conflict. She’s also interested in
unfolding situation in Iran following the U.S. killing of General Qasem Soleimani. Moderated by David J. Kramer, a senior
Alumnus Arthur “Danny” McGlynn MA
democracy and labor, the event brought
’98, currently the principal deputy assistant
together experts who discussed possible
secretary for the office of intelligence and
retaliation, impacts on the Iran nuclear
is that it offers the ability for me to study
analysis at the U.S. Department of Treasury,
deal and implications for the future of U.S.
everything,” she says. “It’s made so that you
says FIU gave him his start. McGlynn pursued
relations in the region. Faculty members
can integrate all of your classes.”
a master’s degree in international relations
diving into Holocaust history and the Cold War. “The great thing about the Green School
Adds Pedro D. Botta, senior director of
(the department of international relations
strategic initiatives at the Green School,
would eventually become one of several
“What makes the Green School unique is
departments brought together to create the
how it combines social sciences and the
new school of international and public affairs)
humanities. We embrace a holistic approach.
and has much to say about the faculty who
This sets us apart from other schools across
taught him, a number of whom remain at the
the country.”
school all these years later.
For example, a Polish theatrical group
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without
have since been called upon by local and national media to discuss the ongoing situation and long-term ramifications.
Full steam ahead The next goal for the school: to cement its position as a global leader by applying
visited campus in fall of 2019 to perform
FIU,” he says. “I learned more during those
for full membership in the Association of
renditions of renowned poet Zbigniew
two years than during any other time in my life.
Professional Schools of International Affairs
Herbert’s works. The Green School Gallery
I found the program to be very rigorous and
(FIU has been an affiliate since the 1990s).
also regularly hosts exhibitions featuring
the professors to be not only top-notch, but to
The organization comprises the world's
works that help uncover culture and
really care about the students. They pushed us
leading graduate schools of international
history, such as an exhibit showcasing the
really hard to make sure we got a grasp of the
affairs, among them the London School
endangered traditional arts of Afghanistan.
material, but also helped us think about our
of Economics, Columbia University,
futures and finding a path for ourselves.”
Georgetown, John Hopkins, Princeton
Success in the real world Students have landed internships and
McGlynn recalls seeking advice from his professors and meeting with them after class
and Yale. And that is just the start. In an era in which
graduates jobs within the federal government,
to discuss current events or his future, even
the need for well-educated, informed and
including at the Department of State, the
continuing those conversations in the homes
active citizens has never been greater, the
Department of Labor and the Agency for
of the mentors, many of whom remain a
Green School plans to keep breaking ground
International Development, among others.
source of support for him to this day.
in every way possible. n WINTER 2019-20 | 15
Unraveling the
CONNECTION between toxins & brain DISORDERS
By Eric Barton with Alexandra Pecharich
16 | WINTER 2019-20
FIU leads in linking environmental factors to the growing epidemics of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases
A
s a young assistant professor in the early
basis of the lead-induced impairment the
and after-school programs to the addition of
1980s at Johns Hopkins University’s
children had experienced. His laboratory
computers in the home.) As the study progressed, the results
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Tomás
would be among the first to describe lead as
R. Guilarte would often visit an affiliated clinic
an inhibitor of a critical brain receptor involved
exceeded expectations. “We showed the
to observe children undergoing therapy to
in learning and memory. His work then pivoted
learning deficits were reversed,” Guilarte
chemically remove lead from their bodies.
to looking for ways to overcome the problems
says of the progress made by subjects in
Many were from poor neighborhoods in
faced by youngsters exposed to lead at the
the test group. He soon came to recognize
Baltimore, and their exposure stemmed from
height of their brain development. It revolved
something the scientific community had largely
lead-based paint crumbling off the walls in
around a gene responsible for making a
failed to consider. While many recognized
their homes. The dwellings of the identified
protein called brain-derived neurotrophic
that environment could negatively impact
children were being remediated, but for the
factor, or BDNF. He investigated how to boost
neurological health, few seemed to understand
youngsters the damage was already done:
production of that protein using laboratory
that positive changes in physical surroundings
diminished memory and other cognitive
rats that his team exposed to lead and whose
could potentially improve the cognitive
problems that contributed to poor performance
learning deficits mimicked those of the
condition of sufferers. While today such a
in school. (Lead-based paints were banned for
affected youngsters.
statement might seem almost intuitive, the
use in housing in 1978.)
“What we found is that in the animals that
realization back then prompted new lines of
received enrichment, BDNF gene expression
study, among them groundbreaking work by
confirmed that the type of therapy the children
increased,” Guilarte says. “Enrichment” in
Guilarte himself.
had received, called chelation, successfully
this case was a high-quality environment,
The seasoned researcher joined FIU in
reduced the toxin levels in their bodies.
he explains. Whereas the control subjects
2016 as dean of the Robert Stempel College
Unfortunately, the study also reported that
lived in standard cages with only their basic
of Public Health and Social Work and quickly
it did nothing to reverse learning deficits
needs met, the test group lived in larger,
set about creating the Brain Behavior & the
or improve school performance. The latter
multiple-story cages with running wheels
Environment (BBE) program, a research
convinced Guilarte that new approaches were
and toys that were changed out regularly to
and educational center that looks at how
needed to help lead-poisoned children.
provide novel stimulation. (Translated into
environmental factors impact brain health. The
human terms, “enrichment” for affected
BBE is an emerging pre-eminent program at
children could mean everything from tutoring
FIU and it is the direct result of the vision of
Some years later, a national clinical study
Guilarte went on to perform research in which he identified the molecular and cellular
Continues
WINTER 2019-20 | 17
had been seeking—was formally identified, Richardson explains. That finding would go on to curtail interest in the environmental factors that lead to that particular neurodegenerative disease. The lingering bias toward the study of genetics over environmental factors has persisted—even with the 1980s findings associated with Parkinson’s and the lead poisoning Guilarte saw in young patients—and that’s what the BBE program is up against. Yet its mission makes perfect sense: Only about 5 percent of all cases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are the result of purely genetic mutations. The other 95 percent of cases are the result of environmental factors in Tomás R. Guilarte, center, with his research team in the BBE lab
combination with varying degrees of genetic factors. By understanding the contribution of environmental factors and genetics, the hope
Continued
FIU leadership to enhance science, research
crop dusters by standing in the field with flags.
and education throughout the university. Since
The latter often resulted in his getting a direct
the program’s inception, Guilarte and his team
hit of pesticide.
of experts—all of them lured to FIU by the
Today, Richardson has dedicated his career
promise of this unique endeavor—have more
to studying just how such toxins might affect
than $17 million in grant funding, primarily from
people’s health. His work, along with that of
the National Institutes of Health.
others on the team, has upended the way
Such substantial financial support drives home the growing need to examine both the
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are studied. For much of history, scientists believed
is to be able to identify those at risk early on and potentially intervene or prevent disease. And that’s exactly what Richardson and his team focus on: preventive science, figuring out what can be changed in our environment to decrease risk factors. “What we tell people is when you’re looking at complex diseases, they don’t have just one cause,” Richardson explains. “What we do here at FIU that is very different, and
causes as well as possible preventive and
that all neurological disorders had their basis
curative therapies for neurodegenerative
we’re probably one of the only places really
in genetics alone. That changed in the early
disorders: An estimated 44 million people
working on this in a multifaceted way, is look
1980s after a group of drug users showed
worldwide currently suffer from Alzheimer’s
at that in-between, that gene-by-environment
up to an ER in San Francisco with symptoms
disease or a related form of dementia;
interaction, because that’s where the action is.
similar to those of Parkinson’s disease, such
an estimated 7 million to 10 million have
Because there are multiple risk factors.”
as tremors and impaired balance. Months of
Parkinson’s disease.
When he says multiple risk factors,
study would confirm that neurotoxins in the
Richardson means both the lifestyle factors
chemicals they consumed had caused the loss
associated with an individual—such as quality
of dopamine neurons—the root of Parkinson’s.
of diet, participation in exercise, habits such
It was a watershed discovery.
as smoking and coffee drinking and even
Genetics versus the environment Among those who accepted Guilarte’s
“That moment got people thinking that maybe
education level—as well as those things over
invitation to do something big is Jason
it’s something in our environment that causes
which people often have less control, such as
Richardson. He was raised on a Mississippi
these types of diseases,” Richardson says.
chemical exposure.
farm that grew cotton, rice and soybeans. He
Yet the new revelation would soon be
When it comes to the last, Richardson
spent more than a dozen years in agricultural
ignored. In 1998 a specific gene associated
warns, there must be a balancing act. Not
work, in one capacity or another, even directing
with Parkinson’s—something researchers
every potential toxin can, or should be,
18 | WINTER 2019-20
A Case Study in Colombia
removed from use. Some pesticides make
neurotransmitter (dopamine) and often lose
possible the world’s ability to grow enough
efficacy over time—holds the promise of
food (or almost enough) to feed the masses.
preserving the function and integrity of cells.
program knows no boundaries, and its researchers
Others pose threats but have a good that
Measured scientist though he is, Tieu is
have several collaborations abroad. In the fall
outweighs the bad—such as the recognized
hopeful that he can identify a drug suitable for
of 2019, Tomás R. Guilarte, dean of the Robert
potential harm of the synthetic insecticide
a clinical trial by the conclusion of this project
Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work
DDT that nonetheless has saved millions of
in eight years.
and founder of the program, descended deep into
lives in its use as a way to control malaria. “Risk assessment has multiple
“Parkinson’s was discovered over 200 years ago and quite a bit of advances have
Work of the Brain, Behavior and the Environment
the Colombian valley of Antioquia, in hopes of solving one of the brain’s most troubling mysteries.
components,” says Richardson of the work of
been made over the last few decades, still
Two and a half hours north of Medellín is a
those in his field. “The hazard assessment is
not enough, but we are making progress,”
mining town called Yarumal, surrounded by lush
a component, but there is a risk-benefit ratio.
he says.
hills and home to a stunning baroque basilica
There’s two sides to everything.”
Seeking therapies for Parkinson’s
Studying the effects of phosphates Even as researchers seek to understand
that rises from the main square. It also has an unenviable claim to fame: It is home to more Alzheimer’s sufferers per capita than anywhere else on the planet. About 6,000 people there have the
the pathological mechanisms underlying
debilitating disease. For Guilarte and his team, the
on Parkinson’s, and his work has attracted
neurological disorders and to develop
population presents a research opportunity—and
millions in grant support, most recently $6.6
treatments, connecting the dots between
perhaps a chance to help—like no other.
million from the NIH.
environmental exposures and diseases such
Professor Kim Tieu is a leading expert
Tieu’s most high-profile work involves studying a protein that has potential to be a drug target for Parkinson’s. “By using genetic and pharmacological
as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s remains a fulltime pursuit. Associate Professor Jeremy W. Chambers has for years worked on the basic science
used in the United States today, including on Florida golf courses and crops. For many years, little federal funding and
approaches to reduce the function of
that supports much of the experimental work
few investigative efforts were dedicated
this protein, we have demonstrated our
done by colleagues within the BBE program
to discerning the broader effects of these
therapeutic strategy in experimental models of
and elsewhere. His is also a type of research
chemicals. But organophosphates have since
Parkinson’s,” Tieu says. “Our new grant from
that policy makers consider when making
been linked to millions of deaths by respiratory
the NIH will allow us to move this project one
decisions about public health.
failure and long-standing neurological effects.
step closer from bench to bedside.”
“We do the basic biochemistry and cell
Some organophosphates are outright banned
biology,” Chambers says. “How do neurons
in some countries, although still widely used
well as Tieu’s hunt for an existing medication
function? How do they die? And then we
in Asia as well as allowed in the United States,
that could stop the protein in its tracks. He
incorporate environmental agents and how
where they comprise roughly 30 percent
is seeking to repurpose an FDA-approved
they could be driving some of the mechanisms
of insecticide use. The U.S. Environmental
drug already on the market for some other
that we’re looking at to better understand
Protection Agency recently rescinded a
use that might also successfully counteract
toxicity and disease.”
proposed ban on the widely used pesticide
The NIH grant supports this research as
the protein. Tieu is collaborating with the
Recently, Chambers’ research has gone
Chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to
Scripps Research Institute-Florida, which
beyond that foundational science to the
has a sample library of tens of thousands
study of organophosphates, a class of
of FDA-approved drugs against which his
compounds that can cause detrimental
policy that makes Chambers’ work critical, he
team will screen for what he calls a “disease
neurological effects. Organophosphates
says. “Most of these concerns can be hashed
modifying therapy.”
were used in chemical weapons by Germany
out through a basic science understanding
neurological damage in children. It is the debate between science and public
in World War I and more recently in Russian
of how these compounds affect the function
available medications for Parkinson’s, which
counter-intelligence operations. They are
of our nervous system at the molecular level.
only replace the brain’s missing chemical
also found in roughly a third of pesticides
That’s the perspective that my lab brings.”
That form of treatment—unlike currently
Continues WINTER 2019-20 | 19
Recognizing Excellence FIU leaders have designated six standout programs as “preeminent.” Another seven with high potential are designated “emerging.” PREEMINENT Center for Children and Families A nationally regarded center revolutionizing treatments for childhood mental illness Extreme Events Institute A globally involved center for research, education and training in natural hazards and disaster risk reduction and management Global Forensic and Justice Center An innovative resource for education, research, training and policy initiatives related to criminal justice, cyber and emerging forensic sciences
Continued
The next generation The BBE program is ensuring that the trend in environmental-based brain research begun
who is still defining her own research project and values the examples of those around her. Despite his heavy research and
by Guilarte and his team will continue well into
administrative commitments as department
the future by preparing the scientists who will
chair, Tieu relishes the chance to teach
one day take over.
young people who will take up the mantle.
Students can pursue two different
“Information in the textbook is sometimes
specialized master’s tracks in Brain, Behavior
outdated,” he says. “There are things that stay
and the Environment available in addition to
the same, but when it comes to research for
a doctoral degree. Courses are devoted to
diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, the
topics such as environmental hazards and
field is moving quite rapidly. This is why we
neurotoxicology and include components
try to incorporate the latest technology and
of neuroanatomy and studies of behavioral
research into the classroom so students get
outcomes associated with toxin exposures.
access to the latest information.”
The big picture approach makes graduates
Institute for Resilient and Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure A multipronged hub dedicated to developing innovative, economical and sustainable engineering solutions related to aging infrastructure
ready to work in government health agencies,
practice, we want these students to be more
While millions currently suffering with illness
Institute of Environment A collaborative of FIU’s top centers and programs focused on issues related to water and environmental threats around the world
laboratory-oriented,” says Chambers, the
might not reap the full benefits of the work
researcher who is also director of the Ph.D.
happening today, the future for others will be
program. “Our students will have this unique
improved. And much of it thanks to FIU.
STEM Transformation Institute A multidisciplinary cooperative committed to improving educational practices that lead to more and better prepared professionals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
the next generation of neurological research.”
EMERGING PREEMINENT Brain, Behavior and the Environment Program Cybersecurity@FIU Health Inequities and Disparities Program Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center Translational Molecular Discoveries The Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab
beyondpossible.fiu.edu
20 | WINTER 2019-20
biotech and other industries, clinical jobs and academic research. “Instead of theory being the guiding
skill set that they will be able to leverage into Maribel Saad ’18 earned a bachelor’s
***** Solving the curse of neurodegenerative disease remains a painstaking process with potentially life-impacting consequences.
The BBE program has generated broad attention for the concentration of experts brought together around its mission and
of science in biology from FIU and now is
great excitement for what their research has
working toward a master’s in public health.
discovered. Pamela J. Lein, a professor of
The BBE track allows her to interact with
neurotoxicology in the School of Veterinary
front-line researchers.
Medicine at the University of California,
“For me personally, it has been very
Davis, labors in the same arena and
interesting and fascinating because I
welcomes the intentionality with which
have been able to hear first hand from
Tomás R. Guilarte has built his team.
top researchers about the work they have
“The work is complicated, and it requires a
been doing,” says Saad, who took the
lot of different levels of expertise,” she says.
required neurotoxicology course from Tieu,
“You need people who have expertise in
the well-funded Parkinson’s expert, who is
epidemiology, people who have expertise in
also her advisor.
animal models, biostatistics and toxicology.
“He has been talking a lot about [the latest
I think he really has succeeded in bringing
research] in class and discussed recent
together some of the best minds. I think
experiments. To be able to ask him questions
we’re all looking forward to seeing what the
about that subject is really helpful,” says Saad,
center comes up with.” n
FOCUS ON INNOVATION Professor Bilal El-Zahab with a prototype lithium battery
Full-speed ahead Multinational firm to commercialize new electric vehicle battery Researchers in the College of Engineering &
Set to commercialize the innovation is Lion
Beyond transportation, the batteries have
Computing have strapped themselves into
Battery Technologies Inc. The new venture
the potential for use in energy-grid storage—
the driver’s seat and entered the fast-evolving
was formed in 2019 by two multinational
saving the power that comes from sources
world of electric vehicle batteries. Professor
corporations specifically looking to bring the
such as wind, water and the sun during
Bilal El-Zahab and his team have a patent
FIU technology to market. The company jump-
peak production and releasing it during peak
pending on a high-density lithium model
started the researchers’ work with $3 million
demand—and even portable electronics.
that relies on platinum and related chemical
and has plans to manufacture a product for use
elements to boost energy storage.
in consumer vehicles in three years.
It is estimated that the FIU innovation could
As more electric vehicles hit the road,
“FIU is positioned perfectly to take advantage of this innovative technology to power the next energy innovation,”
triple the mileage between charging stops.
demand for high-performance batteries will
El-Zahab says. “We feel confident, especially
Current maximum mileage per charge for
only accelerate, and FIU is firmly at the wheel
as we are backed by industry partners that are
electric vehicle batteries is about 300 miles.
of the movement toward emissions-free energy.
well-recognized as visionaries in their fields.” n WINTER 2019-20 | 21
A voice for aspiring researchers A bit of luck and a lot of tenacity led one student to a unique program at FIU By Angela Nicoletti ’13, MS ’19 | Photo by Margarita Rentis ’17
S
tapled to a crowded bulletin board, a
scientists were studying the voracious insects
and was admitted to FIU and then applied for
flyer stood out: A nearby animal shelter
she knew as “comején.” She felt like she had
the CREST research assistantship that would
was seeking volunteers.
entered another world.
help launch her new career.
Since moving to South Florida and leaving
“Before then, I didn’t really know about
The combination of a stipend and
behind her family in Colombia, Angelica
biological research,” says Moncada, who was
numerous opportunities allowed her to grow
Moncada had felt her connection to nature
fascinated as she watched those around her
as a scientist. One of those opportunities
slipping away. Splitting her days between
working intently. “I didn’t know you could
was an NSF conference in Chicago exploring
a classroom at Broward College and a
make a career of such learning.”
research needs for populated coastal areas.
part-time job at a cafeteria, she thought that
Despite having no research experience, she
The conference organizers asked Moncada to
spending her free time with animals would
impressed the team and was offered a job as a
give a five-minute speech about her journey
reconnect her to nature.
lab technician. Because it was a paid position,
into science. As she stood on a stage in front
She dialed the number on the flyer. The
she was able to leave her job at the cafeteria.
of 200 scientists, Moncada couldn’t help but
phone rang. A woman answered. She didn’t
She remained in college and went on to earn
think, “They have nothing to learn from me.”
work at the animal shelter. She knew nothing
a bachelor’s in environmental science. She
Turns out, they had a lot to learn.
of the volunteer opportunity. Wrong number.
wanted to continue her education, but with
Moncada’s pursuit of a Ph.D. is unlike
The call should have ended there, but it didn’t. The woman told Moncada about an opening at a nearby termite research
limited resources, a graduate degree seemed
that of many people who were in the room,
out of reach.
but a common narrative for others like her.
Then Moncada heard about a National
Often, underrepresented minorities cannot
facility. It required a science background,
Science Foundation (NSF) program at FIU
afford the hiatus from paid employment that’s
and Moncada happened to be studying
that supports research opportunities for
typically required to complete a dissertation.
environmental science. Moncada—whose
underrepresented minority students. It was
As the nation tries to grow diversity within
first language was Spanish—had only one
available through the CREST Center for Aquatic
scientific ranks, Moncada contends the need
question: “What is a termite?”
Chemistry and the Environment in FIU’s
for financial support will only grow. So will the
Institute of Environment. So Moncada applied
need for more opportunities.
She toured the facility the next day where
22 | WINTER 2019-20
Jeff Schaeffer, then-editor in chief of a magazine for scientists working in the fisheries industry, was at that NSF conference that day. He invited her to write an essay as soon as she exited the stage. Moncada’s essay, What Does Diversity Require of Us?, appeared in the publication’s August 2019 issue. “I know many scientists who are dismayed about our inability to retain bright Hispanic students in STEM fields, but there was no
EDUCATING A NEW BREED OF SCIENTISTS Reflective of the community it serves, FIU has a history of turning out diverse alumni who are leaving a mark in STEM. More than 143
understanding of why we were losing them,”
undergraduates and 52 graduate students have
Schaeffer says. “Angelica’s presentation about
worked as research assistants at FIU’s CREST
why we lose them nailed it.”
Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment.
Today, Moncada is studying under Assefa Melesse, a professor of water resources engineering in the Department of Earth and Environment in FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education. Using remote sensing and modeling technology, she’s tracking water contaminants. Her ability to focus and get the job done has impressed Melesse. “She is consistent and
The center is a training ground for aspiring professionals studying in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, the College of Engineering & Computing and the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. NSF funding has supported minority students in their quest to earn degrees while amassing research experience.
persistent in setting goals and working toward them,” he says, citing the very qualities that have guided her throughout life thus far. n
WINTER 2019-20 | 23
From the
A new emphasis on student research Medical students can do it all. At FIU, they effect positive change through the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine’s nationally renowned NeighborhoodHELP program. The innovative service-learning initiative has the aspiring doctors interacting with the poor and uninsured in the local area to increase access to health care and improve outcomes—all this while taking demanding classes, participating in a host of extracurriculars and studying for exams late into the night. Now many of those same young people have set their sights on the laboratory. Dean Dr. Robert Sackstein has placed an increased emphasis on research at the 10-year-old college, and that includes encouraging more student involvement. “I want our students to get their feet wet in the quest for knowledge, to participate first-hand in the discovery process,” Sackstein says. “My hope is that such activities will have a lifelong impact on them, whatever field they choose to go into. It is an exciting endeavor and one I believe is critical to a well-rounded medical education. I would love each of them to have an understanding of biomedical innovation, and to feel the passion of translational research whereby basic science investigation is inspired by patient needs.” Helping make that happen is Charles Dimitroff. He spent two decades running his own labs at Harvard and the affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, helped establish research program in the field of Student Luis Ortiz, Executive Associate Dean for Research Charles Dimitroff and student Kelsea Grant 24 | WINTER 2019-20
cancer, dermatology and immunology and designed professional development and mentoring programs. Now he has arrived at
lab to the clinic
complements the medical school’s community-focused education FIU to serve as the college’s first executive
available fellowships in the labs of active
deeper and ask, ‘How is this really working?
associate dean for research, a role in which
researchers who welcome the much-needed
Is this going to really help my patient, or
he assists faculty with writing grant proposals,
assistance in what is a win-win collaboration:
should I go a different route?’’’
securing equipment and doing whatever
Projects move along in a timely fashion, and
else it takes to ensure smooth operation.
young people learn a host of new technical
grant-funded antibiotic project during the
(Notably, Dimitroff also runs his own lab, the
skills from seasoned professionals.
summer before he started his first-year
Translational Glycobiology Institute, which deals with the study of biological sugars.) And he recognizes the value of adding future doctors into the mix. “What a perfect immersion for someone
Impressively, Ortiz collaborated on the
medical courses at FIU. He had heard about
Getting a jump Already students have taken advantage of the chance to learn and contribute.
Sackstein’s and Dimitroff’s impending arrival and “how they made the conscious choice to come to FIU and get this program started.”
First-year student Luis Ortiz spent six
Part of a whole
who’s intellectually skilled and motivated
weeks working on campus with a team that
to work in the lab and work with patients
has developed a novel arsenic-containing,
and be involved in the NeighborhoodHELP
broad-spectrum antibiotic that holds
between her first and second year of medical
program all at once,” Dimitroff says. “It really
great promise. The advance has garnered
school investigating how to boost the
gives [students] the full scope of medical
international attention as one potential
effectiveness of certain types of chemotherapy
training, from where therapies and ideas
solution to the global public health threat
for breast cancer.
actually begin in the lab to proof of concept
posed by antibiotic resistance.
in the human being.”
“I wanted to be part of that new discovery,
Student Kelsea Grant spent the summer
“I think this research experience is making me think in a very innovative way,” she says.
of a new medication that could potentially
“It’s giving me these critical thinking skills, and
pre-clinical studies and using it one day to
help with this antibiotic crisis that we’re
it’s allowing me to be creative in medicine. It’s
predict, prevent, diagnose and treat disease
dealing with,” Ortiz says. Planning to
pushing me to think about things in different
in patients—is called translational medicine,
specialize in cardiology, he believes that time
ways and kind of explore what the future of
around which a new program and department
conducting research will pay off when he
medicine will look like.”
have been created. The belief that what
sees his own patients down the road.
That leap—taking what is learned in
happens in the lab should have impact in
“It’s very exciting because as technology
Grant adds that the research component is part of the larger landscape of opportunities
real-world health care drives Sackstein’s and
improves, we’re starting to work at a very
at FIU—which include activities such as
Dimitroff’s interest in growing the research
molecular level. To be able to translate the
staffing health fairs and screening the public
enterprise across the college and increasing
work into the general scope of medicine and
for diabetes to participating in medical service
student involvement.
help patients—well, being exposed to that
missions abroad—that lays open the full
early on really changes your perspective.”
array of professional possibilities available to
says, “understanding how basic science can
Ortiz says the experience will follow him into
doctors. There are many potential avenues for
give rise to a new therapy or a new approach
his practice.
young doctors beyond clinical medicine, she
“From an educational standpoint,” Dimitroff
for health care and patient management is
“Having that knowledge helps us choose
important. Just being involved in that type of
better treatments, helps us choose better
process is good.”
medicines. Not only am I going to question
To that end, Dimitroff counsels interested med students and makes them aware of
says, citing research, public health, medical advocacy and teaching among the options. “Trying to figure out what my future is going
pharmaceutical companies or treatment
to look like,” she says, “I’m grabbing every
plans at a broad level, I’ll be able to dive in
opportunity I can.” n WINTER 2019-20 | 25
BANDING 26 | WINTER 2019-20
By David Drucker ’18 tradition: conditioning. An hour before every
The FIU Marching Band in the fall of 2019 grew to 220 musicians and color guard members, the largest in its history. These Panthers are some of the most passionate fans on campus—and they’re getting everybody else revved up too!
practice, his section does push-ups, sit-ups, bicycle kicks and more. All 12 sections of the band have their own ways of bonding. The students who play the version of a French horn adapted for marching celebrate “Mellophone Mondays,” and dress up to a theme such as “pajamas” or “rainbow.” In the drum line, the students have sleepovers before early rehearsals.
At left, Barry Bernhardt leads the band on the road at the 2019 Camellia Bowl.
“I have no family or friends down here,” said Hope Burkett, a freshman marine biology major from Tennessee. “It was really hard for me. I came here to drum line camp, and immediately
When Barry Bernhardt was hired as the
In the middle of the 2019 football
university’s band director in 2010, he had
halftime show, the Panthers laid down their
more than 20 years of experience at schools
instruments for a dance break. The DJ flipped
across the country. At first, he tried to build
on some hip-hop, and the students whipped
the program in the same way he had at other
their arms, twerked their hips and got low.
universities, but to engage the students at FIU,
“I think it’s cool that they have this
everyone was super nice to me.” The students agree: Once you are welcomed into the band, you want to help it grow. Freshman Shane Starman remembers the first time he wanted to be a marching Panther. He was a senior in the band at Coral
he discovered, the Panthers needed their own
confidence,” said Jamil Sayih, a professional
Reef High when his school invited Bernhardt
music, dress code and style.
dancer who teaches choreography to the
to be a guest instructor. After working with
band. “They can be super upright and do
the ensemble, Bernhardt talked up the FIU
twist. I have to bring that Latin culture twist.
more military style, and then they can go and
marching band. Starman was interested and
I’ve got to be in that entertainment mode.
do stuff like Trick Daddy.”
applied to the university.
Creating a family
major, Starman wants to join Bernhardt the next
“I realized I have to bring that South Florida
I’ve got to do like Ultra. We’ve got to add electronics. We’ve got to do different stuff,” Bernhardt said. The band is different. Dressed in floral
Now a freshman and a music education To play the tuba, you have to be tough. The 50-pound brass instrument doesn’t
time he visits high schools to help him recruit. “I was sitting in their spot a year ago. And I
FIU shirts, khaki pants and gold caps, the
get any lighter while you are exhaling and
said, ‘You know what, I’m going to do this.’ It’s
Panthers look more prepared to take a
inhaling your entire lung capacity into a
been one of the best experiences of my life,”
stroll down South Beach than to march in a
mouthpiece. Add marching and dancing
Starman said.
halftime show. Don’t be fooled: This band can
throughout the process, and playing the
still throw its shoulders back and blast the
tuba qualifies as an athletic endeavor.
stadium with classic marching music—but the Panthers do a lot more too.
To prepare his section of tuba players, senior Alesandro Cafferata started a new
The marching band has successfully created a family. And once you have a family, you can create the traditions that a thriving school spirit is made of. n
TOGETHER
A close-knit group of more than 200 musicians is setting FIU spirit on fire WINTER 2019-20 | 27
Laying the foundation for success Civic-minded citizens raise scholarship funds, promote Biscayne Bay Campus By Gisela Valencia ’15, MA ’19 got responsibilities in their families. In a lot of cases, [getting the scholarship] means that instead of graduating in six years they can do it in four.” For Figueroa, it means being able to take a load off of her mother’s shoulders and pay for her school-related costs. “This scholarship is helping me reach my goals,” Figueroa says. “It’s a huge relief that these generous [donors] are helping me excel in my career. I feel very blessed. There are no words to express how grateful I am.” The council members don’t just donate their treasure. They also donate their Golden Gift First Generation Scholarship 2020 recipients Victoria Figueroa (in white) and Roxane Pedron are flanked by, from left, Vice President and Vice Provost of Regional and World Locations Pablo G. Ortiz, scholarship donor Marjorie Rosenblatt and BBC Vice Provost Council member Billy Joel.
V
time, providing students with expert-level feedback on resumes and advice on how to interview when recruiters come to campus. To forge stronger community ties for FIU, the
ictoria Figueroa grew up watching
seniors who are first in their family to attend
council members, most of whom live in the
her mom—a single parent originally
college and have a minimum grade point
vicinity of BBC, also promote the institution
average of 2.5.
and BBC in particular.
from Colombia—work three jobs while overcoming cancer. Her mother became
The scholarship program is led by the
“Our council members know exactly what
Figueroa’s inspiration and motivation, her
Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC) Vice Provost’s
the campus has to offer, which has expanded
reason to succeed.
Council, a group of community and business
remarkably over the last few years,” says
leaders committed to supporting the
Evans, a retired educator who serves as
from the moon and back,” Figueroa says.
campus. Their first effort netted $1 million for
chairman of the community services advisory
“I want to show my mom that her sacrifices
scholarships, and they are well on their way to
board of the City of Aventura. “They can speak
really paid off.”
exceeding that goal during their current effort.
knowledgeably about the university to the
“One day, I want to give her everything
The undergraduate psychology major
The group boasts an impressive array
outside world. They’re trying to help in any way at BBC to improve things for the students.”
plans to eventually earn a Ph.D. and work
of members who’ve forged their own paths
in hospitals assisting patients who have
to success, including current and former
psychological disorders. She also dreams
judges, attorneys, physicians, CEOs and
the university’s mission, vision and values,”
of making history as one of the first—if not
mayors. These individuals contribute to
says Pablo G. Ortiz, vice president and vice
the first—psychologist-astronaut conducting
the fund out of their own pockets and lead
provost for regional and world locations.
mental health evaluations and mediating
fundraising efforts among their extensive
“The council [members] are committed,
conflict during missions in space. The first
networks of colleagues and friends.
hardworking ambassadors who tell the
step: To earn her bachelor’s degree.
“It’s extremely rewarding,” says Jonathan
“The council’s efforts speak directly to
FIU story and advocate for BBC in our
Evans, chair of the council. “When you hear
community. The council’s commitment
the background of the students [who earn
to fundraising helps ensure that an FIU
the scholarship], it’s amazing. Some of them
education remains accessible for students
60 students who received the $5,000 award.
are working two or three jobs to make ends
whose means may be limited, but whose
The fund aims to help promising juniors and
meet as well as going to college. They’ve
talent and determination are limitless.” n
FIU’s Golden Gift First Generation Scholarship, she says, is helping her get there. This year, Figueroa was selected as one of
28 | WINTER 2019-20
The comeback of a lifetime Nearly killed in an accident at 19, one alumnus grew to positively impact everyone around him and now has inspired a College of Business endowment that will help many more
C
arlos Sabater ’81 lay broken in a
enthusiasm,” he says, “and it really began to
with financial support in addition to training
hospital bed some four decades ago,
bring the life back into me.”
opportunities that will cover various aspects of
just months before he was to start classes at
As an undergraduate, Sabater established
the industry as well as topics such as ethics, work-life balance and community involvement.
FIU. The summertime boating accident threw
an accounting lab in which dozens of students
him immediately into survival mode and would
gathered regularly to go over material. The
alter the course of his life forever. And all for
experience launched his lifelong dedication to
responsibilities, Sabater, who serves on the
the better, he says.
bringing up those around him, among them
FIU Foundation Board of Directors, has no
plenty of FIU graduates whom he hired over
plans to stop paying forward lessons learned,
terrifying ordeal that left him partially
the years at the accounting firm Deloitte &
experiences lived and help received.
paralyzed. “But at the same time, it was that
Touche, where he spent close to 40 years
moment when the cockiness and the I-have-
before retiring in 2019 as senior global partner.
“Yes, it was awful,” he recalls of the
arrived kind of mindset that I had, that I-don’t-
“I look back on my life, and I think a lot
Even as he leaves behind work
In a direct link to his darkest days, the father of two adult daughters has made a mission of helping young men free themselves
of my success has not been with what I’ve
from drug addiction. For decades his own
achieved but what I’ve actually been able to
debilitating pain was treated with opioids,
a blessing, he says. Doctors, family, friends,
help others achieve. I have mentored, from
which took him years to quit. Now Sabater
even another patient at the hospital offered
start to finish, people who are partners today
serves as a rock to dozens of others in various
support to get him through a dozen surgeries
at Deloitte from all around the world,” says the
stages of sobriety. It’s a 24/7 commitment that
over 14 months. Once at FIU, the wheelchair-
man who in his last position oversaw nearly
has him answering calls in the middle of the
bound Sabater remembers shakily starting the
100,000 employees in 28 countries. “I would
night and meeting almost daily with individuals
accounting degree that would eventually see
recruit someone and I would stick by your side
he hopes will overcome their challenges.
him through a remarkable career.
and help see you through,” says Sabater, who
“I want to freely give what was freely given
himself continued to take advice from mentors
to me,” Sabater says. “Everything is a gift from
throughout his career.
someone else, and I’m ready to hand it over.”
need-anybody sort of style, just evaporated.” Learning to rely on others turned out to be
“Physically, I wasn’t doing very well,” says the man, fit and fully ambulatory today. But the chance to make a difference in
That spirit of selflessness came full circle
That kind of thinking, Sabater explains,
others’ lives, just as so many had in his, soon
when friends, family and colleagues surprised
took hold as he lay in a hospital bed so long
forced a turnaround. He began serving as a
Sabater at a retirement party in his honor.
ago and realized how much he would need
In a celebration of his legacy as a leader
from everyone around him to succeed. It has
he had previously aced, and he delighted in
and mentor, the group together invested $1
informed his every move since then. “If I had
answering students’ questions and showing
million to establish an endowment in his name.
to come back and be reborn,” he says, “as
them how to navigate assignments. “This
The Deloitte Foundation-Sabater Scholars
difficult as it would be, I’d say, ‘Please, don’t
began to give me so much energy and
Program will provide FIU business students
change a thing.’” n
teaching assistant in an accounting course
WINTER 2019-20 | 29
CLASS NOTES 1980s
2000s Christina Simoniello ’88
won the first place Gulf Guardian award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Division. She earned the award for her work with the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association to improve water quality, habitat and environmental education in the gulf.
Robert “Bob” Baer Sr. ’89 began his career in the family business in 1985. Today he is president of management and development at the company, Central Civil, formerly known as Central Florida Equipment. He directs Central Civil's partnerships with industry leaders as well as its business development and client relations efforts, which have helped position it as one of the most experienced construction companies working on significant downtown Miami projects.
1990s Vicky Lowell ’97 founded Empowered Worth, a Miamibased financial education platform designed for women by women. She is also the author of the book Empower Your Worth: A Woman’s Guide to Increasing Self-Worth and Net Worth. Empowered Worth’s financial education programs offer a comprehensive curriculum that can be accessed virtually or in person. In addition, members can work alongside a financial coach to navigate through a financial crisis, financial apathy and more.
John Kolaski ’99 brought to life an innovative food hall called SocialEats in Santa Monica, California. The dynamic food hall features eateries from celebrity chefs Graham Elliot and David Chang as well as "Top Chef" season 6 finalists Michael and Bryan Voltaggio. Kolaski is the CEO of Los Angeles-based K2 Restaurants, a hospitality management group.
30 | WINTER 2019-20
Vivek Raghunathan MS ’08 is a Lili Betancourt Space MS ’00 was recently named
director of development for CasaCuba, FIU’s center to foster global understanding of Cuban affairs and culture through education, research, discussion and the arts. “As a first-generation CubanAmerican, a lifetime Miami resident and an FIU alumna,” Space said, “I feel privileged to be a part of the team that is working to bring this idea to life.”
Carlos E. Blanco ’00 was promoted to systems engineering manager for Airplane Level Engineering Integration group at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. He is the Boeing nominee for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ Technical Achievement and Recognition (STAR) Award for Community Service.
Marjorie N. Blanco ’00 received a Boeing Meritorious Invention Disclosure Award for her work on the Input Recommender System for Scalable Feed Forward Process Models use for Fabricating Products. She is a process engineer for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. She also recently earned a second master’s degree in business analytics at Seattle University.
Juan A. FernandezBarquin ’05, who is the state representative for Florida House District 119, has joined the Miami office of law firm Genovese Joblove & Battista. His areas of focus include commercial litigation, real estate litigation and real estate transactions.
Monet Elizabeth Davis ’06 married Anthony J. Sanders in August 2019. The couple resides in St. Louis, Missouri. Monet, who has since taken her husband’s last name, is employed with the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters' Regional Council benefits office, and her husband is a financial services professional with Mass Mutual.
co-founder and chief technology officer of Success4, a Silicon Valley startup in customer success management that works with hightech enterprise companies around the country. He has been an engineering leader for the past 12 years at companies such as Juniper Networks, Kno, Intel and Togg.
Gregory Boulos ’09, an attorney at Carlton Fields, is serving as a Miami City Lead for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) during 2019-2020. LCLD is a premier national organization that provides opportunities for women and minority counsel to connect with other women and minority law firm partners and senior associates through its Fellows and Pathfinder programs. Boulos will coordinate strategic initiatives, programming and activities on behalf of the Fellows and Pathfinder alumni community in Miami.
2010s William Pate MPH ’11 was appointed to the Texas Radiation Advisory Board, which advises the state on radiation issues and reviews the rules, policies and programs of state agencies that regulate radiation. Pate is the radiation safety officer for the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Christina Sternitzke ’11, MPAS ’17 is working in outpatient psychiatry at Denver Wellness Associates. She recently collaborated with others to initiate a school safety pilot program in Denver. The focus of the program is to create a selective process for government funded initial consultations for mentally distressed adolescents, directly from the school environment.
Luis A. Valdez-Jimenez ’11 received the Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award from the Hartford Business Journal for his community leadership and nonprofit service. Valdez-Jimenez is a contracts manager at Pratt & Whitney, an American aerospace manufacturer based in East
Hartford, Connecticut. He regularly volunteers through the United Way and gives back to the Hispanic community, serving as executive vice president of the Connecticut Chapter of Prospanica. He is also a member of the board of directors of 360 Federal Credit Union.
Ryan Benson MBA ’12, principal with A. Vernon Allen Builder, has been appointed to the board of directors for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation by Governor Ron DeSantis. The organization works with local governments, nonprofits, elected officials and others to build awareness of the importance of affordable housing in Florida’s communities. Benson was also elected area vice president for the Florida Home Builders Association and selected to join the construction industry advisory board for Florida Gulf Coast University’s U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering. Luis Masieri ’13 has been working at Microsoft full-time since he graduated from FIU. He also regularly returns to the university to recruit students to come work at Microsoft. He recently was recognized during Hispanic Heritage month for the work he has been doing to build community within and outside of the company. His goal is to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity both inside and outside of the workplace.
Paola Bayron ’15 won an EMMY as a producer for outstanding investigative journalism in Spanish for her story “Muerto Río Arriba” (Death up the River). She is a lead assignment editor for Univision Network and Fusion’s English Newscast UNews. Elizabeth Lytle ’17 was promoted to communications strategist at Curley & Pynn Public Relations Management— The Strategic Firm. In her new role, she will manage strategic communications initiatives for Florida’s leading brands.
ALUMNI SHARE INSIGHTS: Tiffany Morton MS ’13, center, in white, is the assistant athletic trainer for the Kansas City Chiefs. When the team came to town for Super Bowl LIV, she gathered on campus with students in the athletic training master’s program to dispense professional advice and a dose of inspiration. (And she brought along Rick Burkholder, seated left, the Chief’s head athletic trainer, who actively recruits from FIU.) The following week, another 500 FIU graduates (half of them in person, the rest online) participated in Panther Alumni Week, a series of classroom meetings, virtual interactions and networking events that connect students with folks who are making a difference in the real world.
In Memoriam Patrick “Chip” Cassidy ’75 was a world-renowned wine expert who dedicated himself to sharing his passion with his students. Professor Chip, as his students called him, was the director of the wine program at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the driving force behind its success. The beloved teacher took his students to wine dinners at local restaurants and on tours to California and Spain to teach them about food and wine pairing. He also arranged student internships in Napa Valley and abroad, and helped them find jobs through his own contacts. Cassidy was a U.S. army veteran who served as a combat medic during the Vietnam War and earned two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart for his distinguished service. To honor Cassidy’s life and legacy, the Chaplin School has established the Chip Cassidy Distinguished Professorship Endowment, which will ensure the continuation of the Chaplin School’s wine program.
Arthur Heise joined FIU in 1973 after a varied career as an executive officer at the library of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a reporter at the Buffalo Evening News and a journalist with the Associated Press. At FIU he established a program to teach journalism in Latin America, for which he secured an $18 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. He was appointed founding dean of FIU’s journalism school in 1991 and was most proud to see six of his students go on to win Pulitzer Prizes. He retired in 2004.
Moses Shumow, former associate professor in the Department of Journalism + Media passed away in 2019. He spent over a decade in documentary film production and worked to create nationally broadcast programming for channels such as the Discovery Channel, PBS and National Geographic. During his time at FIU, he was involved in various community projects including climate gentrification and community resilience in Miami, where he documented the rich history of Liberty City. He developed a community storytelling class in Liberty Square and went on to direct a 30-minute documentary on the community, which was screened in multiple venues across Miami and in Boston. His work was officially selected for the 2018 Urban Film Festival and gathered over 40,000 views on YouTube. He had a profound impact on his colleagues and students and was a passionate and dedicated educator and journalist. He left FIU in May of 2019 and had begun his appointment as a journalism professor at his alma mater, Emerson College, at the time of his passing.
Share your news with us: Submit a class note at Magazine.fiu.edu/classnote
WINTER 2019-20 | 31
VIP:
Very Important Panther
Pat
Bradley
’74 The most successful woman athlete in FIU history looks back on a life well played By Alexandra Pecharich
F
IU opened in the nick of time for Pat Bradley. The Boston native in 1972
had just earned an associate’s degree from Miami Dade College and began scouting universities in warm places as part of her plan to become a professional golfer. At the time, FIU had only just welcomed its first students, and Bradley knew nothing about the school nor any sports it might have. So she headed west to Arizona only to find herself miserable. “Being a new Englander, I had a hard time adjusting,” recalls the outdoorswoman, who says the dry desert landscape left her wanting. “I see the beauty now,”
adds Bradley, who today divides her time between homes there and in Massachusetts, but back then the absence of lush greenery was a deal-breaker. “I lasted one semester.” Unhappy and lost—in part because the golf program she had entered lacked organization—Bradley did what any young athlete would: She called her old college coach. It was Mary Daegert who offered news that would change Bradley’s life forever. “There’s a brand new school opening up in Miami off the Tamiami Trail,” Bradley remembers Daegert telling her and her parents 32 | WINTER 2019-20
as they together sought her advice. “It might
was off and running. I knew that things were
be the perfect place for Pat.”
going to be OK.”
Four decades and a storied career
Triumph after triumph followed, and in 1986
later, those fateful words have proved
Bradley rose to the very top. She won three
profoundly true.
of the four LPGA majors (narrowly missing the
“I have to say it was one of the greatest
grand slam), earned more than anyone else on
moments of my life,” she says of contacting
the women’s tour and took Player of the Year
FIU. There she met her “guardian angel”—
honors along with other major recognitions.
the late Judy Blucker, a founding faculty
Then it all came crashing down.
member and future administrator who made
“After having such a good year, as an
championing women’s sports a personal
athlete you want to validate that great year by
mission. (A former athlete and coach, Blucker
continuing it,” Bradley says. Instead, “I was
saw FIU open its doors with a handful of
struggling desperately.” She qualified for fewer
intercollegiate men’s sports and vowed to
tournaments, her earnings plummeted and her
launch the same for women, even coaching
health faltered. “I was struggling desperately.”
the inaugural volleyball and softball teams.) And out of Bradley’s first campus visit
She chalked up her physical problems— tremors, hair loss, a soaring heart rate—to
came great news about golf: “There was a
anxiety and a fear of failing after so much
team!” she says. “I was it!”
success. “A lot of these symptoms, I thought
In 1986 Bradley won three of the four LPGA majors (narrowly missing the grand slam), earned more than anyone else on the women’s tour and took Player of the Year honors. Then it all came crashing down.
I was creating myself,” she says. When her
a mutual admiration society. She lauds the
passed away in 2019, to once again serve
mother expressed concern, Bradley told her,
athletic talents and near-perfect grade point
as Bradley’s coach, and the whirlwind began
“All I need is one top-five [win], and I’ll be right
averages of the team he has recruited. He
as the physical education major juggled
back where I was.” But it was not meant to be.
praises her exceptional achievement as a
coursework with competitions around the
“The more I tried, the worse it got,” she says
true pioneer and appreciates her continued
state. Within a season, she earned All-
of those dark days. Finally, she called a doctor
support of FIU.
America honors, the first FIU student-athlete
friend who gave her a blood test. Diagnosis:
The university hired Daegert, who
to do so. She completed her required student teaching at a local school in between
Grave’s disease. Treatment for the thyroid disorder sidelined
When FIU heads every March to play in Arizona, Bradley comes out to the course to watch and later meets the team for dinner. In
qualifying for the Ladies Professional Golf
Bradley for three months (she continues to
1988 she started a scholarship endowment at
Association, which held its tour school in
take daily medication related to the issue), and
FIU and has since made additional financial
South Florida.
she eventually returned to top form. In 1992
contributions, a number of which have made
she was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame
possible a practice facility at MMC.
Bradley’s career took off so rapidly that she accepted her 1974 diploma by mail and
with 31 wins on the tour, among them six
only in 1982 returned to formally participate in
major championships.
a commencement ceremony at the invitation
Sports psychologist Bob Rotella wrote in
In 2020 FIU will host the 43rd annual Pat Bradley Invitational, a nod to FIU’s greatest woman athlete. Retired since 1995, the lady has
of the university. In between those years, she
his 1996 book, Golf Is a Game of Confidence,
won her first two LPGA major championships
that Bradley was the most mentally tough
maintained her game with charity and
as well as several other LPGA events.
athlete he knew. FIU golf coach Joe Vogel
corporate tournaments. She also occasionally
believes that.
hits the links with nephew Keegan Bradley, a
“The first year, I made $10,000 and I kind of broke even,” recalls Bradley, who says the
“Pat was not the longest hitter on tour, not
professional on the PGA circuit. When the younger Bradley asked the older,
four-year degree was backup insurance in
the most physical person on tour, but it was
case her sports career did not take off. She
really her competitiveness,” says Vogel, who
now 68, how she manages to stay so upbeat,
made ends meet by traveling to competitions
believes Bradley’s growing up as the only girl
she gave him the advice that has sustained
by car and staying in private homes. “My
with five brothers instilled in her a certain drive.
her since she consciously chose to pursue the
second year, I won $28,000 and was able
“I mean, if it was her and a lion on the line, I’d
game of golf at age 11: “You’ve got to believe
to bank a little bit,” she says. “And then
be picking her.”
in yourself.”
the third year, I won $87,000 and I basically
These days Bradley and Vogel belong to
Thankfully, so did a very young FIU. n WINTER 2019-20 | 33
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LEARNING A POWERFUL HISTORY: On the day before FIU played a football bowl game there in December, more than 50 FIU students participated in a university-sponsored civil rights tour in Montgomery, Alabama. Among the stops were visits to the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, from which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. organized the Montgomery bus boycott and where docent Wanda Howard, in red, joyfully welcomed the group. Photo by Carl-Frederick Francois ’16, MS ’17
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