Arts & Sciences Magazine Fall 2012

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Taking Flight: The year of the Humanities and the Arts

2012

dean’smessage The College of Arts and Sciences is the product of a long and distinguished history of higher education that started with the Academy of Plato and assumed its present form at the University of Bologna in the Middle Ages. Today, our college continues practicing the centuries-old, essential foundation of teaching—a collegial faculty directly engaged with its students.

Leonidas G. Bachas Dean of the UM College of Arts and Sciences

Make a difference Your gifts to the Momentum2 campaign help the college attract and retain leading faculty. Visit miami.edu/momentum2 or scan this QR code with your smartphone to find out how your contributions elevate research and faculty development.

Because students’ understanding does not descend deus ex machina in a download from “the cloud,” the development of critical thinking skills requires more than a well-organized syllabus. Rather, learning requires active exchange among scholars and students.

The core of higher education is seasoned minds challenging fresh minds—and vice versa. This method, practiced by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, remains the best way to develop analytical skills, expand the limits of creativity, and form new ideas.

The College of Arts and Sciences, home to many of UM’s top-ranked programs, is charged with enabling new generation of students to question conventional assumptions and to innovate throughout their lives and careers. In our classrooms, students redefine their worldviews while tackling critical challenges of science and society. Through individual discussions, experiments, and guided study, our faculty instill the value of inquiry, reinforce the standards of rigorous and thorough investigation, and nourish intellectual pursuits. We rely on the skills, leadership, and knowledge of our faculty to drive students toward discovery.

Research is our creative capital, producing our most important ideas and technologies. In the College of Arts and

Sciences, we encourage students to play a critical role, beyond the classroom, in inventing and testing new hypotheses through critical research. For example, current faculty are guiding students to explore population migration, investigate health issues (including autism and genetic disabilities), observe and analyze living proteins at work, generate the next wave of artificial intelligence, reassess the impacts of women’s writing through history, and create new works of art.

To build on our recent academic successes, we must continue to foster one-on-one relationships among students and faculty. The College welcomes 12 new tenure-track faculty members, who join over 400 colleagues charged with the twin missions of teaching and research.

The new faculty’s work spans diverse disciplines, including Caribbean literature, Chinese culture, neuroscience, Islamic culture, and nanotechnology. These scholars will uphold our standards of individualized education and strengthen our pursuit of academic excellence.

Today, as in classical Athens or medieval Bologna, the development of young minds requires the guidance of talented and dedicated mentors.

The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences is committed to this tradition as we prepare a new generation of leaders.

fall 2012 Volumethirteen | Issueone

College of Arts and Sciences

Dean Leonidas G. Bachas Senior Associate Deans Traci Ardren Angel Kaifer Daniel L. Pals Associate Deans Rita L. Deutsch Charles Mallery Assistant Deans Jennifer Lewis Athena Sanders

Editorial

Editor Rebekah Monson Contributing Editor Steven J. Marcus Design and Illustration Christina Ullman & Alix Northrup, Ullman Design Photographers Rebekah Monson Byron Maldonado Contributors Kefryn Reese

Advancement

Assistant Dean of Advancement Holly Davis Director of Development Jeanne Luis Assistant Director of Advancement Jacky Donate

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contents features 12 | Taking Flight: Year-long celebration highlights the importance of the humanities and the arts.

16 | Going for Gold: A&S Olympians strive for success in athletics and academics

18 | Political Insiders: Media stars, campaign

departments 2 | News Briefs 6 | Class Spotlight 10

| Comings & Goings

20 | Tracking Hurricanes

Arts & Sciences is produced in the fall and spring by the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami.

Through the magazine, we seek to increase awareness of the College’s activities by telling the stories of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Send comments, requests for permission to reprint material, requests for extra copies, and change of address notification to: Arts & Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, P.O. Box 248004, Coral Gables, FL 33124-4620. Telephone: (305) 284-3874. All contents Š 2012, University of Miami. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Visit the College of Art and Sciences on the web: http://www.as.miami.edu/.

Past issues of the magazine are available at http://www.as.miami.edu/magazine/archive.

consultants and expert analysts help students study 2012 election in real-time. arts | sciences

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newsbriefs

President Donna Shalala meets UM’s Goldwater scholarship honorees, from left, Christine Chesley, Christopher Sanchez, Ian Ergui, Juan Pablo Ruiz.

A&S students named Goldwater Scholars Three students at the College of Arts and Sciences were awarded the highly competitive 2012 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

Juan Pablo Ruiz, Christopher Sanchez, and Ian Ergui were named Goldwater Scholars, and Christine Chesley received honorable mention. The University of Miami has already recognized all four honorees as undergraduate research fellows or as recipients of other scholarships.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program permits each U.S. university to nominate four sophomores or juniors majoring in mathematics, science, or engineering for the award. Only 300 Goldwater Scholarships are awarded annually.

Juan Pablo Ruiz, a double major in English and biomedical engineering, has been conducting research at the UM Tissue Engineering Lab on the effects of aging and smoking on adult human stem cells; he also participated in a very selective research internship at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Ruiz plans to continue doing research in stem cells and tissue engineering as he works toward a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. “This recognition [the Goldwater Photo: Byron Maldonado

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Scholarship] inspires me to be a better scientist on a day-to-day basis in the lab as well as in the classroom; to better synthesize the information that I get; and to apply it in novel ways,” he said.

Christopher Sanchez, a double major in anthropology and ecosystem science and policy, is conducting research on the complex ecological linkages between people and the urban environment. His past work that associated fossils of novel organisms with hydraulic conditions in the Everglades led to a greater understanding of the environmental history of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research sites. His research has been published in the Journal of Paleolimnology.

Ian Ergui, a biology major, has been researching since 2011 the epigenetic effects of cocaine use on mouse brains’ striatum cells. He has pursued this effort, at the Miller School of Medicine’s Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, under the mentorship of Dr. Juan Young. “Addiction studies such as the one I am working on give people hope for a better future,” he said. Ergui plans to start a company dedicated to creating genetically modified organisms for use in medicine and industry.

Christine Chesley, a geological science and marine science major, assisted with the installation of a new continuous Global Positioning System in Panama as part of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience in Solid Earth Sciences for Students program.

She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics, focusing on the role of earthquakes in volcanic eruptions.

Arboretum launches smart-phone tour

Andrew szarejko Political science and international studies junior

A&S student receives Critical Language Scholarship Andrew Szarejko, a junior majoring in political science and international studies, has been awarded the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). He will use the scholarship to continue his studies in Turkish.

“I am very excited that I have the opportunity to return to Turkey and continue learning about its language, culture, and politics,” said Szarejko, who studied abroad in Istanbul in 2011. Szarejko aspires to graduate work in Middle Eastern studies or international relations and an eventual career in government.

Szarejko learned Turkish through the college’s Directed Independent Language Study program, which helps students learn a new language with instructional materials and guided study with a native speaker.

The CLS—a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers and American Councils for International Education—supports intensive overseas study in language and culture. It is one of the most competitive scholarship programs in the United States; in 2012, 631 scholarship recipients were selected from among more than 5,200 applicants.

Did you know that during a quick stroll on the Coral Gables campus you can see trees that evolved before dinosaurs did, find out why mangoes may make you itch, or learn what native plants attract butterflies? The John C. Gifford Arboretum, a unit of the Department of Biology, now offers a smartphone tour to help patrons identify and learn about the plants in its collection.

Visitors can scan QR codes on selected information signs with their web-enabled smartphones to find additional information about exhibits and individual plants. Popular-fruit and palm trees, native plants, and rare tree specimens are included in the tour, which will be expanded throughout the season.

“The smart-phone tour will help the public and members of the university community put our extensive collection to use whether they’re studying biology or looking for new ideas for the garden,” said Stephen D. Pearson, director of the arboretum.

Founded in 1947, the Gifford Arboretum is home to more than 200 species of trees as well as to a variety of birds and butterflies.

The arboretum hosts a variety of tours, horticultural workshops, and seminars as well as plant sales and an annual lecture by a celebrated biologist.

The Arboretum The Gifford Arboretum hosts a variety of tours, horticultural workshops, and seminars as well as plant sales and an annual lecture by a celebrated biologist. To learn more about its events or to support the arboretum, visit www.bio.miami.edu/arboretum or scan this QR code with your smartphone.

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newsbriefs

Ch e m i s t ry | P s y c h o l o g y | b i o l o g y | i n t e r n at i o n a l s t u d i e s | NEU R OSCIENCE

A&S students awarded Fulbright grants

Jethro Cessant (BBA ’12, International Finance and

Six College of Arts and Sciences students were awarded prestigious Fulbright grants for international study in 2012–2013.

Leah Danville (AB ’12, Public Relations, History) will teach

Marketing, Psychology) will work as a marketing intern in Seoul and teach English at a South Korean high school.

The Fulbright program is one of the most competitive merit-based awards in the world, providing scholarships for students to study, do research, and work abroad. Many Fulbright alumni go on to earn the top honors in their fields, including the Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize. The college’s new crop of Fulbright recipients are:

Fulbright recipients were honored at the University’s prestigious awards luncheon. Shown at the luncheon are Jessica Zucker and Kady Woods, Jethro Cessant, Stephanie Ruíz and Instructor Mark Mansfield, Assistant Professor Shannon Campbell and Leah Danville, right.

English to children in Malaysia while learning about the country’s and its neighbors’ history, language, and culture.

Stephanie Ruiz (AB ’12, International Studies, Political Science) will teach English to high-school students in Turkey and study Turkish language and culture.

Jill Ulrich (AB ’11, International Studies) will perform research, in a leading parasitology lab in Heidelberg, Germany, on genes that counteract the effects of antimalarial drugs.

Carolyn Zimmerman (Ph.D. candidate in History) will conduct research in Italy for her dissertation, “Defeat, Civic Values, and the Intronati of Siena after 1555.”

Jessica Zucker (AB ’12, Political Science) will teach English to high-school students in rural South Korea, participate in youth-diplomacy programs at the U.S. embassy in Seoul, and study the Korean language and culture.

BOOKMARKS “If You Were Only White:” The Life of Leroy “Satchel” Paige

History professor Donald Spivey’s gripping new biography of Leroy “Satchel” Paige, published by the University of Missouri Press, depicts Paige not only to have been a blazing fastball pitcher but also one of the greatest athletes of all time. “If You Were Only White” details Paige’s tests and triumphs in baseball, recounts the challenges he faced in battling racism and segregation, and opens up Paige’s private life.

The book introduces readers to the man who extended his social, cultural, and political reach well beyond the limitations of his humble origin.

The Meaning of Disgust

Philosophy professor Colin McGinn sets out to analyze a fascinating but neglected subject— disgust—by arguing that nothing less than life and death are implicit in its meaning. Disgust is an emotion that reflects the human attitude about the biological world, McGinn writes, and it is also an emotion we strive to repress.

Disgust may have arisen as a method of curbing voracious human desires, he suggests, which itself results from our powerful imaginations. In effect, The Meaning of Disgust, published by the Oxford University Press, attempts to depict the human condition.

Scan this QR code basic with your smartphone or visit bit.ly/xjXvVE

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The neuroscience building is scheduled to open in spring of 2013.

UM breaks ground for new neuroscience building “The research programs in the facility will contribute to this effort by studying model systems in animals and correlate human behavior with functional changes in different regions of the brain.”

Tom LeBlanc UM Provost

Administrators, faculty, students, and alumni gathered at a ceremonial groundbreaking in April for a facility expected to launch a new era for collaborative research in neuroscience at the University of Miami. “The building marks the university’s and the college’s commitment to advancing this important field,” said Leonidas Bachas, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Strategically located next to the Cox Science Center on UM’s Coral Gables campus, the new 37,700-squarefoot neuroscience building should create an interactive hub for interdisciplinary research based on neurological imaging. Scientists from the college’s biology and psychology departments will collaborate

Actors Alchemy — Finding the Gold in the Script

A new book by Bruce Miller, associate professor of theatre arts, examines the relationship between the script and what an actor ultimately does on the stage or on screen.

In Actor’s Alchemy: Finding the Gold in the Script (published by Hal Leonard), Miller offers a guide that helps actors use their scripts analytically in order to solve the problems of a scene and bring elusive characters to life. In learning how to decipher the script, actors will be equipped to make the choices that lead to solid performances.

State-of-the-art facility promises a bright future for neuroscience research in South Florida. with faculty from the Miller School of Medicine in this advanced facility, which will house functional magnetic resonance imaging equipment and a photon-based microscope that allows scientists to observe the workings of proteins in living organisms.

UM neuroscientists will study how molecular changes in the nervous system relate to behavior and they will analyze molecular patterns to help predict successful treatment of neurological diseases. “The research programs in the facility will contribute to this effort by studying model systems in animals and correlating functional changes in different regions of the brain with human behavior,” said provost Tom LeBlanc.

LeBlanc praised faculty and administrators for seeking out a $14.8-million grant—enabled by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and awarded by the National Institutes of Health—that funded the facility, which will be built to LEED Silver green-building standards.

The facility was designed with input from working scientists, with an eye toward collaborative space to encourage research at all academic levels, said Kathryn Tosney, professor and chair of the Department of Biology. The building’s planned cutting-edge technology and lab space are already attracting leading faculty to UM, thus helping to assure a bright future for neuroscience research in South Florida, said Rod Wellens, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology.

The neuroscience building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013. arts | sciences

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classspotlight

T H IS F EATU R E H IG H LIG H TS COU R SES T H AT A R E C R EATING SOME CAM P US B UZZ .

Game creation is serious business Introduction to Game Programming stretches computer science students’ skills.

Many college assignments start with an empty screen, but few require students to create an entire world within that space. This is the challenge posed by Computer Science 329: Introduction to Game Programming.

Students have a single semester to compose a river of code that creates an entire interactive realm, complete with terrain, bad guys, a hero, and a mission.

matt ferens

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Ferens designed a side-scrolling platform game with functionality similar to the Mario Brothers series.

According to Associate Professor Ubbo Visser, the course is designed to apply computer science students’ skills and knowledge across disciplines such as programming, animation, physics, and artificial intelligence.

“Even the simplest games require you to apply so many different technical concepts, and you have to be creative enough to come up with an interesting story as well,” Visser said John Lake, a computer science senior whose dream is to work for Pixar, said the class was one of the most demanding—and most gratifying—he has taken at UM. “There definitely were times when I put other things on the back burner to work on it,” he said. “The reason is that you’re making your own product. So now I’m able to take my game out into the world and actually present what I can do. “ Lake’s game, Digi Zombies, requires a player to collect targets on a board while fending off, with bullets or a sword, a host of infected digital zombies.

The look and feel of Digi Zombies resemble those of popular games from the early days of video arcades, but it grows increasingly difficult, sending out more and smarter zombies

as a player progresses through levels. Considering that it took a team of nine almost a year to produce Digi Zombies’ classic predecessor, Pac-Man, and that the new game was created by a single student, its sophistication is especially remarkable.

“When a modern game is developed for the marketplace,” said Visser, “it usually requires teams of hundreds of animators, modelers, and programmers to work on making every aspect of the game realistic.” Thus he notes that understanding its intensive labor demands is an important lesson for budding computer scientists who hope to work in the game industry.

Another important lesson is persistence, and the continuing need to make what’s good enough even better. Oscar Sanchez, a computer science senior, is still working on his game nearly a semester after finishing the Introduction to Game Programming course.

“I want to keep improving the graphics and make it faster, and I want to make it mobilefriendly,” he said. “Video games are the main reason I got into programming in the first place, and now I have actually made one. It’s really cool.”

Sanchez’s game requires players to shoot oncoming geometric objects programmed to attack the player in various ways.

Oscar Sanchez

President Donna Shalala, Alejandro Portes, Alberto Ibargüen, and Eliott Rodríguez.

Lake’s game forces players to kill oncoming zombies with a gun or a sword while collecting targets to advance to higher levels.

‘Florida at the Crossroads’ examines state’s global role

John Lake

“Gaming is the hardest form of programming, in my opinion, because it really tests all your abilities and requires you to be so efficient. You can be a good programmer writing a Windows app, but to write a game, you have to be great.”

— Matt Ferens, A.B. ’10

While many of his students imagine themselves working on the next blockbuster edition of games such as World of Warcraft or Call of Duty, Visser also prepares them for new trends in game development— including purposes beyond entertainment. “Many companies are building games for more serious applications,” he said. “For example, the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health are funding the creation of games that assist people with

monitoring their health.”

Matt Ferens, A.B. ’10, a consultant for Microsoft, says the skills he learned in the course have helped him in his current field of applications development, and it inspired him to keep working toward that career. “Gaming is the hardest form of programming,” he said, “because it really tests all your abilities and requires you to be so efficient. You can be a good programmer writing a Windows app, but to write a game you have to be great.”

UM’s Center for the Humanities hosted “Florida at the Crossroads: Five Hundred Years of Encounters, Conflicts, and Exchanges” in February—a three-day public conference that commemorated the five-hundredth anniversary of the landing of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León on the shores of present-day Florida.

“The aim was to use the occasion of the quincentenary of Ponce de León’s landfall to engage the audience, as well as the conference participants themselves, in a reflection about our state as a past, present, and future global ‘borderland’—one that has always been at the edge of crucial challenges facing the multicultural multiracial nation that is the United States,“ said professor of Spanish Viviana Díaz Balsera, who served as project director for the conference.

In the conference’s final session , shown above, UM president and professor of political science Donna Shalala; Alejandro Portes, professor of sociology and law; and Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the Knight Foundation participated in a “Gateways to the Future” panel discussion about emerging trends, trials, and opportunities for the state. The panel was moderated by CBS4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez, right.

For more information on the conference, visit http://humanities.miami.edu/symposia/florida500.

Photo: center for the humanities

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newsbriefs A crash course in crisis Exercise prepares students to lead if disaster strikes, helps UM refine emergency procedures.

Undergraduates in the Department of International Studies class Disasters, War, Complex Emergencies and Global Health focus intently on a simulated Skype call with a CDC official about pandemic response.

The students have just learned that an unknown number of people have contracted a mysterious and deadly illness, and the disease is spreading quickly throughout campus and Miami.

The connection grows garbled, and the call is cut short. The students have five minutes to decide how to distribute 10,000 vaccines among the campus community of about 50,000 people. They turn to their colleagues, and the classroom hums with conversation about what populations should get the first round of life-saving medicine.

Sherri Porcelain, director of the University’s Disaster Research Program for Global Public Health, designed this adrenalinepumping exercise as the culmination of the course to put the class through the paces of real crisis managers. “We have to train

Physics | art & art history | English | geography & regional studies | religious studies

people to respond through their heightened anxiety, because they’re making decisions in situations that affect them personally,” said Porcelain, who also works as an international disaster response consultant.

While students debate and seconds tick away, cellphones beep and buzz with a barrage of email and text message alerts simulating how information — and misinformation — spreads in an emergency.

The sense of crisis is compounded when the groups realize that they’re acting on different numbers from different agencies, but it’s all part of the plan. “There’s often a sort of secondary disaster that often arises from confusion and chaos, especially in this era of social media and smartphones, so prioritizing messages becomes a key component in crisis management,” she said.

One group thinks students should get the first round of vaccines, because they’re spreading the illness. Another thinks first responders and doctors should be treated. A third suggests the sick, elderly, and pregnant women be included too.

Scott Burnotes, director of the university’s Office of Emergency Management and leader of the exercise, listens carefully before explaining what factors the University might consider in this situation. Burnotes is simultaneously teaching and learning. “As an emergency manager, I wanted to help the

Students discuss how to distribute vaccines during the emergency management scenario.

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students get some hands-on experience, but it’s always helpful for me to hear what the students expect in an emergency,” he said.

“I think we all heard a few responses that surprised us, and we’re going to keep that in mind moving forward.”

Engaging with students in the classroom informs them about the University’s plans in case disaster strikes, and it helps keep procedures up-to-date, he said.

“Opportunities for academic-operational partnerships also help us to get the word out about how students should respond and where to look for information, and also give us the benefit of working with professors who are some of the best experts in the field,” he said.

Porcelain, tapped Burnotes and Professor Ali Habashi, of the School of Communication, to help design and create the exercise, which includes Skype interviews with world-renowned experts on emergency management like Dr. Nelson Arboleda, director of the Central American region for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Raquel E. Cohen, an expert on the psychological and social consequences of disaster, and Carlos Castillo, a former Federal Emergency Management Administration and Department of Homeland Security official. “The level of realism and the authority of these experts engages participants in a way that a typical tabletop exercise might not,” Burnotes said.

Burnotes plans to use a version of the exercise to train senior decision-makers at the University, and Porcelain is working to secure grant funding to expand the exercise for external audiences. They hope other trainees will respond as well as the students.

“We let them work through these problems for themselves, and we’ve empowered them to make decisions,” Porcelain said. “They’re better prepared when the stakes are real.”

Linking Latin America and Asia Miami is at the center of a dramatic shift in global commerce. “In less than a decade, Asia, especially China, went from having almost no presence in Latin America and the Caribbean to being a major economic influence [in that region],” said Ariel Armony, Marta Weeks Professor of Latin American Studies and director of UM’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS). “Much of that business passes through Miami” and could result in major changes here.

In anticipation of such changes, CLAS has launched a major initiative to study the economic, social, and political issues pertaining to Asian-Latin American commerce. In its first phase, CLAS has brought together academics, business leaders, and officials to discuss issues of infrastructure and development, trade, and natural resources.

For example, CLAS partnered with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce to host the inaugural “Miami’s Asia Summit: Addressing the Dynamics of the Relationship Among the U.S., Latin America, and Asia”—an April 2012 conference that included numerous speakers, meetings of stakeholders, and public panels. One immediate impact of the summit was to create a global network of academics, with CLAS’s facilitation, to research and identify

The Center for Latin American Studies analyzes evolving trade relationships between these two important regions.

emerging trends in the relationship between Asia and Latin America.

Academic examination of the exchange of Latin American commodities for Chinese manufactured goods will increasingly influence how the Americas and Asia move forward in their trade relationships, said summit speaker Stephen Keppel, economics editor and director of financial content at Univision News. “Up until now, the China-Latin America narrative has largely been a commodities story— with China buying minerals, oil, and natural gas,” he said. “The next big question is how this will develop when the commodities boom ends or when commodities prices go up.”

Moreover, CLAS’s research and academic resources can help spur innovative approaches to trade issues between Asian and Latin American businesses in general, said Alejandra Collarte, chair of the Leadership Americas Committee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. In that spirit “we are encouraging our business community to leverage CLAS’s academic expertise on Latin American cultural and economic issues,” she said.

A second “Miami’s Asia Summit” is scheduled for Spring 2013.

CLAS Visit www.as.miami.edu/clas/asia for more information on CLAS’s work on Asia and Latin America and for news about related upcoming events.

“We will facilitate the research that business leaders, government and the public need to make these important decisions, and we are bringing these groups together to learn from each other.”

Ariel Armony Director of the Center for Latin American Studies

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comings goings Welcome to new faculty

n e w fa c u lt y a n d r e t i r e m e n t s i n t h e c o l l e g e o f a r t s & s c i e n c e s

Meet the new Arts and Humanities faculty

HEATHER DIACK

D onette Francis

Nathan Timpano

Assistant Professor of Art and Art History

Assistant Professor of English

Assistant Professor of Art and Art History

Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Hometown: Lewistown, Montana

Education: Post doctoral position, University of British Columbia; M.A. and Ph. D., University of Toronto; B.A. McGill University

Education: Ph.D. in American Studies, New York University. I taught at NYU and SUNY, Binghamton before joining the faculty at UM.

Research and teaching interests: 20th and 21st century international art with a particular emphasis on photography, theory, visual culture and curatorial studies.

Research and teaching interests: Caribbean and African Diasporic Literatures, Feminism and Globalization, Gender and Sexualities Studies, Caribbean Intellectual History, Caribbean Artists Movement

Education: Post-doctoral fellow, Harvard University, Harvard Art Museums; Ph.D., Florida State University; M.A., Florida State University; B.A., Whitworth University.

Hobbies: Visiting galleries and museums, running, and cooking. Now in Miami, I am looking forward to learning how to sail.

“Miami’s ever expanding reputation as a hot spot for contemporary art fits in ideally with my research, teaching and curatorial interests.

I was also compelled by UM’s impressive commitment to research and the Art and Art History Department’s combined emphasis on studio practice and scholarship. Teaching allows me to continuously explore new topics in contemporary art in an active and engaged way. Challenging the students with new material challenges and inspires me.”

retiring faculty

Hobbies: Yoga, interior design, home renovation, and traveling “The University of Miami, and its location as the crossroads and American capital of Latin America and the Caribbean, is a dynamic site for my future research projects. My central research question asks how does issues of gender, sexuality and postcolonialism shape our understanding of the past, present and future. Therefore, my work, in the classroom and beyond seeks to reveal unspoken and often difficult narratives people experience in their relations with each other and the world.”

Hobbies: Photography, travel, hiking, and kayaking “I ultimately hope my research and teaching methods instill in students a strong desire to pursue, as well as enjoy, the field of modern art history. I also hope the interdisciplinary nature of my research allows students to make connections between various disciplines, including art, theatre, theory, aesthetics, and science.”

Six facult y members retired in 2012, leaving a lasting legacy.

William Carlson | Professor, Art and Art History

Carlson joined the faculty in 2003, served for two years as department chair, and was granted an Endowed Professorship. His sculptural glass work has been collected by numerous museums, including the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, Japan, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and in the Lowe Art Museum’s Palley Pavilion.

Thomas J. H erbert | Professor, Biology

Herbert has served on the biology faculty since 1974 as a 10 SPRING 2012

Research and teaching interests: My primary research area is late nineteenth and early twentieth-century European modern art, with an emphasis on German and Austrian Expressionism. My minor field of study is Latin American modernism, with a focus on Cuban avant-gardism.

mathematical biologist who models phenomena such as how leaf shape, orientation and position affects a plant’s ability to gather sunlight and convert it into energy. His work has created mathematical models that predict plants’ energy-gathering efficiency based on their three-dimensional structure. Herbert was director of the department’s honors program.

Janet T. Martin | Professor, History

Martin is one of the leading authorities on medieval and early modern Russian history, a contributor to the authoritative Cambridge History of

Daisy Yan du Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures, Chinese

Hometown: Chongqing, China Education: Ph.D. in Chinese and English Literature, University of WisconsinMadison; MA in English Literature in Singapore; B.A. in English literature in China Research and teaching interests: Chinese Cinema and Visual Culture; Modern Chinese Literature and Popular Culture; Women, Children, and Animal Studies; Travel, Migration, and Diaspora Studies; Modernity/Modernism Hobbies: Visiting scenic spots, and swimming “UM is developing its China studies program, and I am part of that process. I hope my students can know more about China and its culture. “

A manullah De Sondy

Chris O’Connor

Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies

Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts

Hometown: I was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland to Pakistani parents who moved to the UK in the 1950s.

Education: Ph.D., University of Glasgow; MA., University of Abertay Dundee; B.A., University of Stirling, Scotland Research and teaching interests: Islam, global Islam, gender, sexuality, masculinity Hobbies: I enjoy going to the gym, playing tennis. I was a Wimbledon Tennis Umpire for two years before I moved to the states. I would like to one day officiate at the Miami Masters. “‘What does it mean to be a man? What is masculinity?‘ These are probably the questions which lead me to explore new avenues of research in Islamic studies. Now more than ever before we seek deliberations to these questions generally and from Islam and Muslims more specifically. I enjoy working with classical/modern Islamic texts which lead to a critical inquiry on Islam and Muslims globally.”

Russia, and author of Medieval Russia, 980-1584. Martin has directed both graduate and undergraduate programs and has contributed to committees at all levels of the university since her arrival in 1981.

Lindsey Tucker | Professor, English

Since 1982, Tucker taught a broad range of courses including contemporary American, African-American, and African new world cultures, British literature, postmodernism, women’s and gender studies, and film theory. Her most recent book is The Spaces of Conjure: Fiction, Ethnography and Diaspora Time.

James Nearing | Associate Professor, Physics

Hometown: Until my move here in Miami, I was in Hoboken, NJ for 15 years.

Education: M.F.A., Rutgers University, B.F.A., Carnegie-Mellon Research and teaching interests: My research/teaching interests are in actor training pedagogies and I have a strong interest in the Michael Chekhov technique.

I also engage in creative output in the field.

Hobbies: I’m an Artistic Director of a New Jersey non-profit theatre. I enjoy playing basketball and spending time with my kids.

“The main thrust of my artistic output thus far has been the founding and development of a successful regional theatre in Hoboken, NJ called Mile Square Theatre. The theatre’s mission is to champion the theatre arts in a dense urban area. My aim is to help develop actors who are truly creative artists and who work from a place of truth. Constant work in a lab with actors helps me develop as an actor and director.”

those years as associate department chair. Nearing taught undergraduate physics, and his emphasis on critical thinking skills is renowned among students and faculty alike. His book, Mathematical Tools for Physics, has become a valuable tool for undergraduate physics students.

Marsha A. Matson | Lecturer, Political Science

Matson served as a full-time lecturer for more than two decades, teaching various undergraduate political science courses.

Matson has published several articles and has served as campaign coordinator of state legislative, lieutenant governor, and public initiative campaigns in Georgia.

Nearing served in the college for more than 47 years, 38 of arts | sciences

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for a broad understanding of our world 12 SPRING 2012

Year-long celebration highlights the importance of the humanities and the arts.

Since the founding of the University of Miami in 1926, rites of passage for students have included, reading The Iliad and The Republic, studying the paintings of da Vinci and Cézanne, learning the facets of ancient compromises and conflicts, and the like. But in a modern world with an increasing need for skilled mathematicians, scientists, and technological experts, it’s sometimes difficult to remember why the classic canon remains important.

“We are the College of Arts and Sciences,” explains Dean Leonidas Bachas.

“We are incredibly proud of our mission as a college to create leaders—men and women who are creative and critical in their thinking, who can anticipate and solve tomorrow’s challenges. Developing that kind of insight requires a comprehensive approach to higher education that includes an appreciation of human cultures and perspectives. We need the College of Arts and Sciences to provide a broad understanding of our world.“ Now the college is leading a year-long series of events, Taking Flight: The Year of the Humanities and the Arts at the University of Miami, that will bring leading figures in these disciplines to the UM campus in order to share their insights and exchange ideas—with students and faculty from throughout the university as well as with members of the surrounding community. Presentations will include lectures by prominent authors and scholars, artistic performances and exhibitions, and a campus-wide celebration of scholarship, research, community engagement, and inspired expression fostered in the liberal arts.

“The humanities and the arts are an integral component of life at UM, creating a vibrant mosaic of perspectives that enriches our students’ educational experience in countless ways,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. “This initiative will allow us to showcase the university’s profound commitment to the humanities and the arts, which explore and build on the achievements and insights of the past to imagine and enhance the future.”

“The humanities and the arts are an integral component of life at UM, creating a vibrant mosaic of perspectives that enriches our students’ educational experience in countless ways.” donna e. shalala UM President

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The Year of Humanities and the Arts will enhance our teaching and research, ensuring that graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences have a broad understanding of the world, and that the world understands the importance of liberal arts education and our college’s work.”

Leonidas G. Bachas Dean of the UM College of Arts and Sciences

Richard Dawkins will be the speaker for the college’s Louis J. Appignani Foundation Lecture.

14 SPRING 2012

eflecting the college’s emphasis on global consciousness, another aim of Taking Flight is to encourage international perspective and awareness. The Ring Theatre presented comedies from Cuban playwright Virgilio Piñera in the fall, and several events will highlight global art, history and culture. Two exhibits at the Lowe Art Museum examine influences and contributions of Japanese art. A March 21, 2013, lecture will feature Stanford University Distinguished Professor and author Amitav Ghosh, who explores issues of post-colonialist upheaval, extremism, and political change in the East.

These Taking Flight events can help the community understand the college’s efforts to give students first-hand understanding of international affairs. Whether studying language and literature in Spain, exploring biological change in the Galapagos, or learning by serving Miami’s Creole communities, Arts and Sciences students have numerous opportunities to gain global context for classroom knowledge, acquire critical language skills, and prepare for emerging careers in international business, law, and diplomacy. In that spirit, the college is also responding to the increasing need for cultural understanding of the East by adding new minors in Arabic Studies and Chinese Studies.

Taking Flight will also emphasize how the humanities interact with science and technology. Acclaimed animal scientist, author and autism advocate Temple Grandin will speak as a Stanford Distinguished Professor on January 31, 2013 about how science and society can benefit from a deeper understanding and appreciation for different kinds of minds. Grandin credits her personal experiences with autism, namely “thinking in pictures,” with her groundbreaking work designing humane livestock facilities and helping neurotypical people appreciate the contributions of those with autistic traits.

In what promises to be one of the most heavily attended events of the year, the college’s Louis J. Appignani Foundation Lecture will bring acclaimed ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and author Richard Dawkins back to campus. Because his 2011 public appearance at UM was greeted with overflow crowds, Dawkins’ March 7, 2013, talk will be held in the Bank United Center so as to accommodate an audience likely to exceed 2,000.

An emeritus fellow of the New College at the University of Oxford, Dawkins is widely recognized for his award-winning books, including The Blind Watchmaker and The God Delusion, which argue against the tenets of creationism. Dawkins is a vocal advocate of science literacy and secular ethics, both of which are important issues in the humanities.

With the generous backing of the Appignani Foundation, Dawkins will also stay on campus for two weeks as a visiting professor. “We are thrilled to promote an enhanced exchange of ideas and creative thought among students, faculty, and an

Center for the Humanities enriches UM’s intellectual culture

For more on the Year of the Humanities and the Arts, including news, events, and videos, scan this QR code with your smartphone reader or visit miami.edu/takingflight.

intellectual of Richard Dawkins’ stature,” said Appignani. “It is our hope that this collaboration will plant seeds of scholarship and free thinking that will benefit the college, the university, and our community for years to come.”

Multidisciplinary impacts of the humanities also will be explored November 8 to 10, 2012 when The Center for Latin American Studies and the School of Architecture co-host a symposium, Dialogues with the Informal City: Latin America and the Caribbean. Lectures, panel discussions and a film screening will profile the lessons, challenges and opportunities of surprisingly resilient “off-the-map” urban communities that grow beyond the reach of the law, government, and infrastructure.

As this year of special programming proceeds, the college will continue its long-term mission of broad liberal arts education. Faculty and students are establishing interdisciplinary partnerships, advancing scholarship, driving new learning opportunities in the humanities and the arts, and developing related digital resources.

In order for Taking Flight to reach a broader audience, including those who may not be able to get to campus for its events, the college will offer free digital resources for the public.

Audio and video of the initiative’s lectures and interviews will be available via the iTunes U store, and updated information will be available on the college’s website and Facebook page.

Integrating public feedback and promoting the humanities and the arts in the community are integral components of the college’s mission, Bachas said. “The Year of Humanities and the Arts will enhance our teaching and research, ensuring that graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences have a broad understanding of the world, and that the world understands the importance of liberal arts education and our college’s work.”

The college’s Center for the Humanities promotes the liberal arts as its full-time mission. The Center serves as resource for faculty and students, a catalyst for research, and a facilitator of community engagement with the college’s humanities resources.

Established in 2009 with support from donors, including two university trustees—Rose Ellen Greene and the late Kenneth Myers—and the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center brings public lectures, conferences, seminars, and workshops to the university to encourage scholarship and teaching in the humanities, the arts, and the social sciences. In the years since its founding, the Center has hosted more than 130 events, which more than 10,000 people have attended.

Such strong participation demonstrates the community’s interest in historical, social, political, or artistic context and discourse to understand our rapidly changing world, according to Mihoko Suzuki, the Center’s founding director. “The humanities serve as a linchpin not only for many different academic disciplines but also for professions we may not normally consider, including law, business, and medicine,” Suzuki said.

The Center’s popular Stanford Distinguished Professors program is an example of how the Center both strengthens classroom learning and involves the public. The preeminent scholars, writers, and artists selected as Stanford Distinguished Professors interact one-on-one with students during their appointment through smaller seminars or social gatherings, and they give public lectures on campus. Recent Stanford Professors have included playwright Nilo Cruz, physicist and author Alan Lightman, author Marjorie Garber, and playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith.

The Center also hosts symposia and conferences to bring together scholars from throughout the university, the region, and the world.

In 2013, the Center will cohost events that incorporate numerous disciplines, including a Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Symposium (which will celebrate the first issue of Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal produced by the new editorial team under the auspices of the Center) and a symposium on language and democracy in collaboration with the School of Law. Interdisciplinary research groups established through the Center connect faculty and students with shared scholarly interests for new research—currently active groups unite researchers in fields such as Atlantic studies, queer studies, early modern studies, and animal studies. arts | sciences

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going for

Eight current and former Hurricane athletes competed in the Summer Olympic Games in London. For three of these athletes, the College of Arts and Sciences is playing a critical role for them both on the field of play and in their plans for the future.

A&S Olympians strive for success in athletics and academics Photo above: OLIVIER MORIN, getty images

16 SPRING 2012

t’erea brown U.S. hurdler T’erea Brown, A.B. ’11, psychology, placed sixth in the 400-meter hurdles final in the 2012 London Games, and set a personal best of 54.72 in the semis. “Walking the opening ceremony and getting into that stadium was just surreal.” she said. “This was definitely the biggest stage, but I actually think the NCAAs were more stressful.”

For Arts and Sciences Olympians, she said, balancing course work with sports is an exercise in gaining knowledge, building character, juggling commitments, and planning for life beyond athletics. “Track is going to end one day, and it’s difficult to make a living at it forever,” Brown said. “I am thinking longterm, and I am really glad I got a great education at UM.” While her running career shows no signs of slowing, Brown already has an eye toward a second calling in law enforcement. “I will probably go back to school to get a master’s at some point,” she said. “Whether I end up in the FBI or CIA or on a SWAT team, my background in psychology will help me to understand the job and assess suspects.”

Brown, a first-generation college graduate, said UM was a perfect place for her to both the coaching she needed both on the track and in the classroom. Brown cites small class sizes and individual attention from professors as instrumental to her success in the classroom.

On the track, she relied on the leadership of UM coach Amy Deem, who calls Brown “an extremely gifted and driven athlete who demands only the best of herself.” Deem served as the coach for the U.S. women’s track and field team as well, selected in part for her success with top athletes like Brown and her UM Olympian teammates, Lauryn Williams and Murielle Ahouré.

Ahouré A.B. ‘11 criminology, and one of the top rising

notable Olympic alumni Marshall Wayne UM’s first gold medalist, Berlin 1936 Gold: 10 meter platform Silver: 3 meter spring board

Mark Pinger represented Germany Bronze: 1996, 4x100 swimming relay Bronze: 1992, 4x100 swimming relay

David Wilke represented Great Britain Silver: 1972, 100-meter breaststroke Gold: 1976, 200-meter breaststroke Silver: 1976, 100-meter breaststroke

Manon Van Rooijen represented the Netherlands Silver: 2008, 4x100 swimming relay Gold: 2008, 4x100 swimming relay

Greg Louganis Gold: 1984 and 1988, springboard and platform Silver: 1976, platform

s ava n a h l e a f

murielle ahouré

Lauryn Williams Silver: 2004, 4x100 track relay Gold: 2012, 4x100 track relay

U M O ly m p i a n s UM’s Olympic tradition stretches back almost a century, and throughout that history, Arts and Sciences student athletes have played a crucial role in competition, said John Routh, Director of the UM Sports Hall of Fame. “The success of these Olympic sports has been great for years here, and they’re getting even more attention now,” he said.

Wendy Williams Bronze: platform in 1988

sprinters in the world, represented her native Ivory Coast in the Games, finishing sixth in the 200-meter final and seventh in the 100-meter final. “Muriel has a true passion for the sport of track and field,” Deem said. “After overcoming tremendous adversity she not only obtained her degree, but went on to accomplish a lifelong dream of competing at the highest level.”

Ahouré also was selected to carry the flag for the Ivory Coast during the Opening Ceremonies. “I am very excited to be able to represent my nation at the Olympics and words can’t explain how proud I was to be selected as the flag bearer,” Ahouré said to hurricanesports.com. “This is something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Sophomore Savanah Leaf, a psychology major, played outside hitter for the crowd favorite Great Britain women’s volleyball team at the London Games. Leaf and her teammates, including fellow Cane Ciara Michel, won Team Great Britain’s first Olympic victory over Algeria. “It’s everything I’ve worked for. As cliché as it sounds, it was a dream come true,” she said.

Leaf plans to play volleyball overseas before working toward a career as a family therapist. Other than the volleyball program, Leaf said small classes and the Psychology department’s investment in students and outreach attracted her to UM when she transferred from San Jose State University in 2011.

Competition and a drive toward victory is innate for these top-level athletes, but UM offers opportunities to succeed in athletics and academics, Brown said. “I always had the dream of graduating college and the dream of running in the Olympics,” Brown said. “Both are huge accomplishments for me. You have to continue working hard for those dreams in order to be successful.”

Name Randy Ableman

Team

Final Results

U.S. Diving

Team medals: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze

Murielle Ahouré

Ivory Coast Track and Field

7th, 100 m finals; 6th, 200m finals

T’erea Brown

U.S. Track and Field

6th, 400m hurdles finals

Amy Deem

U.S. Track and Field

Team medals: 9 gold, 13 silver, 7 bronze

Great Britain Indoor Volleyball

1-4, did not exit pool play

Great Britain Indoor Volleyball

1-4, did not exit pool play

U.S. Sailing

12th, Finn Class

France Track and Field

14th, men’s high jump finals

Reuben Ross

Canada Diving

6th, men’s synchronized 3m springboard

Brittany Viola

U.S. Diving

15th, women’s 10m Platform semifinals

Assistant Coach

Coach

Savanah Leaf Ciara Michel Zach Railey Calvin Robinson Personal coach to Mickael Hanany

Lauryn Williams

U.S. Track and Field GOLD, 4x100 relay Photos: Left, Adrian Dutch, flickr.com/littledutchboy; right, Photorun.net

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18 SPRING 2012

Political pundits and authors Bernard Goldberg (left) and Sasha Issenberg (right) are among the media analysts who will give students a first-hand understanding of campaign coverage.

Faculty, the media, and political pundits help students explore the 2012 election in real time.

s President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney crisscross the country this fall in a battle for the White House, nearly 300 students in Coral Gables—in a UM course designed around the presidential election—are watching their every move. “POL 400: The Election” features interaction with national media and political figures, live analysis of the campaigns from political scientists, and a rare opportunity for undergraduates to glimpse the inner workings of presidential politics.

“We’re ready to work, we’re interested in understanding things for ourselves, and we are definitely engaged.” mike piacentino Junior political science and public relations major

Stephanie Parra, a junior majoring in political science and journalism, and a self-described “political junkie,” calls it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “I heard about the 2008 election class from an upperclassman when I was a freshman, and I have been looking forward to its 2012 version ever since,” she said. “This is the only presidential election I’ll witness in college, and it comes at such an important time for the country.”

Political science associate professors Joseph Uscinski, Casey Klofstad, and Christopher Mann planned the course to capitalize on the election’s immediacy. In addition to offering insights into their own research, Uscinski said that he and his colleagues have invited guest speakers—including top political analysts such as Sasha Issenberg of Slate and Bernard Goldberg of Fox News.

Students will experience the pace and intensity of the campaign trail as they write regular blog posts based on what they learn in class, assigned readings, and the news. The course will also serve as a sort of “driver’s ed for citizenship” for undergraduates who lack Parra’s zeal for politics,

Mann said. “Abraham Lincoln taught us that we need government of the people, by the people, and for the people. But we often forget that second part. We have to have people who will do the grunt work of democracy, the things that don’t get you on the front page but that are critical to our government.”

The promise of expert analysis and real-time learning piqued the interest of Amylinn Soto, a junior majoring in psychology and advertising.

Soto said she never paid much attention to elections before this summer, but she is eager to learn about them in the run-up to this one, when she will cast her first ballot. “It’s more approachable in this format, because there are going to be students in different majors and with different opinions,” said Soto. “I think this class is going to get us ready to vote—either way.”

Understanding what will motivate Soto and her classmates in POL 400 to go to the polls is of special interest to Klofstad, who studies the behavior of young voters. “We see that civic engagement is very important to this generation, but politics may not be,” he said. “They are much more likely to work for a cause than work for a campaign.”

“This course says something about the ‘millennials’ here at UM,” added Mike Piacentino, a junior in political science and public relations. “This is a very big class, and it’s not going to be easy. But we are ready to work, we’re interested in understanding things for ourselves, and we’re definitely engaged.”

Piacentino thinks the class will help him and his classmates cut through a plethora of media messaging in order to interpret polling data and political strategies for themselves.

And the knowledge they gain in POL 400 could stick with them long after the 2012 ballots are counted. “I think it’s going to be a class that I look back on after I graduate and really value as a special experience,” Parra said. “We’re learning history live. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”

To extend the impact of the course throughout the campus community, professors Uscinski, Klofstad, and Mann invite any interested students to join the class on the nights of the second presidential debate and the election itself. arts | sciences

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trackinghurricanes yourNews

50s

_______________________________ Richard H. Hall, AB ’50, Psychology, passed

away on May 1, 2012 at the age of 85. Hall was a veteran of the U.S. Navy during World War II and a retired Executive Vice President for Strawbridge & Clothier in Philadelphia.

Richard H. Plager, AB ’51, Mathematics,

BBA ’52, Accounting, studied at UM while proudly serving our country in the Navy. After graduation, Plager served as Police Captain of Miami-Dade Police Department and eventually retired as Chief of Police, in Sanibel.

Bernie Kulchin, AB ’54, Sociology, AB ’54,

Psychology, BED ’55, worked for General Dynamics Corp. and Cubic Corp. for fifty-seven years as a human resources executive in San Diego, California. Kulchin was the recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award for Human Resources from the San Diego Society of Human Resources Management. Kulchin is retired and lives with his wife, Paula, in San Diego while remaining active as a volunteer and board member of many nonprofits.

Class notes | alumni profiles

Let your classmates know what is going on in your life. Share news about yourself in a future issue of Arts & Sciences magazine. Send your information—including the year you graduated, degree, and major—to Jacky Donate, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248004, Coral Gables, Florida 33124-4620 or via email to j.donate@miami.edu.

John E. Penick, BS ’66, Biology, MA ’69, Biology, received the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Distinguished Service to Science Education Award for his extraordinary contributions to the advancement of education in the sciences and science teaching. Penick was honored in March at a special banquet and ceremony at NSTA’s 60th National Conference on Science and Education in Indianapolis.

Jeffrey S. Augenstein, BS ’69, Psychology,

PhD ’74, Psychology, MD ’74, passed away on February 21, 2012. Augenstein was a professor of surgery and director of the William Lehman Injury Research Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He was a pioneer in injury prevention who helped save millions of lives on the road, on the battlefield, in the emergency room, and in disaster zones during his unparalleled 37-year career. He is survived by his wife Deborah, his mother, his step father, and his sister.

60s

_______________________________

Paul Green, BA ’72, History, published his book,

Forgotten Hostages, based on his experience as a hostage when Hanafi Muslim terrorists violently captured the B’nai B’rith building on March 9, 1977. This siege was considered the first major terrorist attack in Washington, DC.

Michael E. Messer, AB’ 72, Psychology, was

elected President of the Florida Conference of Executives at the Arc of Florida’s annual meeting held in June. He is currently President and CEO of the Arc of South Florida, a local chapter of one of the largest volunteer organizations in the U.S. Which works to improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities.

India T. Johnson, AB ’73, English, has been

Leon J. Hoffman, AB ’61, Psychology,

promoted to the position of Acting Executive Vice President in anticipation of advancing to the position of President and CEO at the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Johnson joined the AAA in 1974.

continues to enjoy his practice of clinical psychology in Chicago specializing in individual and group psychotherapy and consultation with individuals, couples and organizations.

20 SPRING 2012

Richard Browdy, AB ’70, appointed as Chairman of the Florida Building Commission by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

was promoted to chief operating and strategy officer for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and University of Miami Health System. Lord has served as UM’s chief innovation officer since last year. He has had many leadership roles in health care, including chief operating officer of the American Hospital Association, chief medical officer of Humana and chief executive officer of biotech companies.

Twilight of the Drifter, his latest literary effort, a southern gothic crime-and-blues odyssey.

was named Volunteer of the Year 2012 for the Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) program at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale. The Award reads: “for outstanding and dedicated service to the children of Broward County.”

_______________________________

Jonathan Lord, BS ’73, Chemistry, MD ’78,

Shelly Frome, AB ’56, Theatre Arts, released

Ruth Mazeau Ludwig, AB ’62, Psychology,

70s

Thomas Rebel, BS ’69, Biology, MS ’73, MED ’74, JD ’79, was listed in Georgia Super Lawyers 2012 for his work in employment and labor law and was also featured in Chambers USE: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2012.

Rebel is a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP in Atlanta.

Kim A. Hoyo, AB ’74, Sociology, published her

first novel Zoned for Murder under the pen name Kait Carson. 10% of the net profits of the sale of the book will be donated to the PTSA at Design & Architecture Senior High School in Miami, Florida.

Pushing the envelope on Hollywood’s biggest night ‘Stationer to the stars’ Marc Friedland honed his entrepreneurial skills at UM.

Lianne Simon, BS ’73, Mathematics,

has written a semi-biographical, young adult novel about an intersexed student who attended the University of Miami in the 1970’s. Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite will hit book shelves on September 18.

Mauricio Collada, BS ’74, Chemistry,

established Cubanisimo Vineyards in Salem, Oregon which produces wonderful pinot noir wines that are sold in Florida.

Joseph A. FinleY, JR., BS ’74, Geology, is

Director of Training, North America Institute of Trainings, at G4S Security Solutions in their corporate headquarters in Jupiter, Florida.

Terry Rosenberg, BFA ’76, Art, New York City based visual artist. Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City presented an exhibition on her work in collaboration with La Manga Video y Danza in September 2012.

Jay E. Yourist, MS ’77, Biochemistry, PhD

‘81, Microbiology, co-created Nuovo Biologics, a drug that is successfully being used to treat a broad spectrum of viral diseases in animals without showing any major side effects. The commercialization of this drug could have profound implications to human and animal health in large markets worldwide.

One night each year, arguably the most illustrious audience in the world collectively inhales at the words, “The envelope, please.” As the celebrities in attendance and nearly one billion television viewers look toward that gleaming gold packet, and its red seal is pulled free, Marc Friedland has already won the night.

Friedland, A.B. ’81, and his Los Angelesbased company Marc Friedland Couture Communications/Creative Intelligence, Inc., designed the official winners envelope for the Academy Awards. Until he created the envelope in 2011, the venerable Hollywood ceremony used the standard issue, storebought variety. “Since starting my company over 25 years ago, it had always been a dream of mine to design that envelope,” said Friedland.“It’s so iconic. It is one of the most important and ubiquitous envelopes in our culture.”

Handcrafted from heavy high-gloss iridescent metallic gold paper, Friedland’s envelope features a red-lacquered lining stamped with miniature Oscar statuettes in satin gold leaf. Inside the envelope, on a luxuriously thick ecru insert, framed in gold foil and displaying a gold-foil-embossed Oscar statuette, are the words, “And the Oscar goes to … ,” with the winner’s name printed in charcoal ink.

Friedland’s designs graced the ceremony once again in 2012, and even influenced the deco-inspired set. The press has praised his work as objets d’art.

The Academy Awards is just one of many high-profile names that make up Friedland’s client list, which earns him the distinction of “stationer to the stars.” He attributes his success to an exceptional commitment to detail and high-end styling, cultivated over 25 years in the business of enhancing special occasions for celebrities businesses and notable non-profit organizations that include Oprah Winfrey, Steve Wynn, Rita and Tom Hanks, Cirque du Soleil, and UNICEF. His work has invited more than 2,500,000 million people to some of the most memorable and notable events and milestones of the past 25 years.

Long before his work led him to the red carpet, Friedland was an undergraduate majoring in pre-med psychology at the College of Arts and Sciences. There he founded Lifelines, the university’s first program dedicated to wellness and health education.

As he organized administrators, students, and faculty behind Lifelines, Friedland learned about management and communications and honed his acumen and creativity.

“The greatest thing about my student experience at UM was getting a lot of realworld knowledge in addition to the academic background,” he said. “Developing the confidence and exposure to high-profile people translated into assets for me later on.” Friedland described the experience of being treated with respect from faculty and administration, open to ideas and solutions that would become an integral part of the vision and future success for the University as a whole. “Being a student felt more like being a key executive on a management team, more than anything else.”

Friedland’s latest venture showcases his passion for creative communications online. He serves as chief style director for Evite Postmark, www.postmark.com, a premium brand of luxury online invitations with the look and feel of custom stationery.

Evite Postmark officially launched in fall of 2012, but Friedland provided a preview of his deluxe digital styling in February, when he designed a line of Oscar party email invitations inspired by his now-famous envelope. The Oscar Collection by Marc Friedland, the first officially sanctioned Oscar invitations available to the general public, allowed film fans to experience the glamor of the Academy Awards in their own inboxes.

“Paper or pixels, we are working to reach audiences with the same high level of detail and social grace,” Friedland said. “Whether it’s the Oscars, a company, a nonprofit, or an individual, we help to commemorate significant events with a distinctive and unforgettable experience from start to finish.” arts | sciences

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trackinghurricanes facultyobituary

Class notes | alumni profiles

Paula Harper Associate Professor, Art and Art History Harper taught modern and contemporary art, and also chaired many thesis committees since joining the faculty in 1983. She co-authored Pissarro: His Life and Work with Ralph Shikes, and she was a regular contributor to the magazine Art in America with her “Report from Miami” series. Harper passed away in June after a battle with cancer.

Mirtha T. Shideler, AB ’78, Spanish, MSED

’93, is presently working as a substitute teacher in Columbus, Ohio.

Alumnae launch law firm in Coral Gables Emphases are on health care and dispute resolution, through individualized service.

With over 60 years of combined legal experience, but less than a year after launching their own law firm, three College of Arts & Science alumnae are garnering attention from media, colleagues, and clients alike because of their customized and multidisciplinary legal approach. Hellman Mederos & Yelin in Coral Gables was listed among South Florida’s top alternative dispute-resolution firms in 2012 by the South Florida Business Journal, and their client base is rapidly expanding through new referrals.

Anette Yelin, A.B. ’82, links the firm’s strong start to the partners’ commitment to collaboration—a skill enhanced in the College of Arts and Sciences. “I think an open mind and an appreciation for a lot of different disciplines and ideas are key components of an intellectual toolkit that is useful for crafting a successful career and life,” said Yelin, a Northwestern law graduate.

Shared interest in problem-solving, curiosity about complex legal issues, and entrepreneurialism led Yelin and her partners, Carmen Alpizar Hellman, A.B. ’93, and Tania CarreñoMederos, A.B. ’89, to work together on cases at larger Miami law firms and eventually to launch their own practice in November 2011.

With health law as its focus, the firm is carving out a niche among health care providers because of the partners’ comprehensive understanding of legal issues in health care business transactions and their ability to help resolve disputes out of the courtroom.

Together, the three partners are able to address clients’ objectives from regulatory, transactional, litigation, and dispute resolution perspectives. “Health care is one of the most highly regulated and most complicated business sectors. By working together, we offer highly customized boutique legal services at a reasonable cost for smaller businesses,” said Mederos, a Cornell law graduate, who previously served as an Assistant Miami-Dade County Attorney at the Public Health Trust/Jackson Memorial Hospital and as an associate and partner at several law firms in Miami.

The firm is meeting a growing demand for alternative dispute resolution within the health care sector. “We have all found that collaborative law is quite often a better, more efficient way for people to resolve their disputes, and very few firms offer these services,” said Hellman, a Stetson law graduate whose background as a litigator in Tampa and Miami instilled in her a passion for mediation. “For our clients, most of the time, resolution is the most important thing they want. They recognize that achieving resolution through mediation allows them to move forward with their business and life and is more valuable than having their proverbial day in court.

Hellman Mederos & Yelin also offers services in corporate law, family law, and estate planning, all with an eye toward meeting clients’ individual needs. “This is not a boilerplate law firm. We truly believe that each case and each client is unique,” Yelin said. “We’re delivering a lot of value to our clients, and we’re having a blast doing it.”

22 SPRING 2012

Ralph E. Wakefield, MA ’78, Drama, has been

running the Pelican Playhouse in Miami Springs with his wife, Nancy, since 1999. Miami-Dade County honored the couple by declaring April 19th “Pelican Playhouse Day.”

Kathie Brooks, AB ’79, Geography, MA

’84, Geography, was promoted to interim city manager for the city of Miami Beach.

80s

_______________________________ Jeffrey Aube, AB ’80, Chemistry, received a

prestigious 2012 Arthur C. Cope Scholar award.

Aube is a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy.

The award, presented by the American Chemical Society, recognizes and encourages excellence in organic chemistry. Only 10 Arthur C. Cope scholars are named each year, and the honor can be earned only once in a researcher’s lifetime.

Jeffery J. Tufano, BFA ’91, camera

operator and cinematographer in New Orleans, Louisiana. He worked as Camera Operator on feature film G.I. Joe II: Retaliation starring UM alumni Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and on Bullet to the Head with UM alumni Sylvester Stallone.

Recent projects also include: Twilight: Breaking Dawn, The Green Lantern, Oblivion and the H.B.O. series Treme.

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Gregg L. Friedman, BS ’81, Chemistry, MD ’85, opened his third office in Hallandale Beach where he practices Psychiatry. Friedman resides in Miami-Dade County with his wife Julie and their three children.

Nan A. Markowitz, AB ’81, English, is the Bond

Program Coordinator of Miami-Dade County.

Patricia Froyo-McCarty, BS ’84, Computer Science, MS ’86, Computer Science, was promoted to global sales process and operations manager at ExxonMobil Lubricants & Petroleum Specialties Company. Froyo-McCarty has been employed by ExxonMobil since her graduation from the University of Miami.

Betty Bellman, AB ’86, Biology, MD ’91,

Dermatology, launched 100% natural skin care product, Capriclear, which is a spray-on moisturizer for dry, itchy skin and eczema. It can be safely used on babies, children and adults.

Bruce McGuire, AB ’87, Politics and Public

Affairs, is the founder and president of the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association. McGuire was interviewed by Bloomberg in March.

Frank R. Jimenez, BS ’87, Biology, began

new position as general counsel, secretary and managing director of government affairs for Bunge Limited in White Plains, New York in July of 2012.

90s

_______________________________ Gladis Kersaint, BS ’90, Mathematics, MSED ’93, has joined the Board of Directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The 14 member board serves as the chief policymaking body for NCTM. NCTM is the world’s largest organization for the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Howard P. Wade, BA ’90, History, received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2012 for honorable achievement of excellence and “The Association for the Story of African American Life and History” award. Both were given by Bluefield State College, Bluefield, W.V. Wade is

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Adalberto J. Jordan, AB ’84, Politics and Public Affairs, JD ’87, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Jordan was nominated by President Barack Obama and is the first Cuban-American to sit on the 11th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

currently a faculty member and associate dean of the institution.

Leyza F. Blanco, AB ’93, Psychology, JD’96,

one of 78 GrayRobinson, P.A. attorneys noted in the Florida Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list for 2012.

William Blumenthals, BS ’93, Biology, is temporarily located in Japan as Senior Director of Observational Research for Shionogi Ince.

He will return to the U.S. in that role in 2013. He and his wife, Niamh O’Leary-Liu, are expecting their first child due in the fall.

Kiersten Kluckhuhn Mooney, AB ’95, Sociology, opened Bala Vinyasa Yoga in Naples 5 years ago. Mooney recently expanded by opening another location in Coral Gables.

Francisco J. Cruz-McRea, AB ’97, Psychology, is presently employed with Allstate Insurance Company in bilingual sales.

Marisa A. Gianino, AB ’98, Psychology, received the North American Global Giving Campaign Volunteer of the Year award for her participation in State Street Corp’s Global Giving Campaign.

00s

_______________________________ Martha R. Mora, AB ’00, Criminology,

was promoted to partner at Avila Rodriguez Hernandez Mena & Ferri LLP. Mora represents domestic and foreign businesses in federal and state cases involving contracts, banking regulations, business torts, corporate governance, fraud, foreign judgments, injunctions, and appeals. She also advises clients on risk assessment, compliance, government investigations, complex discovery and internal investigations, as well as matters involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, OCC, FDIC, the State of Florida, grand jury proceedings, and e-discovery.

Estrellita S. Sibila, BS ’01, Psychology, JD ’05, her organization, Miami Crawls, collaborated to create PhilanthroFest which was held in April in Midtown Miami.

Throughout PhilanthroFest, attendees enjoy music, art, fashion, food, and entertainment while learning about various non-profits and community resources that are available to its residents.

arts | sciences

23

trackinghurricanes

Class notes | alumni profiles

Caridad M. Sola, BFA ’03, Painting, BARCH ’03, performed “The Wall Between Us” at the Fountain NY Art Fair in the Grace Exhibition Space Live Performance Booth in March of 2012.

The performance explores the human emotion of discovery, despair, and defeat – of love. Sola currently practices visual and performance art out of her personal studio in New York City.

Alexis N. Guenette, BS ’05, Microbiology,

graduated with a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine at the College’s 121st commencement on Sunday, June 3, 2012.

Andrea Shaw, Ph.D. ’05, English, her book, The Embodiment of Disobedience: Fat Black Women’s Unruly Political Bodies, was recommended in the “Sunday Review” section of the New York Times.

Noelle A. McMahon, AB ’07, Psychology, is Nelson Dellis, BS ’06, Physics, M.S. ’10, Computer Science, won the 2012 USA Memory Championship and broke a record for memorizing 303 random numbers in five minutes in New York last March. Dellis trained for the competition by memorizing a randomly shuffled deck of cards as he attempted to climb Mount Everest in 2011 to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. For more on Dellis, visit climbformemory.org.

the senior assistant director of international admissions at the University of Miami. She has been featured on the College Lifestyle television series in Jamaica and currently travels to the Caribbean and South Asia to educate students about college opportunities. She hopes to continue to be a positive influence in the lives of many young people now and in the future.

Jessica Lee, AB ’08, Spanish, and shawn J. Lee, BS ’08, Biology, MD ’11, were married in

Delray Beach, Florida on May 27, 2012. The couple met at UM and started dating in 2004.

Alexander M. Correa, AB ’08, International

Studies, joined McCombie Group as an associate consultant, where he will support family offices across their direct private investments and operating businesses.

His experiences include assignments at U.S. Embassy Quito, the Office of the U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Finance Corporation’s offices in Mumbai.

Walt L. Shellabarger, AB ’08, International studies, won his first fight in 8 seconds as an Mixed Martial Arts fighter in March by technical knockout.

24 SPRING 2012

Christopher Hooton, AB ’08, International Studies, was awarded the Cambridge International Scholarship and the C.T. Taylor Studentship to read for a Ph.D. in Land Economy at the University of Cambridge.

Jorge Tavarez, BA ‘08, Art History,

continued his education receiving a Masters in Communication, specializing in Electronic Media, from St. Thomas University. Tavarez is currently a writer for the architectural and interior design magazine, La Casa.

Margaret C. Cardillo, MFA ‘09, Creative Writing, received the 2011 Florida Book Award for Children’s Literature for her book Being Audrey.

10s

_______________________________ Shawn L. Daniel, BS ’10, Chemistry, is working on releasing his first album, “The Catalyst,” which consists of 4 original and 2 cover songs. Daniel hopes to motivate others to reach their goals through his music.

Zoheb Nensey, AB ’10, Political Science, is currently interning at Today’s Zaman in Istanbul, Turkey. His focus has been on international political communications.

Santiago Garcia, AB ’10, Economics, resides

in Madrid, Spain where he works for BBVA Bank focusing on syndicated loans. Garcia is scheduled to take the Chartered Financial Analyst Exam in December and hopes to move to Bangkok, Thailand in the near future.

Samantha J. Bangs, AB ‘11, Theatre Arts,

joined the project for the upcoming documentary “Why Am I So Fat?” as an intern and was quickly promoted to production coordinator where she was in charge of arranging and filming interviews, researching, and contacting sponsors. The goal of this documentary is to inspire and provide comprehensive information about weight loss that is straightforward and usable.

Lanette Suarez, AB ’12, Political Science, currently a Teach for America core member.

Suarez was mentioned by Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO of Teach for America, in an article by the Huffington Post.

“Planned giving is a way to protect those priorities that are important to you within an institution that you love, long after you are gone. I feel honored to be able to do that for UM.” - Dr. Michael Alessandri

Executive Director for the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities Director of the Division of Community Outreach and Engagement

Commitment to the

and the Community

Dr. Michael Alessandri feels very fortunate that he has spent the last sixteen years of his career at the University of Miami. He is proud of the work that he has accomplished in the Department of Psychology as the Executive Director for the Center of Autism and Related Disabilities as well as the Director of the Division of Community Outreach and Engagement. “I’m proud to support UM and to leave a legacy to the programs we have built and continue to build, particularly those that extend beyond our campus boundaries,” says Dr. Alessandri.

Dr. Alessandri has chosen to leave his legacy by designating a portion of his retirement benefits to go to the University of Miami upon his death. All it took was a very quick, simple change to the beneficiary on his Designation of Beneficiary form to include the University.

Establishing a gift to the University of Miami has benefits for you. In addition to the satisfaction that comes from knowing you have made a difference in the lives of others, the best gift plans improve your financial and tax situation. Start planning your legacy today.

If you would like to receive information on estate and gift planning If you would like to receive information on Estate and Gift Planning opportunities, including designating retirement assets to the University of opportunities at the University of Miami, please call us at 800-529-6935 Miami, please call Cynthia Beamish at 800-529-6935 or visit our website or visit our website at: www.miami.edu/estateandgiftplanning. at: www.miami.edu/plannedgiving.

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2007

th e n & n o w

UM on the campaign trail President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney visited the University of Miami in September to participate in “Meet the Candidates” forums with leading Spanish-language television network Univision.

UM has become an important campaign stop during recent presidential races, especially when candidates work to connect with Hispanic voters. Romney previously appeared at UM in 2007 for the nation’s first Spanish-language debate, also on Univision. “I think it’s a great opportunity for students to see both sides,” said Katrina Torres, a senior majoring in math who attended both forums. “To have something like this where we bring candidates to our school and to do it repeatedly, it’s just amazing.”

2012

On the scene See video of what happened on campus and find out what hosting the Univision forums meant to students. Visit http://goo.gl/XoYad or scan this QR code with your smartphone reader.

2012