Arts & Sciences Magazine Spring 2012

SPRING

UN I V E R S I T Y OF MIAMI CLOSE UP

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UM RESEARCHERS UNRAVEL PATTERNS AND INFLUENCES OF MIGRATION.

2012

DEAN’SMESSAGE The College of Arts and Sciences is a thriving, diverse community bound by scholarship and bolstered by our alumni. We are honored that so many celebrated physicians, lawyers, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, and academics began their professional journeys in our classrooms. No matter their professions, our College instills each new generation of University of Miami graduates with the enduring liberal arts principles of inquiry, engagement, and creativity.

LEONIDAS G. BACHAS Dean of the UM College of Arts and Sciences

Learn about the campaign Visit miami.edu/momentum2 or scan this QR code with your smartphone to find out more.

Alumni, family and friends of the College of Arts and Sciences have long served as faithful stewards of these values locally, nationally, and globally.

You have used the knowledge and understanding gained here at UM to build a better world and a brighter future beyond our beautiful campus. Now, I call upon this community to extend your support for the next phase of growth and development for our College.

Through the University-wide Momentum II campaign, we are given a new imperative to propel the College toward academic breakthroughs. Gifts to the Momentum I campaign expanded opportunities for undergraduate research, provided cutting-edge facilities and equipment, and brought some of the most impressive faculty in the world to teach and research here at UM. Momentum II promises to strengthen those initiatives while fostering further scholastic innovation within the College.

I am pleased to commend the more than 7,000 donors who have already answered this call to action. Because of their generosity, the College of Arts and Sciences has already met half of its fundraising target for Momentum II. We are grateful to these outstanding men and women for their commitment to the success of their fellow Hurricanes, and we invite each of you to join their efforts.

As we anticipate the College’s impact upon future leaders, we turn toward each alumnus to help advance the ambitious goals and diverse interests of our students.

With the help of our passionate and involved community, we will ensure that the College of Arts and Sciences remains a vital institution for generations to come.

Together, we can guarantee that our College never loses its momentum.

SPRING 2012 VOLUMETWELVE | ISSUETWO

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Dean Leonidas G. Bachas Senior Associate Deans Traci Arden Angel Kaifer Daniel L. Pals Associate Deans Rita L. Deutsch Charles Mallery ADVANCEMENT

Assistant Dean for Development Holly Davis

EDITORIAL

Editor Rebekah Monson Contributing Editor Steven J. Marcus Design and Illustration Christina Ullman & Alix Northrup, Ullman Design Photographers Rebekah Monson Kuan Photography Romina Pastorelli

Director of Development Jeanne Luis Assistant Director Jacky Donate

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CONTENTS FEATURES 12 | UM researchers unravel patterns and influences of migration.

16 | A new play from Broadway legend Tommy Tune and a partnership with the Arsht Center provide professional experience for Theatre Arts students.

18 | Miami’s oldest art museum continues expanding its educational mission.

www.facebook.com/ UniversityofMiamiCollegeofArtsandSciences

DEPARTMENTS 2 | News Briefs 5 | Class Spotlight 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 © 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.

ARTS | SCIENCES

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NEWSBRIEFS

STUDIO ARTS COMES TOGETHER NEW FACILITY INTEGRATES ART DEPARTMENT DISCIPLINES.

Senior Lecturer Kyle Trowbridge leads a student critique in ART 301, Intermediate Painting, in the Conni Gordon Painting Studio in the new studio arts building.

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For decades, University of Miami art students, whether of sculpture, glass, ceramics, or painting, have had to trek from one corner of campus to the other to attend courses in different art disciplines. This spring, a new studio arts complex at 1535 Levante Avenue is finally bringing those students together under one roof.

“When the former art building fell into disrepair several years ago, we were spread across campus and started looking at options to try to bring the art department closer geographically,” said chair Lise Drost. “We still have a special campus map for the art department’s different locations, but thankfully it’s getting more compact.”

Students and faculty alike say sharing the new building makes the department feel more integrated. “The new facilities are promoting an esprit de corps among art students that, in turn, is providing them with an increased sense of identity on campus,” said Brian Curtis, an associate professor of painting.

Students say the new proximity will facilitate an exchange of ideas and help them find diverse ways to consider their art. “It helps that we, as sculpture students, can easily go sit in on a painting critique, and vice versa,” said graduate student Colin Sherrell. “When you’re only working within your area, you hear everyone speaking the same language and tending to have similar ideas. It’s great to get different perspectives.”

GIFT FROM ENTERTAINING ART EDUCATOR CONNI GORDON PROVIDES ART STUDIO Throughout her nearly 70-year career, artist and instructor Conni Gordon has helped millions learn painting.

Now, Gordon’s benevolence will continue to inspire generations of art students as they hone their skills in a studio, named in her honor, in the new studio arts complex.

Born into a show-business family and educated at Columbia University and Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Gordon skillfully combined her passion for painting with her talent for performance—which prominently included teaching. As an entertainer during World War II, she taught Marines to paint and then went on to patent a 4-step Painting Method that teaches art by exploiting both the logical and creative centers of the brain.

Gordon became a television mainstay, giving lessons on the late-night shows of Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and David Letterman. After pioneering television art education, as well as selling millions of art-instruction books and teaching her method to thousands of corporate clients, The Guinness Book of Records named her the “World’s Most Prolific Art Teacher.”

Gordon maintains that everyone can express creativity, improve self-esteem, and learn to value art. “No one came to me for lessons hoping to become Van Gogh,” she told the Miami Herald. “People came to me to learn to paint, so they could make art and better appreciate the art form.”

The Conni Gordon Painting Studio will stand as a living legacy to Gordon’s accomplishments both as an artist and art educator.

“I am hopeful that art students in this new facility will benefit from this method for creativity that marries both the left and right brain,” she said.

The new building has been thoughtfully configured with larger workspaces, better light, and durable construction to accommodate large or heavy pieces and equipment, Drost said. Students also have more room to store work and materials as well as areas to meet between classes.

Donations from art department alumni and supporters, together with funding from the university, have enabled the purchase of critical new equipment.

For example, gas kilns and cooling ovens allow students to finish their ceramics and glass projects more efficiently, and a machine that cuts materials using computerized input gives artists a more precise tool for sculpture and mixed-media work.

“This facility is at least 10 years in the making, so the faculty and the students are overjoyed that it has finally happened,” Drost said. “I think having this unified, modern space is going to help the department move forward in some exciting ways.”

NEWFACULTY

A NEW LEADER FOR DIGITAL INNOVATION COMPUTER SCIENTIST UNITES THE RICHTER LIBRARY AND COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES HUMANITIES SCHOLARSHIP USING BIG DATA. As digital resources become increasingly important to academic research and publishing, the College of Arts & Sciences and the Richter Library have partnered through the appointment of Mitsunori Ogihara as the associate dean for digital library innovation.

“This unique partnership should benefit both the college and the library,” said William Walker, dean of the Richter Library. “Our hope is that it will result in the development both of new research and new research tools for humanists here at the University of Miami and at institutions around the world.” He noted in particular that Ogihara, a professor of computer science, “is a big thinker who is interested in big projects. He is going to help our scholars unlock new concepts and take their work in new directions.”

Ogihara, who serves as director of data mining at UM’s Center for Computational Science, points to a wide range of computational applications that can aid humanities scholarship, particularly in mining large data sets. “Using data analysis, we can process and compare texts, for example, extremely efficiently,” he said. “So we may be able to analyze the literature in a new way that may have taken years to uncover in the past.”

Ogihara reflects innovative approaches in his own research, combining a deep

understanding both of the humanities and of the latest computing technologies.

Ogihara’s latest book, Music Data Mining, explores how scholars across many disciplines can access and use the data stored within large digital music collections. He focuses on computational methods inspired by humanistic aspects of music, which include factors such as instrument recognition, emotional perception, and musical aesthetics.

Innovative digital scholarship already has a foothold within both the college and the library—perhaps most notably in the Cuban Theater Digital Archive, a bilingual collection of research and information on Cuban theater. Ogihara’s leadership should expand such efforts and produce new ones, Walker said, by facilitating computational investigation and publication among the university’s celebrated humanities faculty.

Ultimately, successful projects stemming from this imaginative partnership could help propel the library and college alike into new academic frontiers. “Professor Ogihara’s appointment creates a stronger alliance between Arts and Sciences and the Library, and I am excited about the new opportunities for scholarship that this program will provide to our UM community,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Leonidas Bachas.

Richter Library Dean William Walker, Associate Dean for Digital Library Innovation Mitsunori Ogihara, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Leonidas Bachas ARTS | SCIENCES

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NEWSBRIEFS

C H E M I S T R Y | 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 | C O M P U T E R S C I E N C E

PSYCHOLOGY SENIOR SELECTED FOR WHITE HOUSE ROUNDTABLE

“Each Agente de Cambio has his or her own story and interests, but we are all working together toward one goal—educating and preparing students for a better and brighter future.”

BECKY ESPINOSA (Above, third from right)

Psychology senior Becky Espinosa was selected as a White House Agente de Cambio (agent of change) to participate in a roundtable discussion with senior Obama Administration officials this past fall.

The White House partnered with MTV Tr3s (a channel specializing in bilingual Latino programming) and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation to select Espinosa and 11 other promising young Latino leaders from around the country to discuss issues facing their communities.

“Each Agente de Cambio has his or her own story and interests, but we are all working together toward one goal— educating and preparing students for

a better and brighter future,” she said.

“We have created a great network and keep in touch frequently.”

With the criteria for selection being outstanding leadership and service, Espinosa was a fitting choice. She has organized tutoring programs, raised funds for victims of Haiti’s earthquake, promoted various charities, and served as a medical volunteer in Honduras. She also has worked as a research assistant for the Department of Psychology and the Miller School of Medicine and has been an active member of numerous UM clubs and committees.

IRONARROW Three Arts and Sciences seniors—Aly Jaffer, Emily Packard, and Ashley Taggart—were inducted during the fall semester into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, which proudly describes itself as “the highest honor attained at the University of Miami.”

Drawing its symbolism from the traditions of the region’s native Seminole tribe, Iron Arrow recognizes students, faculty, staff, and alumni who exemplify leadership, scholarship, character, humility, and love of alma mater.

Jaffer, an international studies major, was an officer in Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and served as chair of the Homecoming Executive Committee.

Packard, a neuroscience major, worked on orientation and helped organize Funday, which partners students with people with disabilities to share a day of games and activities on campus.

Taggart, a microbiology and immunology major, served as Student Government vice president, worked to help commuter students better assimilate into campus life, and helped improve orientation activities.

True to character, these honorees do not plan to rest on their laurels. “It’s ‘the highest honor attained at the University of Miami,’ but more than that it’s telling me I also have to keep striving to attain that kind of accomplishment in life,” Packard said.

4 SPRING 2012

Meet the college’s Iron Arrow inductees.

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

(Above) Seniors Emily Packard, Aly Jaffer, and Ashley Taggart.

CLASSSPOTLIGHT

T H I S F E AT U R E H I G H L I G H T S C O U R S E S T H AT A R E C R E AT I N G S O M E C A M P U S B U Z Z .

COOKING WITH CHEMISTRY STUDENTS TAKE TO THE LAB TO DISCOVER THE SCIENCE BEHIND GREAT FOOD

Jordan Balke used to be a purist when it came to steak. Until this fall, she wanted her meat grilled, seared, and cooked medium-rare. Then “I learned how to make a better steak,” said the senior majoring in biochemistry. “It’s called sous-vide [French for “under vacuum”], and it’s basically just a giant water bath where the food is held at a specific temperature for a very long time. The result is a more tender steak than any other you can find.”

Balke learned this lesson in Chemistry 317: Chemistry of Food and Taste, which she says made her and her classmates look both at cooking and chemistry in a new light.

Precisely measuring and slowly raising the temperature of the steak using the sous-vide process, which tenderizes the meat, was just one item on the course’s menu. Students investigated using the acidity of citrus juices to prepare ceviche.

They calculated the physics of heat transfer during baking molten chocolate cake. They flash-froze ice cream with liquid nitrogen to create a smoother dessert with smaller crystalline structures and fewer fats than traditional methods. And they experimented with suspensions, colloids, and emulsions, like the gels and foams popularized at trendy restaurants.

Despite the rise in “foodie” culture, there remains a steadfast need for better science

Students prepare their final projects for Chemistry of Food and Taste.

in cooking, said professor Barbara Colonna, a senior lecturer in organic chemistry, who created the course. “Cooks may not know why a particular method works, or how a food is fundamentally changed as it is processed,” she said. “And while scientists understand how and why the changes occur, they don’t necessarily know what makes good food.

There’s a real need to close that gap.”

Thus, after a semester in Chemistry of Food and Taste, junior Joshua Bitran has begun to appreciate the science behind what’s on his plate. “Now whenever I look at food, I really look at it differently,” the biology major said. “I have more of a respect for it, because it’s so complex.”

At the end of the term, the students presented their final research projects on different foods. For example, the chemiststurned-cooks analyzed the molecular traits of flavor compounds in peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches, described the sequence of physical-state changes in the various cooking methods for making matzo-ball soup, outlined reactions that change flavor and texture during bread fermentation, diagrammed the structures and compared the efficacy of vitamin supplements, and explained the processes and biological reactions that create specific antioxidants in teas.

Bitran, whose final project involved comparing the chemical structures of flavor compounds in order to create a novel amusebouche of caviar on a white chocolate cracker, also appreciates the new culinary skills he has picked up in the course. “It’s really the first class I’ve taken here that

(Above) Joshua Bitran prepares caviar on a white chocolate cracker for his final project in Chemistry of Food and Taste.

has immediate practical use, because I’m cooking more,” he said.

Sampling the experiments after studying the science reinforced the physical manifestations of technical concepts, students agreed. And, more simply put, such sampling was a taste treat. “We showed up hungry, because on most days we would have some demo that involved eating,” Balke joked.

Demonstrations also sparked a community partnership with the Whole Foods Market in Coral Gables, which supported the course with donations of food and lab materials. “It was definitely a unique topic that piqued our interest,“ said Melissa Jacobs, a marketing coordinator for the store. “With the University of Miami being one of our neighbors, we were excited to assist by offering fresh highquality ingredients for the students to learn more about food and science.”

At present, Chemistry of Food and Taste is limited to 30 science majors who have taken advanced chemistry. But Colonna hopes to expand the course and offer it as a general science course in the future.

ARTS | SCIENCES

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NEWSBRIEFS

PHYSICS | ART & ART HISTORY | ENGLISH | GEOGRAPHY & REGIONAL STUDIES | RELIGIOUS STUDIES

TEAMING UP FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION A&S FACULTY PARTNER WITH MIAMI SCIENCE MUSEUM FOR RESEARCH AND OUTREACH.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MIAMI SCIENCE MUSEUM

As the Miami Science Museum plans an impressive new facility—a cultural landmark that is rising in downtown Miami’s Museum Park, overlooking Biscayne Bay—College of Arts and Sciences faculty are working with the museum to help improve science education in South Florida.

“With UM’s wide range of new developments and innovative research,” said Gillian Thomas, president and CEO of the museum, “we have a rich terrain of material and quality advice to make our exhibits relevant both locally and internationally, scientifically valid, and also inspiring—so creating the next generation of scientists.”

The Miami Science Museum and UM have teamed up since 2005 through the museum’s Center for Interactive Learning (CIL), which links informal (museum-based) science education with formal (universitybased) science education and research, said Judy Brown, the museum’s senior vice president for education. This partnership has involved psychology faculty in meaningful research on informal science education and has helped researchers collect data from museum visitors as well.

Learning about blood pressure in the Heart Smart exhibit.

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For example, the interactive Heart Smart exhibition teaches about cardiovascular health and offers strategies for a heart smart lifestyle. while providing researchers with important data for tracking heart health in the community. Exhibition visitors move through a series of activities—including a blood pressure station, body mass index station, waist circumference station, lifestyle quiz, relaxation area, and hula-hoop activity.

They receive personalized feedback and learn how physical activity, nutrition, and stress management could affect their heart health. Visitors themselves may contribute to furthering knowledge on cardiovascular health by anonymously opting to share their information with researchers.

With Heart Smart “we wanted to create a personalized and engaging experience where the key takeaway message is that making small changes can add up to big results,” said psychology professor Patrice Saab, Principal Investigator of the project. Saab and psychology professor Judith McCalla together with the Miami Science Museum’s Brown also use the Heart Smart exhibition as the central component of a randomized controlled trial of local high school students designed to determine how health education strategies affect heart health knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral choices.

Moreover, “I’ve viewed the exhibition as a way to translate what we have learned in our laboratory-based investigations to

Head Start pupils learn from the ECHOS curricula.

the community at large,” Saab said. Heart Smart has a wide reach. During its first 2 years, the exhibition has had approximately 79,000 visitors with about 80% consenting to contribute their personal data.

Psychology professor Daryl Greenfield also is enhancing science education through the museum’s CIL partnership, but for a younger audience. Through the Early Childhood HandsOn Science (ECHOS) project, the museum is developing interactive, integrated, and science-centered curricula for preschoolers in Miami-Dade’s Head Start program.

ECHOS links museum-created early science education with early math, language, and literacy instruction as well as with social and motor development, thereby demonstrating the potential of integrated curricula to improve teacher practice and student achievement for children from low income families who are at higher risk for school failure. “When we first started this project, preschool science education was not even on the radar,” Greenfield said.

“Now, there is a growing realization that science in the early years can not only improve multiple areas of school readiness, but can also provide young minds with critical thinking and problem solving skills that will prepare them for kindergarten and beyond.

Such collaborative projects can produce outreach that we hope other communities and institutions will embrace.”

As the new facility takes shape, UM faculty, including Saab and physics professor Kevin Huffenberger, also are assisting the museum’s leaders with planning its other content needs. For example, Huffenberger has helped develop ideas for the museum’s new time and space area. “I look forward to continuing to work with the museum,” he said, “because it’s important to us as scientists to get research out to the public in a meaningful way—and the museum serves as a conduit.”

WELCOMING WRITERS OF COLOR

UM HOSTS FIRST REGIONAL WORKSHOP OF THE VOICES OF OUR NATIONS ARTS FOUNDATION. In recognition of the need for writers of color to secure feedback from peers, and citing the University of Miami’s distinctive position at the center of a diverse community, professor M. Evelina Galang, director of UM’s creative writing program, invited Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA) to hold its first Voices regional workshop at UM this winter. VONA was founded by acclaimed authors Elmaz Abinader, Junot Díaz, Victor Díaz, and Diem Jones in 1999 as the nation’s only multi-genre workshop for writers of color.

“This is VONA’s first event outside the Bay Area, and it has great potential to benefit our campus and our MFA program by drawing in talented writers from across the country,” Galang said. “The goal of these workshops is to get writers at every stage to come together as a community and [for young writers of color to] gain mentorship from other writers of color who are already successful.”

Getting published is an arduous journey for any writer, but writers of color may face additional barriers, said Galang. “At VONA, we are able to focus on craft, and we put aside expectations about identity, race, ethnicity and gender to support the participants’ writing,” she said.

Thus at the event, held this past January, 24 promising writers, including UM graduate students and alumni, underwent a long weekend of intensive writing and critique with Galang and three other distinguished writers.

Poet Willie Perdomo, a lecturer at Fordham University and a former Woolrich Fellow in Creative Writing at Columbia University, worked with attendees to heighten their awareness of the unique lyrical and rhythmic traditions that they manifest in their poems.

Novelist Mat Johnson, a professor in the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program and a former James Baldwin Fellow

of the United States Artists Foundation, helped students to bring their cultural narratives to life in fiction and nonfiction. Abinader, a memoirist, playwright, and professor of English at Mills College, led sessions on bringing the minority cultural perspective to blogging and other forms of Web presence.

Beyond the technical work on participants’ manuscripts, the workshop also gave students an opportunity to share regarding the realities of being a writer of color in publishing and academic life, Abinader said. “We discussed where we fit in the literary world, what conversations we need to have and how to have them, and what living and working as writers means to us and to our communities.”

Gail Dottin, who has attended previous VONA Voices workshops, came to the Miami event to reconnect with a group of writers she respects and to help invigorate her work on a memoir about her family’s experiences in the segregated Panama Canal Zone.

“Everything I write about has something to do with race politics or race relations,” said Dottin, who holds an MFA from Columbia University. “I keep coming to VONA because we write the stories no one else can write.”

Returning to UM for the VONA Voices workshop was a “full-circle moment,” said Danielle Gilyot, B.A. ’03, who was thrilled to return to her alma mater to gain new insights into her work. Having minored in English at UM and recently completed an MFA at the University of New Orleans, she is working on a book tentatively titled In Katrina’s Wake.

“Being one of the very few people of color in my MFA program, I often had to explain my work, but this workshop gave me a different kind of critiquing experience,” Gilyot said. “My work will be stronger, and I had to do a lot less explaining to improve it.”

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NEWSBRIEFS

POLITICAL SCIENCE

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SOCIOLOGY

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M O D E R N L A N G U A G E S & L I T E R AT U R E S

SHAPING POLITICAL DISCOURSE ONLINE POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSORS TAKE RESEARCH INTO THE BLOGOSPHERE. As the 2012 presidential race heats up, the media are eager for insights from the University of Miami’s political scientists.

Some faculty have already begun cultivating a public audience directly by sharing their expertise through blogs.

Associate professors Gregory Koger and Casey Klofstad are blogging on national politics, as well as state and local politics, for The Huffington Post and the Monkey Cage, a leading political science blog. “The idea is to take leading political science research, apply it to current events, and share it with a general audience,” said Koger.

Since its launch in 2007, the Monkey Cage has become a hub for discussions among political scientists, the media, and politics junkies from around the globe. As an occasional contributor, Koger weighs in alongside other top academic analysts from NYU, Columbia, Georgetown, and Yale.

Koger started contributing to the Monkey Cage in the summer of 2009 on the rules of filibustering in the U.S. Senate. A year later, he testified before the Senate’s Rules Committee on that very topic. “That opportunity was at least indirectly tied to the visibility of my work for the Monkey Cage,” he said. “My posts were well timed to help people understand this issue as it was unfolding in the news.”

Both Koger and Klofstad view their blogging as a public-service extension of their teaching and research. “I think the public often feels distanced from the academy, but blogging helps bridge that schism,” said Klofstad,

Political science professors Gregory Koger, left, and Casey Klofstad take their research online via blogs.

who blogs at the Huffington Post. “Our work becomes more relevant to the wider society every four years—when there is a presidential election—but in the 24-hour online news cycle there is more demand for our research.” He and his colleagues typically pinpoint the key issues in political races and break down likely voting behaviors according to demographic factors such as age, ethnicity, and gender.

Blogging also allows academics to disseminate research quickly, without having to wait for interest from the media; and

highlighting relevant issues that the media might miss can help inject certain research into the national discussion. “We can now directly communicate with the public,” Klofstad said.

His and Kroger’s perspectives, given their vantage point at the University of Miami, are of particular interest to the American public this year. “Florida is still a swing state, and we will play a very important role in choosing our next president. Everyone is looking for insights on what might tip a close election.”

BOOKMARKS UNITING STATES In his first book, Uniting States (Oxford University Press), assistant professor of political science Joseph M. Parent argues that unions between sovereign states are the balancing coalitions of last resort. Elites can weld separate states into a durable union, he maintains, only when these entities would otherwise face particularly serious threats. Drawing on five major historical cases of union—the United States, Switzerland, Sweden-Norway, Gran Colombia, and the European Union—Uniting States sheds new light on political polarization, state dissolution, federalism, and the possibility of uniting without going to war.

8 SPRING 2012

DIGNIFYING ARGENTINA: PERONISM, CITIZENSHIP, AND MASS CONSUMPTION

In Dignifying Argentina: Peronism, Citizenship, and Mass Consumption (Pitt Latin American Studies), assistant professor of history Eduardo Elena’s first book explores the relationship between populist politics and mass consumption in mid-twentieth-century Argentina. He describes how the aspirations of ordinary Argentineans meshed, albeit imperfectly, with Peronist paradigms of state-led progress; and he offers new insights on Peronism’s enduring significance as a popular movement.

MAJOR INTEREST IN NEW MINORS COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ADDS MINORS IN ARABIC STUDIES AND LGBTQ STUDIES. Responding to growing demand for more offerings in languages and cultures that play increasingly important roles on the world stage, the College of Arts and Sciences has introduced two new minors, and is planning a third. Undergraduates throughout the university can now minor in Arabic studies and starting next fall will be able to minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) studies. Faculty are also working to add a minor in Chinese Studies.

Students began enrolling in the interdisciplinary Arabic studies minor this fall. “UM has been teaching the basic Arabic language for years, but it is now an especially interesting time to study the Arabic world itself,” said Christina Civantos, an assistant professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, who spearheaded the effort to expand course offerings. “Certainly the Middle East is frequently in the news for many different reasons, and it is virtually impossible to accomplish strategic initiatives without cultural understanding.”

Students minoring in Arabic studies complete nine credits of Arabic language courses and six credits of courses focusing on Islamic studies or Arabic culture. “UM has long been a leader in Latin American and Caribbean studies,” Civantos said. “With this and other new programs we are working toward becoming a truly global institution.”

Students are also seeking more courses in gender and sexuality studies. An Introduction to LGBTQ Studies course was offered for the first time this spring, and the class limit was raised from 25 to 35 to accommodate interested students, said Steve Butterman, an associate professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, who chaired the committee to create an LGBTQ studies minor. “We started offering queer studies in 2006, and student demand has been growing steadily since,” he said.

The diversity of students interested in LGBTQ Studies also led the committee to build the minor across a broad swath of disciplines both within and outside the college, Butterman said. “A rich intellectual experience in this type of academic inquiry means creating a solid, well-structured curriculum as well as a sense of community among the students.”

Students can enroll next fall in the LGBTQ Studies minor, which will consist of the introductory course and at least six credits of advanced THE ITALIAN IN MODERNITY

In The Italian in Modernity (Toronto Italian Studies), English professor Robert Casillo and classics professor John Paul Russo look both at Italy and Italian America to explore the paradoxical representation of Italy as the originator of modernity that has nevertheless resisted many modern tendencies. In covering diverse topics such as travel writing, gender, national character and stereotypes, immigration, and film, Casillo and Russo discuss writers and artists as wide-ranging as Stendhal, Stäel, Burckhardt, Puccini, D’Annunzio, Santayana, Hemingway, and Coppola.

courses. Students also will have the option to complete a senior research project within the minor. “The committee spent over a year working on course content and a syllabus that includes instruction from across the college and the university,” said Robert Johnson, a professor in the Department of Sociology, who served on the committee. “I think one of the true strengths of the program will be that so many departments are invested in it.”

Interest in the Chinese courses offered by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures also has expanded with China’s growing position as an international political, social, and economic power. Some 90 students are currently enrolled in Chinese language classes, and a minor, which faculty hope to create next academic year, will add upperlevel Chinese language courses and incorporate humanities and social sciences classes as well.

“Many students plan to pursue careers in government and business with specific relevance to China,” said June Teufel Dreyer, a professor in the Department of Political Science, who led efforts to found the program.

“This interdisciplinary minor will provide them with the language skills—and grounding in the Chinese culture, history, and political system—they will need to be competitive in today’s demanding job market.”

The College of Arts and Sciences expects to continue innovating in this spirit. Dean Leonidas Bachas says that the college, as the largest academic unit in the university, will remain responsive to students’ interests and emergent workplace demands when evaluating course and curriculum offerings.

SUPRAMOLECULAR PHOTOCHEMISTRY: CONTROLLING PHOTOCHEMICAL PROCESSES

Professor V. Ramamurthy, chair of the chemistry department, coedited Supramolecular Photochemistry: Controlling Photochemical Processes (John Wiley), a reference work on the past two decades’ advances in the interdisciplinary and rapidly growing field of supramolecular photochemistry. As the most comprehensive update on all aspects of photochemistry and photophysics—embracing natural, synthetic, inorganic, organic, and biological supramolecular systems alike—the book covers supramolecular photochemistry’s past, present, and also projects the field’s future.

ARTS | SCIENCES

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NEWSBRIEFS

M AT H E M AT I C S | T H E AT R E A R T S | P H I L O S O P H Y | A N T H R O P O L O G Y | C L A S S I C S

LECTURES DELIVER BIG SCIENTIFIC IDEAS

GENEROUS DONOR SUPPORT BRINGS LEADING SCIENTISTS AND MATHEMATICIAN TO CAMPUS. Famed evolutionary biologist, humanist, and author Richard Dawkins, who until his recent retirement was Oxford University’s Charles Simonyi Professor for the Understanding of Science, delivered in September one of best-attended lectures in the College of Arts and Science’s history.

About 1,300 people attended the event, filling the Storer Auditorium as well as seven overflow classrooms where the lecture was simulcast.

Dawkins’ popular books on science as well as the propagation of the word meme, which he coined to extend the Darwinist idea of “replicators” into the cultural sphere, have made him one of the world’s most prominent scholars. His latest book, The Magic of Reality, aims to interest children in science by comparing mythical stories to scientific explanations of natural phenomena.

“The real world, as understood scientifically, has magic of its own—a spellbinding beauty which is all the more magical because it is real and because

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we can understand how it works,” Dawkins said.

The Appignani Foundation, founded

by Louis Appignani, partnered with UM’s Department of Philosophy and Center for the Humanities to bring Dawkins to Coral Gables. “It was excellent to have someone of Dawkins’ caliber at UM because he has a broad vision on a number of important issues,” said philosophy department chair Otávio Bueno.

The McKnight-Zame Distinguished Lecture Series brought another eminent academic to campus in January, and he spoke to a standing-room crowd at the CAS Gallery. Professor Shing-Tung Yau, a Fields Medalist who currently serves as William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University, delivered a lecture based on his recent book, The Shape of Inner Space.

In the book and lecture alike, “I wanted to give people a sense of how mathematicians think and approach the world,” Yau said. “I also wanted them to realize that mathematics does not have to be a wholly abstract discipline, disconnected from everyday phenomena, but is instead crucial to our understanding of the physical world.”

Yau’s lecture addressed how mathematicians think and approach the physical world.

SHING-TUNG YAU William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University

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Yau’s work in algebraic and differential geometry has had a profound influence on important topics in physics including string theory. He described his groundbreaking mathematical work on the curving of space within a closed vacuum, which offers a solution to the mystery of extra dimensions posited in string theory.

The McKnight-Zame lectures are made possible through support from alumnus Jeffrey Fuqua, A.B. ’67, M.S. ’70, Ph.D. ’72, who received his Ph.D. in mathematics under the direction of professor James McKnight. The series is named in honor of professor McKnight and also of professor Alan Zame, who was a mentor of Fuqua’s while he was a student at UM. In February, the Dr. Jimmie R. Nelson, ’59 Lecture offered a probing look at a different kind of scientific puzzle. Department of Energy official Ines Triay, B.S. ’80 Ph.D. ’86, tackled nuclear cleanup in her lecture, “The Environmental Legacy of the Cold War.” Triay has dedicated her career to the safe, timely, and cost-effective cleanup of radioactive waste from our nation’s nuclear-weapons production and research. As the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management under` the Obama administration, Triay led what is generally considered the largest, most diverse, and most complex environmental cleanup in the world.

The Nelson Lecture was established in 2009 through a bequest of alumnus Dr. Jimmie R. Nelson, B.S. ‘59, a radiologist who earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UM. Dr. Nelson hoped his love of learning and chemistry would live on through these annual lectures, which are accessible to students and the public.

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Dawkins’ lecture “The Magic of Reality” focused on the magic of science and a wide range of natural phenomena.

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Former Oxford University Charles Simonyi Professor for the Understanding of Science

Triay tackled nuclear cleanup in her lecture, “The Environmental Legacy of the Cold War.” INES TRIAY, ’80 Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management

ARTS | SCIENCES

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UM researchers unravel patterns and influences of migration

COMMON

MIAMI PLAYS A LEADING ROLE IN UNDERSTANDING MODERN HUMAN MIGRATION

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> Alejandro Portes’ work has profoundly

influenced academic understanding of immigrant communties. His arrival on campus marks the emergence of the college as a major hub for migration studies.

The history of civilization is a narrative of migration. In 100,000 years of our history, human beings have populated every continent. People explore and settle. They flee strife, persecution, disease, and danger, and they are drawn to opportunity, peace, wealth, and freedom. Simply moving from place to place is a fundamental human experience.

The United States famously has been described as a nation of immigrants.

Within this quintessentially American narrative, Miami has been playing a leading role since the mid-20th century.

At the forefront of the study of migration is professor Alejandro Portes, whose work has profoundly influenced understanding of immigrant communities. Portes first captured the attention of academic and general audiences 20 years ago with his seminal book on Miami, City on the Edge, which reshaped sociological research on immigration and redefined the city itself. After 16 years at Princeton and 12 years at the helm of its prestigious Center for Migration Studies, Portes has returned to Miami for part of the year to teach in the College of Arts and Sciences and continue his research on the city and its immigrant communities.

Professor Portes’ arrival on campus also marks the emergence of the college as a major hub for migration studies, which underlie many faculty members’ research in linguistics, sociology, politics, epidemiology, and other fields. The study of migration reveals common threads among these areas and suggests interdisciplinary approaches that enhance understanding across the academic spectrum.

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“Clearly [Miami] is a prime gateway city for immigration from South America and the Caribbean, and it has really been an experiment in multicultural living and the resilience of American institutions.

alejandro portes UM PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY

THE MOST FOREIGN U.S. CITY

n his years of study, Portes, who first came to Miami as an adolescent Cuban exile and as a result enjoys close personal ties to the Cuban enclave here, has come to see Miami as a unique vantage point for monitoring migration. “Clearly this is a prime gateway city for immigration from South America and the Caribbean, and it has really been an experiment in multicultural living and the resilience of American institutions,” Portes said. “Miami is unique.

It’s the most foreign city in the United States.”

Portes is not alone in looking to Miami for insight. The breakneck pace of Miami’s transformation from tourist enclave to multicultural metropolis offers a glimpse at what other American cities may face as immigration intensifies, said geography professor Thomas Boswell, who has studied ethnic geography in South Florida for several decades. “What has happened here in Miami should inform us on some of the most important issues on the horizon, such as immigration, education, health care, and the economy,” he said.

Another researcher of migration is assistant professor of sociology Frank Samson, who joined the college in 2009 and is studying how immigrants fit into and influence political institutions. “Demographically, we have reached the point where about half of the newborns in the United States are nonwhite,” he said. “So I am looking at how the country may change in terms of race, ethnicity, and politics.”

LEARNING FROM LANGUAGE

The influx of Cubans into Miami during the 1960s, since followed by waves of immigrants from elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean, have made Miami a multilingual city whose government recognizes English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole as official languages. According to the 2010 U.S. Census data, more than 70 percent of Miami-Dade County residents speak a language other than English at home.

And the city of Miami is one of the only municipalities in America in which Spanish is a predominant language. “In Miami, if you

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speak to people in Spanish, they’ll most often respond in Spanish and continue the conversation that way,” professor of Spanish Andrew Lynch recently told The Huffington Post.

Miami’s influx of wealthy, educated Spanish-speakers has made Spanish a language of commerce, Lynch said. Yet second- and thirdgeneration immigrants are not acquiring necessary formal Spanish skills for professional communication, according to Lynch’s research.

“The city is by far the most bilingual in the nation and a major hub for Latin American commerce and mass media,” he said. “If Miami wants to maintain and grow those vital aspects of the economy, the city needs to foster bilingualism, particularly in the educational realm.”

Miami’s Spanish-speaking populations also encompass diverse cultural experiences, said Christina Civantos, an associate professor of Spanish who studies the influences of Arab immigrants on Latin America. Arab immigrants have impacted language and culture of South America, particularly in Argentina, she said.

Civantos and Lynch agree that working in Miami is a boon to their research, because their studies are relevant to their students.

“In my own classes, many Hispanic students have grandparents or great-grandparents who moved to Latin America from the Arab world,” she said.

CHANGING POPULATIONS

While immigrants from Latin American and the Caribbean are the most prominent ethnic group in Miami today, South Florida has a history of attracting other migrant populations, many of whom initially saw the area as a winter haven. Among these groups are Jewish Americans from the north, especially retirees, whom geography professor Ira Sheskin has long studied. “To a large extent, the migration of the elderly Jews once drove the economy here, but we

are now seeing steep declines in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, although the Jewish population of Palm Beach County continues to increase,” Sheskin said.

Sheskin has conducted demographic surveys of Jewish communities across the country for more than 30 years, and his research has clearly shown the effects of such movement. “When migration changes the ethnic mix somewhere,” he said, “it changes the politics, the economy, and so many other things within the community.”

Migration can even alter the health status of a region, according to sociology professor Robert Johnson, who researches medical sociology. “If you look at history, people have long been concerned with how migration might spread disease,” Johnson said. “In medical sociology, we have recently been studying the effect of migration on our immigrant populations’ health to better understand them.”

In the past, Johnson studied the health of Eastern European Jews in Israel, and he recently completed the collection of health data on Miami residents that will enable comparisons of immigrants’ health with that of nonimmigrants. His data will also be used to compare the health of Miami residents to that of U.S. residents in general.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

Many faculty members welcome an interdisciplinary model for exploring emerging trends in migration. “By working among diverse disciplines we integrate different approaches, improve the research, and ultimately reach a much larger audience,” Johnson said.

With so many researchers on the forefront of migration issues, the College of Arts and Sciences is poised to become a major hub for migration studies, said Portes. “There are enough faculty here interested in these issues, and enough rich research to facilitate a [UM] center,” he said.

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A new play from Broadway legend Tommy Tune and a partnership with the Arsht Center give Theatre Arts students professional experience.

hen professor Henry Fonte became chair of the Department of Theatre Arts last year he wasted no time getting UM students on the national stage, providing them with unique training through partnerships with theatre professionals. “We are ensuring that our students have broad, meaningful professional experiences,” Fonte said. “When they go out looking for work, we want theatres and casting agents to know they are exceptional.”

In November, more than 30 Theatre Arts students staged Fifty Four Forever—a musical tribute to Studio 54 (a renowned 1970s New York nightclub) and the first show in almost 20 years from Broadway legend Tommy Tune. The production drew producers, artists, and national press, including The New York Times, to the Ring Theatre and enabled students to learn firsthand what it takes to build a major musical.

“It was by far the best experience I’ve had in my life,” said Kyle Axman, a junior who played nightclub manager Steve Rubell, the show’s 16 SPRING 2012

lead character. “Working with Tommy was an incredible opportunity, and he treated us as professionals throughout the process.”

Fonte hopes that the success of Fifty Four Forever will encourage other playwrights to workshop original productions at UM. “With the demise of the old apprentice system in theatre,” he said, “exposure in shows of this caliber is invaluable for young theatre professionals.”

Significant contributions from donors, including real estate executive Edward Easton and Michael S. Gordon (director of the UM Center for Research in Medical Education), provided financial support for the Fifty Four Forever project. Fonte noted that continued backing from the UM community could make Theatre Arts a new hub for the development of original plays.

Theatre Arts also partnered with the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in October to stage The House of Bernarda Alba, Frederico García Lorca’s final play. The play was cotranslated by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, who served last fall as a Center for the Humanities’ Henry King Stanford Distinguished Professor.

Critics hailed the UM/Arsht Center collaboration for reviving classical theatre in Miami, and the successful staging prompted an enthusiastic commitment from Arsht executive vice president Scott Shiller: “What has started as a pilot program will soon grow into an ongoing partnership,” he told The Miami Herald. “This is essentially the core of

Theatre alumni reunite at The Ring

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE RING THEATRE

the Arsht’s mission: Developing great talent and keeping it here in Miami.”

While Fonte clearly has his eye on national prominence for Theatre Arts, he also shares Shiller’s vision of community involvement and cultivating homegrown talent. The department is building partnerships with other local theatres, and its students are teaching Citrus Grove Middle School pupils dance and theatre.

Theatre Arts is also collaborating with the School of Communication’s Motion Picture Program to provide acting students with more film experience and to give Motion Picture students the opportunity to direct actors.

“We are all firmly committed to continuing this caliber of work and collaboration,” Fonte said. “We’ve bitten off a lot in the past year, and everyone—students, faculty, the college, and professionals— has really gotten behind it.”

(Top) Sean Zajac, B.S. ’09, Tommy Tune

Laughter and song rang through campus this January when alumni from 1970 to 1983 gathered to celebrate their years performing together at UM’s Jerry Herman Ring Theatre. More than 50 former Theatre Arts students toured their old stomping grounds at The Ring and gathered at the Newman Alumni Center to reminisce and revel together again.

Alumnus Neil Einleger spent several months organizing the event after he and several classmates planned to meet in Miami.

“It was really amazing how it mushroomed exponentially into a big event,” he said. “Everyone was just so eager to see each other and get back to UM.” Theatre alumni from across the country attended, including Olympian Greg Louganis and actress Dawnn Lewis. Lewis and alumnae Janet Aldrich and Valerie Perri Lipson reprised performances from their UM years, and the cast of Oklahoma! sang the classic title song as Einleger accompanied.

“I marvel at the accomplishments of this group, in and out of the theatre,” said Aldrich. “We’ve been through a lot, and emerged in our 50s as wonderful individuals.”

Einleger hopes the event will inspire alumni to maintain strong ties to UM and increase support for Theatre Arts. “Everyone realizes what a special time and place it was for us, and I think they will be more supportive of the University,” he said. “Ultimately, we would all love to see the department get a new theatre because we have simply outgrown The Ring.” Theatre alumni are planning more events across the country to keep the reunion spirit going and to continue rallying support for Theatre Arts, Einleger said.

(Above) The Full Company of Fifty Four Forever

See what you missed at the reunion Scan this QR code with your smartphone or visit bit.ly/Adb6xS

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Miami’s oldest art museum continues expanding its educational mission.

(above) Africa, Bassa people (Liberia) Divination Head, 20th century wood and stain, 7 7/8 x 4 3/4 x 6” Gift of Alan Potamkin, 2007.48.94

IMAGES: COURTESY OF THE LOWE ART MUSEUM

(below) Washington Allston, United States, 1779-1843 Mother and Child oil on canvas, 49 1/2 x 40 1/4” Gift of The Washington Allston Trust, 56.141.000

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rt lovers are often surprised to learn that South Florida’s oldest and most diverse art museum is housed at the University of Miami. “The Lowe is the most comprehensive museum in South Florida in terms of chronology and expansiveness, and having it on campus is an invaluable resource,” said art history professor Perri Lee Roberts.

The Lowe Art Museum celebrates its 60th anniversary this spring with an exhibition of 137 works from its permanent collection, which draws on art from around the world and through many eras of art history. Miami is an established center for contemporary art, but the Lowe’s diverse collection offers an important complement and historical context, Roberts said.

The Lowe became South Florida’s first art museum when it moved from three classrooms into its own building in 1952, through a gift from philanthropists Joe and Emily Lowe. With continued support by the local arts community, the museum’s collection has grown to nearly 18,000 pieces, spanning more than 5,000 years of art history and embracing contributions from five continents.

The breadth and depth of the museum’s collections has been influenced by its educational mission, said Brian Dursum, director and chief curator of the museum. “For a university museum, what drives us forward are the students and faculty and then the community at large,” he said. “We’re doing more exhibitions from the permanent collections that engage faculty and students.”

Students in classics, cultural studies, theatre arts, and the humanities have investigated works related to their studies, and studio artists use the collection for reference and inspiration. “In line with its mission, the Lowe is a cultural asset that also enriches the curriculum for the entire

Christo, United States (born Bulgaria), b. 1935 Wrapped Monument to Cristobal Colon Project for Barcelona - Plaza Porta de la Pau, 1976 fabric, string, crayon and graphite on paperboard, 28 1/2 x 22 1/4 x 1 5/8” Museum purchase through the 2003 Director’s Circle, the Linnie E. Dalbeck Memorial Endowment Fund and the Lowe Art Museum Acquisitions Fund, 2003.7 © Christo

university by allowing students and faculty to experience art and history firsthand,” said Dean Leonidas Bachas.

At present the museum faces some limitations in furthering its educational mission. “Right now, if someone wants to do a seminar or a class in the museum, we cannot accommodate that very easily,” said Dursum. Thus the Lowe is planning to build a new art study center to accommodate small groups and lectures.

While on-campus education remains a top priority for the Lowe, it also educates the community. Many of the museum’s 35,000 off-campus guests last year were drawn in through its small-scale events, freeadmission days, monthly happy hours, or the annual Beaux Arts festival.

Hundreds of schoolchildren get their first exposure to art through tours at the Lowe. A magnet program partnership with two Miami-Dade county schools, Southside Elementary and Shenandoah Middle School, helps students use museum resources to learn lessons in the humanities and acquire critical thinking skills.

To help support future exhibitions and educational programming, this past January Beaux Arts pledged $1.7 million to the museum. “The Lowe’s multicultural collections mirror the diverse population of residents living in Miami-Dade County,” said Beaux Arts president Jennifer M. Pfleger. “This makes the museum a unique resource not only for the University of Miami but for the entire community.”

John Ferren, United States, 1905-1970 Untitled, 1958 pastel on paper, 25 1/8 x 19” Gift of Theodore Racoosin, 70.031.001; © 1958 John Ferren

Korea, Chosôn Dynasty, 1392-1910 Jar, 1700-1800 porcelain and underglaze cobalt blue, 15 3/4 h. x 12 7/8” dia.

Gift of Dr. Young Seek Choue, 60.157.000 ARTS | SCIENCES

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TRACKINGHURRICANES YOURNEWS

50s

_______________________________ JAMES F. POLLACK, AB ’53, JD ’55, was

nominated by the 11th district for the Tobias Simon Award for his pro bono work during the past 3 years. Pollack volunteers at Legal Aid twice a week. He also volunteers at the Coral Gables senior program, leading a weekly class in current events and a monthly jazz class. He was awarded the 2011 Positive Living Award by the Alliance for Aging in the legal category.

VICTOR A. RATNER, BS ’54, Chemistry,

was president and CEO of Video Research Corporation, an engineering and production company that developed and manufactured magnetic recording devices for government and industrial applications. Ratner is now retired in Roanoke, Virginia, where he continues to be an active trombonist in local music organizations.

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.

JERRY V. WILKEY, AB ’55, JD ’57, received

the Florida Bar 50 year Membership “with distinction” certificate in ’07 and was listed in Best’s Recommended Insurance Attorneys.

Wilkey has been retired for 20 years and lives in Palm Beach with his wife, Sari, B.S. ’57.

DEBORAH A. HOFFMAN, AB ‘56, J.D. ‘83,

received the Positive Living Award, Arts and Music category, from the Alliance for Aging.

With Catalyst Miami, she recently launched ReServe Miami, an innovative form of volunteer civic engagement that provides talented and experienced adults 55 and older opportunities to give back to their community through part-time service positions at Miami-Dade nonprofits and public agencies.

GORDON R. MILLER, BS ’56, Chemistry, has

the arrival of his second grandchild, Henry George, little brother to Charlie, on December 31, 2010. He hopes both of his grandsons will be UM graduates. Pratt lives in semi-retirement in central Florida. He enjoys working on his golf game.

60s

LOUIS J. TRIPOLI, AB ’70, Politics & Public

practices psychology in Chicago, specializing in individual and group psychotherapy and supervision, consultation and coaching with individuals and organizations. He maintains hislife-long passion for music as a chamber music cellist and invites classmates to make contact.

RUBYE D. JEWELL, AB ’62, Languages, ED ’70,

will retire in July of 2012 after half a century of teaching in Florida and Maine. She is currently a teacher at C.W. Ruckel Middle School and resides in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

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CHARLES W. PRATT, BS ’67, Geology, welcomed

70s

LEON J. HOFFMAN, AB ‘61, Psychology,

has been in the entertainment industry since he graduated from the University of Miami in 1956. He has performed on Broadway, primetime television, daytime television and feature films, including starring as Stefano DiMera since 1982 on the popular television show “Days of Our Lives”.

funding from the IDA Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund to begin production of a new documentary about democracy, the new journalism and poverty through the work of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), America’s controversial anti-poverty community group. The documentary is based on his book Seeds of Change. He hopes to get the film completed for the New York Tribecca Film Festival and released before the 2012 elections.

practiced opthamology in Miami for 52 years and was recently appointed voluntary professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

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JOSEPH MASCOLO, AB ’56, Theatre Arts,

JOHN D. ATLAS, AB ’65, Sociology, received

ALLAN ROSENBAUM, AB ’62, History, is

professor of public administration and director of the Institute for Public Management and Community Service at Florida International University. He was elected vice president of the American Society for Public Administration.

His term will begin in March 2012 and he will accede to the presidency in 2014.

_______________________________ Affairs, joined the Albany-based civil litigation and general practice firm Maguire Cardona where he will serve as managing attorney.

During the past 25 years, Tripoli, a Syracuse native, has tried medical malpractice cases in various specialty areas, including obstetrics, cardiology, internal medicine, neurology, infectious disease, emergency medicine, nursing home, and medical professional disciplinary matters. Tripoli is admitted to practice in New York, Arizona and the District of Columbia and before the United States District Courts for the Northern District of New York, as well as the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

He is a member of both the New York State and Onondaga County Bar Associations.

HEATHER FREELAND, AB ’70, Biology, passed

away on July 10, 2011. She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Jerry Freeland, and her sons Jerry, James and Kenneth.

GEORGINA A. ANGONES, AB ’72, English, was

appointed by Senator Bill Nelson to serve for two years on the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida Judicial Nominating Commission. She is also the Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations at the University of Miami School of Law.

John Santell found learning, love, and life’s work at UM

MARCELA C. AUERBACH, AB ’73, Sociology,

managing partner at Nolan & Auerbach, P.A., received the Lawyer of the Year award from Taxpayers Against Fraud (TAF) in Washington D.C. on September 13, 2011. She is a prominent speaker who has led numerous panel discussions and training conferences for attorneys, federal and state prosecutors, and federal agents on topics such as healthcare fraud, investigative techniques, and federal court and trial advocacy. She was a lecturer at the Department of Justice Advocacy Institute and spoke on panels at the Taxpayers Against Fraud Conference and the Southern Health Care Fraud Institute.

JONATHAN T. LORD, BS ’73, Chemistry, MD

’78, Pathology, joined the University of Miami in September as chief innovation officer and professor of pathology at the Miller School of Medicine. He is currently chair of the board of directors of Dexcom, which develops new technologies and improvements in the field of diabetes and glucose control. A fellow of the College of American Pathologists (FCAP), he is also a member of the advisory board to the director of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

RETHA BOONE-FYE, AB ’73, English, was recently

honored by Identify, Connect, Activate, The Black Accomplished (ICABA) at a reception held in October. The organization focuses on recognizing black professionals and entrepreneurs who excel in their fields. Boon-Fye is currently the director of Miami-Dade county’s Black Affairs Advisory Board.

RAYMOND ANGELO BELLIOTTI, MA ‘76,

Philosophy, PhD ’77, Philosophy, was appointed Distinguished Teaching professor of philosophy at SUNY at Fredonia. He analyzes our moral obligations to the dead in his latest book, Posthumous Harm: Why the Dead are Still Vulnerable.

DAVID O. HARTMAN, BS ’76, Chemistry,

MBA ’79, was appointed visiting professor of management at Quinnipiac University School of Business.

DOUGLAS B. BULLOCK, AB ’77, Geography,

retired full-time in Walterboro, South Carolina effective January 18, 2012.

He took a circuitous route to his degree, but John Santell has spent a lifetime building on his University of Miami experiences. In two stints at UM, Santell honed the leadership skills that led to his success as a businessman, he made connections that shaped other aspects of his accomplished career, and he met his wife of 60 years.

Santell first enrolled at UM in 1948, when he and many other World War II veterans worked on the construction of campus facilities, including the Merrick Building. He formed friendships with university administrators, including Vice President Eugene Cohen and Treasurer John O’Day, who saw his leadership potential and put him to work for the university.

Santell was hired by the admissions office to help veterans enroll in classes. “If it wasn’t for them, there would probably be no University of Miami,” he said. “So many veterans came here, and at that time, the university needed us.”

Administrators soon asked him to help revamp the student worker program in the cafeteria. Santell recruited new staff, set schedules, and helped speed up the lines.

Cafeteria manager Olga Grob told The Hurricane in 1950, “Faculty members and customers agree that the service is much better since John has been here.”

Sorting out student workers in the cafeteria gave Santell valuable management experience, but it also served as backdrop for a great love story. Santell met his future wife, Carol, when she stepped in to cover a friend’s shift. “This little rich girl from Indiana had never worked and didn’t know the routine of the cafeteria.

But Santell was smitten. He took her out to his favorite off-campus spot, The Nook, where he treated her to a 35-cent burger and beer and asked her to marry him that very night.

“Carol, an art major, thought I was crazy, but I knew I was going to marry her,” he said. “And here we are.”

After the couple married in 1951, they spent almost a decade away from Miami, while Santell built a career in real estate and insurance. But John, Carol, and their two children came back to UM so that he could finish his degree. Upon his return, administrators had another job for Santell—as a campus police officer. He worked nights patrolling the university and studying during quiet times to complete a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology.

“I wanted to be an anthropologist, but one of the professors told me, ‘You’ve got too much chutzpah. You should be a lawyer or a businessman,’” Santell recalled. He did spend

“I love the University of Miami. I loved everyone there. It was a wonderful place for me.”

J O H N S A N T E L L (Above, with wife Carol)

a couple of years at the law school, which he then left to pursue politics.

Working on political campaigns led to a job at the Federal Housing Administration, and eventually to his long career as a consultant.

“I represent about 20 of the biggest insurance companies in the world,” he said, “and when they have a problem with a government, I help them get it resolved.”

In the ‘80s, the couple decided to spend a year in Paris so Carol could further explore her art. Carol was selected to exhibit her work at the prestigious Grand Palais in Paris, and one year became seven as her reputation as an artist grew. As Carol’s dreams came true, John followed his own passion for culinary exploration.

John credits the university not only for the skills it taught him, but also for the impact UM has had throughout their lives. “I love the University of Miami,” Santell said. ”I loved everyone there. It was a wonderful place for me.”

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TRACKINGHURRICANES

A civil litigator’s competitive edge RIGOROUS UNDERGRAD EXPERIENCE AT UM HELPED MOLD A TOP LAWYER.

“At UM, I began to learn how to construct arguments and how to be an effective advocate. In the liberal arts, there’s never one definitive answer. Instead, there’s a lot of open discussion and defending of your position.”

D AVE BELL ’98

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CLASS NOTES | ALUMNI PROFILES

Dave Bell, B.A. ’98, has built an impressive record in civil litigation. As counsel at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Crowell & Moring, he has represented clients in commercial, governmental, and international litigation and has become a leading expert on electronic evidence. Bell’s defense of a federal prison official in Brooklyn, who had been sued by Pakistani detainees after the September 11th terrorist attacks, even led him to our nation’s highest court in 2009.

Bell’s client was a party to Ashcroft vs. Iqbal, in which the Supreme Court ruled that top officials were not liable for the potentially discriminatory actions of subordinates, unless the officials directly ordered those actions. “It’s been rewarding to represent a government official who was trying his best to do a very difficult job in the immediate aftermath of 9-11,” he said.

The seeds of Bell’s success, he believes, were sown in his liberal-arts education at the University of Miami, which he attended on a partial swimming scholarship, triple-majoring in political science, English, and criminology.

“At UM, I began to learn how to construct arguments and how to be an effective advocate,” said Bell. “In the liberal arts, there’s never one definitive answer. Instead, there’s a lot of open discussion and defending of your position.”

Bell’s competitive nature helped him to excel at UM both as a swimmer and a scholar. His name remains on the record wall at the University Center Swimming Pool for the men’s 200-yard medley relay. He also was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, though he’s still a little embarrassed by one of his grades.

“It’s ironic that I only got a B+ as an undergraduate in Constitutional Law, since that’s been an important part of my practice,” he joked. Bell later rectified that errant B—with a higher mark in constitutional law at the University of Virginia School of Law, from which he graduated in 2001.

Bell’s performance on the job has been as exemplary as his academic record. His strong work ethic and determination, colleagues note, have made him a rising star on the forefront of important topics in the law, even bringing him to the ultimate legal venue. “Being sworn into the Supreme Court bar was an amazing experience,” he said. “Sitting 10 feet from the justices and hearing them discuss a case I had worked on for two years was a highlight of my career.”

MARTA ORTIZ- BUONAFINA, PhD ’79,

International Studies, passed away on Sunday, November 29, 2009.

80s

_______________________________ BARRY P. GOLOB, BS ’83, Chemistry, was named

recruiting partner of Duane Morris’ Intellectual Property Practice Group. He practices in the area of intellectual property law and litigation with an emphasis on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition litigation. He has represented clients in various fields of technology including computer software, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, office furniture, the Internet, insurance, manufacturing, LEDs and telecommunications.

NINA MARINO, AB ’85, English, is a partner

at Kaplan Marino in Los Angeles, California.

Marino, an expert in complex white-collar crime matters, spoke on the issue of representing the individual at the 26th Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime in Miami on March 1, 2012.

MARIANELA NOGUERA, BFA ’85, Art, a

Venezuelan artist, started her artistic career more than 40 years ago. She is currently an art teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Besides commission artworks, she has dedicated her artistic talent to serve the community. She has painted murals for Frank C. Martin K-8 Center, Hands of Miami, children’s psychiatrist center in Hialeah, Florida, and South Dade Middle School among others.

TIMOTHY S. HUEBNER, AB ’88, History, was

recently featured on C-SPAN 3’s American History TV where he lectured on President Abraham Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. To watch the lecture, visit http://www.c-span.org/ Events/AHTV-Preview/10737425225-1/ ANITA CHENG, AB ’89, English, passed away

in September 2011. After graduating from the University of Miami, she went on to Georgetown where she earned her law degree.

She worked for the FCC and lived with her husband, Michael, and their two children.

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GLORIA M. ESTEFAN, AB ’78, Psychology,

recently released a new album—Little Miss Havana. Known as the “Queen of Latin Pop,” Estefan is in the top 100 bestselling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those in the United States.

Estefan has won seven Grammy Awards, and is the most successful crossover performer in Latin music to date.

JENNIFER V. RUIZ, AB ’89, Sociology, JD ’92,

moved to Washington D.C. after graduation where she worked as in-house counsel attaining the position of Assistant General Counsel at the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds. She then took a few years off to become a full time stay-athome mom to 2 beautiful girls she adopted from Guatemala. She returned to the workforce to pursue a career in Immigration Law. Ruiz is licensed to practice in Florida, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin and is fluent in Spanish.

90s

_______________________________ MICHAEL HETTICH, PhD ’91, English, published

a book of poems entitled The Animals Beyond Us, which suggests that by growing more attentive to the beauty, mystery, and cruelty of nature, we can make peace with loss and with the inner world. His work is published widely in journals and anthologies, and he has published six books of poetry including Flock and Shadow (New River Press, 2005). He teaches English and creative writing at Miami Dade College.

BLAND ENG, BS ’92, Mathematics and English,

was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Regional Hospital. Eng, 41, has worked for HCA for 17 years, most recently for five years as CEO of Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee.

LEYZA F. BLANCO, AB ’93, Psychology, JD

’96, was recently re-elected to the board of directors for the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) as an at-large director for a twoyear term. Blanco works at Gray Robinson’s Miami office, concentrating her practice area on litigation matters including banking and finance, complex business bankruptcy, creditor’s rights and commercial litigation. She has been selected as one of Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite” since 2008 and was recognized by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on its list of “Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County 40 Under 40” in 2010. In addition, she serves as lead adjunct professor for the bankruptcy clinical program she launched at Florida International University College of Law. ROBERT C. HARDING, MA ’95, Inter American

Studies, PhD ’98, International Studies, director of international studies and chair and associate professor of political science, has been awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor and chair of political science at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.

Previously, he was assistant professor at Lynchburg College. His newest book, Space Policy in Developing Countries, will be published by Routledge in 2012.

EARNEST DELOACH, BA ’96, Political Science

and International Studies, served as panelist on U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown’s

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September 30, 2011 Church Foreclosure Prevention Seminar and published an article entitled “Seven Tricky Contract Terms and What They Really Mean” in the Winter 2011 edition of Seminole Magazine. His business, Young DeLoach PLLC, was named the 2011 New Emerging Business of the Year by the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.

JESSICA I. DAMIAN, AB ’96, English, PhD ’07,

English, was promoted to associate professor of English at Georgia Gwinnett College, earned GGC’s Outstanding Teaching Award, and received the University System of Georgia’s Teaching Excellence Award — the state’s highest honor. She also was invited by Georgia Gwinnett College to give the keynote address at this year’s Convocation.

EZEQUIEL MORSELLA, BA ‘96, Psychology, was

named a faculty member at San Francisco State University as well as the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. His neuroscience research on the brain’s conscious and unconscious processes involved in action production has led to more than forty scientific publications and two books, including Oxford Handbook of Human Action.

In 2010, Morsella was nominated along with six other neuroscientists/psychologists for the Virtual Nobel Prize in Psychology (organized by the University of Klagenfurt, Austria).

CHARONG CHOW, AB ’97, Philosophy, BFA

’97, Sculpture, is an internationally exhibited artist and author. Her debut novel, Random, was inspired by her best friend’s death. She also writes a recipe and lifestyle blog with her children, www.EatingWithHudson.com. She lives with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals in Sonora, California.

ANTONIO PALMER, BS ‘97, Biology, MSED

‘99, Sports Medicines, is the chief radiation therapist at the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics/Sylvester Cancer Center at Deerfield Beach. He is married to Aileen Reyes Palmer, AB ‘97, Economics, MSED ’99. They live in Vero Beach, Florida, with their three future Canes.

ARTS | SCIENCES

23

TRACKINGHURRICANES

CLASS NOTES | ALUMNI PROFILES

ARIELLE D. CHIKOVSKY, AB ’03, English, is an attorney in her

father’s Hollywood, Florida firm. She has skydived in New Zealand and SCUBA dived in Australia, despite a diagnosis of hereditary Usher Syndrome. In May, Chikovsky won $25,000 in the American Eagle Outfitter’s Live Your Life contest, which she donated to Hope for Vision, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding treatments and cures for retinal degenerative diseases like Usher Syndrome. Hope for Vision created Chikovsky’s dream fund through which she hopes to raise $1 million to promote research and awareness for blinding conditions.

ANTHONY ROSA, AB ’97, Sociology, is the

CEO and Founder of GSEA Fashion Group, www.gseafg.com, a manufacturing company he created after graduation, with offices in Peru and New York.

ELIZABETH PRATT DAGGETT, BS ’98, Chemistry,

works for the U.S. Department of Education and lives in Washington, D.C. with her family. She has two children.

00s

_______________________________ ELIZABETH MCDANIEL-GARCIA, B.A. ’04,

Political Science, MBA ’11, was accepted to the Teachers College, Columbia University to receive her second Master’s Degree in the field of Early Learning. She opened the third campus of the Discovery Day Academy, her school of early learning in August 2011. The program focuses on mathematics, science and critical thinking for children from birth to 5 years old.

MIGUEL ENDARA, BFA ‘06, Graphic Design,

a Miami-based web developer and stipple enthusiast, recreated a Xeroxed picture of his father using 3.2 million dots. The video showing the process of this picture quickly went viral. He found art as a perfect medium to pay tribute to his father. See the video at http://miguelendara.com/video/

24 SPRING 2012

10s

_______________________________ SCOTT MCNEIL, AB, ’11, Psychology, has

written a memoir about about his 15-year battle with brain cancer. McNeil shares his story with others to help motivate and inspire them to never give up. He was able to graduate from UM despite his constant fight with cancer. Learn more about Scott at www.scottsmcneil.com

SEAN M. KILPATRICK, A.B. ’06 Psychology, MSED ’09 and SUSAN L. LEARY, AB ’06

English, MA ’08, celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary on January 22, 2012.

Both work for their alma mater. Leary is a lecturer in English composition and Kilpatrick is the associate director of advising in the Department of Psychology.

EVAN FELDSTEIN, BS ‘07, Psychobiology, is

currently a second-year law student at the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.

JENNA L. BLATSTEIN, AB ’08, Criminology,

launched her eponymous lingerie and intimates brand in 2009. Her designs feature ultra-chic style and stunning technical details, fused with the contemporary need for comfort and practicality. They are sold at www.jennaleighlingerie.com MARK L. SHYMAN, MALS ’08, Liberal Studies,

donated a Torah scroll to Mann’s Chabad in South Beach. Its arrival now allows the shul to have two Torahs, the number required for proper Judaic worship.

MARGARET CARDILLO, MFA ’09, English, won

the gold medal for the Florida Book Award in the Children’s Literature category for her book, Just Being Audrey.

ALISON M. BRESCIA GRAY, BS ’08,

Psychology, BHS ’08, Pre-Physical Therapy, DPT ’11, Physical Therapy and JASON GRAY, BBA ’09, Accounting, were married on September 10, 2011 in Summerfield, North Carolina, in the company of many fellow Canes.

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Theatre reimagined Scan this QR code with your smartphone or visit http://bit.ly/x6gS4o to learn about the new adaptation of The Bacchae.

TH E N & N O W

RETHINKING CLASSIC THEATRE In 1965, theatre students collaborated with professionals to perform updated adaptations of Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and Julius Caesar at a Shakespeare festival. This February, theatre students performed an outdoor, modern version of The Bacchae, an ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides.

“I believe that in order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you came from,” said Nicholas Ley, who played Dionysis in The Bacchae. “Adaptations filter the history in a way that’s very relevant and approachable to audiences today.”