Miami Magazine | Spring 2014 by University of Miami

Pat’s Perspective | Cuban ‘Mad Man’ | Musical Strides

MIAMI THE UNIVE RSITY OF MIAMI MAGAZINE | SPRING 2014

The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities is helping thousands of children and adults focus on the bright future ahead of them.

Building Confidence

P O W E R E D

B Y

P H I L

A N T H R O P Y

Scholarships Enhancing Greatness Through donor generosity, the University of Miami has raised more than $163 million for scholarships during the Momentum2 campaign – resulting in the creation of new financial awards and student support. Scholarships, and the student success they enrich, are a priority of the $1.6 billion Momentum2 campaign.

Manuel Lorenzo, ’15 Mechanical Engineering

Because of you, Manuel,

Chanté Parker, ’16 Microbiology

Chanté, and Brooke are Brooke Homovec, ’15 International Studies

well on their way to doing great things.

To make a gift or for more information about Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami, visit miami.edu/m2 or call 305-284-4443.

Contents miami.edu/miami-magazine

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Volume 20 Number 2 | Spring 2014

D E P A R T M E N T S Inbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 University Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 R+D Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Bottom Lines

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Peak Performance

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Faculty Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 On Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Student Spotlight

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alumni Digest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 DateBook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Big Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

F E A T U R E S

CARD Comes of Age With rates of autism on the rise, the mission of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities is more essential than ever.

Body Tune-Up A novel collaboration of music, engineering, and medicine is making mobile apps that can improve mobility among amputees.

The Life of Whitely UM’s longtime and beloved vice president for student affairs takes her hardearned wisdom and experience to the next level.

Cuba’s Own ‘Mad Man’ P.24

Madison Avenue’s got nothing on Ricardo Arregui’s eye-catching pre- and postCastro campaigns, now part of the Cuban Heritage Collection.

On the cover: Sebastian, 8, is hard at work at the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. COVER PHOTO BY DONNA VICTOR

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COMMENTS AND OPINIONS FROM UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

Inspired Triad Includes Nyad

DAWN BLOMGREN

Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old extreme athlete highlighted in the Winter 2014 issue of Miami, has more in common with composer Ludwig van Beethoven and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela than most people might imagine. Her recent 110-mile swim, in sharkinfested waters from Cuba to the Florida Keys (her fifth try), took only 53 hours, but her first attempt was 35 years ago. Beethoven, upon hearing Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” immediately knew he wanted to create a choral work with four solo voices and symphony orchestra. Such a composition had never been created. He went through dozens of revisions, eventually completing

35 years later the musical masterpiece that celebrates universal brotherhood, his Ninth Symphony, with its well-known last movement, “Ode to Joy.” Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years (1963-1990) and spent much more of his life fighting to bring democracy to his racially divided

country, South Africa, and an end to apartheid. The realization of his dream for a more integrated nation took many decades. Each of these role models (athlete, artist, humanitarian) are courageous souls who took incalculable risks to attain their goals. In the process they’ve shown us how perseverance, sacrifice, and faith can lead to the fullest actualization of one’s dreams.

Leon J. Hoffman, A.B. ’61 Chicago, Illinois

Father’s Story Survives When my daughter, Lesley Matson, ’16, was accepted into the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, I was reminded of a story my dad, Francis P. “Frank” Matson, B.S. ’49, recounted to me before my own arrival at the University of Miami back in 1968. My father came to the U on the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill. Arriving in Coral Gables in 1946, he met another new student, Marvin Marks, B.S. ’50. Frank was from Manhattan and Marvin from the Bronx; both graduated from the same high school and served in Europe during World War II. They became roommates at the San Sebastian dormitory on the corner of Le Jeune Road and University Drive. My father majored in chemistry while Marvin was a zoology major in the premed track. Active in sports since his youth, Marvin

2 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

of Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey. Marvin’s sister told me her parents never recovered from the unspeakable accident that took their son. At the 2012 Rosenstiel School Howard Matson, A.B. ’73, unravels a UM mystery. breakfast for incoming freshalso was a keen swimmer men, my daughter, my wife, who earned extra money by and I sat with Marine Science performing as a stunt diver at Professor Larry Peterson. I the swimming pools of Miami told him my dad’s story about Beach’s newly opened luxury Marvin. After the breakfast, hotels of that era. Professor Peterson asked According to The Miami my family to accompany Hurricane, Marvin was takhim to the campus’s South ing graduate courses at UM, Grosvenor Building. There, when, on Friday, February in the second floor corridor, 20, 1953, he was aboard the he showed us the memorial lab ship Physalia, studying plaque that had been placed oceanography in the waters at the school 60 years ago in off Key West. At 2:24 p.m. he Marvin’s memory. dove from the boat to recover After surviving the battles a temperature gauge that had of World War II and pursuing fallen overboard. He did not a brilliant career in his choresurface. The lab ship’s engisen field, Marvin was claimed neer failed to locate him and by this freak accident at the a Navy diver was summoned, age of 27. His sister still has arriving within 15 minutes. the condolence letters sent Marvin’s lifeless body was by University President Jay F. found within three minW. Pearson and various deans utes. Resuscitation efforts and department heads in the were unsuccessful. Autopsy wake of his tragic death. reports presumed Marvin had In 1997, Marvin and my hit his head on the bottom of father finally reunited when the boat when surfacing. my father was laid to rest The following day, Naval in a family plot in the same officials drove the hearse New Jersey cemetery where along the 127-mile Overseas Marvin had been buried Highway to Miami so 44 years earlier. I have to Marvin’s body could be flown wonder how many students home to his grieving parents today know the story behind in New York. A funeral was this plaque on the Rosenstiel conducted, and he was buried campus. under the flagpole in the Howard Matson, A.B. ’73 Bronx War Veterans section Westport, Connecticut

Friend Till the End It was with the most profound sadness that I read in the Spring 2013 edition of Miami magazine of the passing of Harold B. Probes, A.B. ’64, whom I met when I was a freshman. Hal was the most caring, sharing, and thoughtful person I have ever met. He tried to help everyone, and his advice was almost always perfect. He encouraged without pushing—he could have invented the Golden Rule. Hal had a great sense of humor, too, and an unparalleled ability to communicate. It was largely Hal’s encouragement that prompted me to apply to

the UM School of Medicine. I owe him a great deal of thanks for helping me along the way. When I received my M.D. in 1968 and moved to Baltimore, our geographical separation and separate paths took a toll on our communications, but no amount of distance could blunt my enthusiasm or admiration for Hal. Every time I see a Corvette (especially a red one), every time I think about the most important people in my life, every time I think of loving and caring times in my life—I think of him. There is talk in our wonderful nation about the “value” of college. Is it worth the cost in these times? The

answer is an obvious YES. If not for this university, I never would have met Hal. These kinds of relationships can’t be formed with an all-electronic digital education. They are forged and strengthened by people coming face to face with good hearts and good intentions.

Joseph S. Wand, B.S. ’65, M.D. ’68 Santa Rosa, California

MIAMI

The University of Miami Magazine

Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing

Todd Ellenberg

Executive Director for Communications and Marketing

Peter E. Howard Editor

Robin Shear Associate Editor

Robert C. Jones Jr. Creative Director and Art Director

WRITE TO US Letters should be fewer than 300 words and may be edited for length and clarity. Please include contact information. WRITE TO: Inbox, Miami, P.O. Box 248105 Coral Gables, FL 33124 EMAIL: miami.editor@miami.edu.

From the Editor

Scott Fricker

Assistant Art Directors

Sau Ping Choi Lisa Kuehnle

Senior Graphic Designer

Kevin Corrales

Production Manager

Angie Villanueva, A.B. ’12 Editorial Contributors

Maya Bell Meredith Camel, M.F.A. ’12 Jason Fitzroy Jeffers Jen Karetnick, M.F.A. ’96 Emily Mirengoff, M.A. ’14 Stephanie Parra, B.S.C. ’14 Melissa Peerless Catharine Skipp, B.G.S. ’79, M.A.L.S. ’13 Brett Sokol

Admission of Gilt

President

Donna E. Shalala

A couple of months ago I received an excited email from a parent. “It’s a terrific new year for us because [our daughter] was accepted into UM! She has been checking her email every 30 seconds this week and found out at 6:25 a.m., and then woke us up to tell us.” I can only imagine the kind of sweet anticipation being felt right now by the thousands of high school seniors whose dream of becoming a ’Cane has finally come true. One young man was so eager, in fact, that he secured his spot in the annals of UM history when he managed to be first in line to register for classes the day the U officially opened on October 15, 1926. (To learn his name and family’s profession, turn to page 7.) Perhaps no one at UM understands that level of anticipation, and the responsibility that comes with it, better than VP for student affairs for the past 17 years, Patricia Whitely. She and her staff work 24/7 not merely to meet those high expectations once students arrive but to help transform thousands of hope-filled freshmen into leaders of and contributors to a vibrant community. “When you treat students as adults and co-partners, there’s a mutual respect that comes out of that,” Whitely told Stephanie Parra, editor of The Miami Hurricane. Parra took time from her extremely hectic schedule to contribute the story on page 24, which highlights Whitely’s devotion to her profession and her national ascendance in it at a critical time. “There is no doubt that higher education is under a microscope and rapidly changing,” Whitely said during her inaugural address in March as chair of the national board of directors in her field. But despite these changes and the complex challenges they bring, the basics remain the same. “In the end,” she noted, “our work is all about touching students, helping them to embark on a lifetime of engagement, and finding opportunities for them to continue their journey.” Congratulations to those whose journey as ’Canes is just beginning—and to all of you, whose lifelong journey as ’Canes continues! —Robin Shear, editor

Vice President for University Communications

Jacqueline R. Menendez, A.B. ’83 Senior Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs

Sergio M. Gonzalez

Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations and Individual Giving

Donna A. Arbide, M.B.A. ’95

Miami is published by the University of Miami Division of University Communications. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Distributed free of charge to alumni and friends of the University. Postmaster and others, please send change of address notification to Miami, Office of Alumni Relations, P.O. Box 248053, Coral Gables, Florida 33124-3410; telephone 305-284-2872. Contributions of articles, photographs, and artwork are welcome; however, Miami accepts no responsibility for unsolicited items. The comments and opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Miami or the staff of Miami. Copyright ©2014, University of Miami. An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

www.miami.edu/miami-magazine

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NEWS, PEOPLE, CULTURE, AND RESEARCH FROM CAMPUS AND BEYOND

Clinton Urges Students to ‘Participate’ in Their Society As they stood in line to hear Hillary Rodham Clinton speak at the BankUnited Center, sisters Joyce and Jessica Masangu, University of Miami students who are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, recalled her 2009 visit to their African nation— and how she highlighted the plight of women, meeting with rape victims and hearing their stories. “A great opportunity” is how Joyce described the chance to see the onetime secretary of state at UM. “I’m always open to listening and learning from anyone, especially a former first lady who might be president of the United States one day.” But for the thousands who came to hear Clinton on February 26, the million-dollar question—whether she’ll

A campaign-like atmosphere enveloped the arena, with some attendees wearing stickers that read, “I’m Ready for Hillary.”

soon make a second run for the White House—went unanswered, mostly. When UM President Donna E. Shalala, who introduced Clinton as “a formidable champion of human rights,” conveyed a question submitted by law student Howard Brilliant, asking Clinton to shed light on the “TBD” (to be determined) section of her Twitter bio, Clinton dodged. “Well, I’d really like to [respond], but I have no characters left,” 4 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

ANDREW INNERARITY

Former U.S. secretary of state mum on presidential run during recent visit The former secretary of state’s visit proved a learning experience for many UM students.

she said, referring to the 140-character limit for Tweets. She did, however, delve into various touchstone issues—from energy dependence and health care to human rights. Clinton also urged UM students not to take for granted the sacrifices their families had made for them to attend college. She entreated them to be part of the “participation generation” and commended the 200 service-learning courses UM students have taken part in. “The more we can get people to participate, to have a stake in the future, the better off we will be,” she said. Emphasizing the importance of full and equal participation of women in economic, social, and cultural endeavors, the former New York senator noted that 20 years after the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing—a summit Clinton spoke at—more girls go to school and more women serve in political and public positions. “But no country has achieved full participation,” she said. “It is the work of this century

to complete unfinished business.” The Clinton Foundation is tackling this “unfinished business,” she said, through efforts like No Ceilings, a collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Equality was clearly on attendee Helen Lennon’s mind. “It’s time this country elected a woman president,” declared the 83-year-old, who was with fellow classmates from UM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. “A lot of us are into politics, and whether we like Hillary or not, she’s news.” Reflecting on how different her life would be in her native Saudi Arabia, Najla Aljaber said she hoped Clinton would run again for president. As she waited for her husband, a doctor studying for his master’s in public health at UM, to join her for the talk, the pregnant Aljaber whispered a message to their unborn first child, a daughter: “I told her, ‘We are going to see a powerful woman tonight, and I want you to grow up to be a powerful woman.’”

R+D Update Researchers at the Miller School of Medicine HIV Program have developed a vaccine that triggers an immune system response strong enough to kill a model AIDS virus in mice. The study appeared in the Journal of Virology in February.

Geoffrey W. Stone, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, who led the research, told The Miami Herald that while the vaccine is in the early stages of development and could be a decade or more from fruition, they have seen some “very dramatic results” in eliciting a significant T-cell response to the virus. This also offers hope in the hunt for other vaccines because large numbers of T-cells can also protect against diseases like influenza, malaria, and cancer.

Cancer-Fighting IPO U Innovation, home for technology advancement at the University of Miami, celebrated the first initial public offering by a company to evolve its mission to bring lifeenhancing discoveries made by UM scientists to the marketplace. The company, Heat Biologics

(NASDAQ: HTBX), raised $27 million to fund clinical trials for its proprietary ImPACT (Immune Pan Antigen Cytotoxic Therapy) vaccines, aimed at harnessing a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer and infectious diseases. Heat Biologics formed in 2008, when U Innovation connected the vaccine’s developer, Eckhard Podack, professor and chair of microbiology and immunology at the Miller School, with Seed-One Ventures. It holds

the exclusive license to develop and commercialize the ImPACT technology. The Heat Biologics vaccine for non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for 85 percent of all lung cancers, is entering a

Phase II clinical trial. Its ImPACT-based bladder cancer vaccine is expected to advance to human clinical trials.

magma chambers exist in the deeper oceanic crust below.” The study also revealed the chamber’s composition to be a mixture of 10 percent magma and 90 percent rock known as “magma mush.”

Volcanic Discovery A previously unknown magma chamber has been discovered below the world’s most active volcano—Kilauea, which has been in continuous eruption for more than 30 years. The online edition of the journal Geology recently published the National Science Foundation-funded study, “Seismic evidence for a crustal magma reservoir beneath the upper east rift zone of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii.” “It was known before that Kilauea had small, shallow magma chambers,” said lead author Guoqing Lin, assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. “This study is the first geophysical observation that large

Mosquito Sweet Tooth In addition to blood, mosquitoes have a thirst for sweet stuff like the nectar of flowers and fruit. Vector biologist John Beier, director of the Miller School of Medicine’s Division of Environment and Public Health, is

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

AIDS Vaccine News

measuring how effective the use of Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits, or ATSBs, are in controlling these painful, sometimes deadly pests. If properly dispersed in the environment, Beier and his colleagues report, ATSBs can kill off large numbers of mosquitoes—up to 70 percent or more of local populations in malaria-plagued communities in Africa. The baits also can be much less toxic than spray pesticides and much less harmful to other insects.

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Getting the Employment Edge In the works since 2009, the new Toppel Center puts career planning high on UM’s priority list

Above, from left, UM trustee Patricia Toppel, B.Ed. ’58, M.Ed. ’59, board of trustees chair Leonard Abess, and President Donna E. Shalala help dedicate the new building.

“ We’ve incorporated technology into every inch of this building, allowing us to reach students and alumni here and anywhere else in the world.” building, we had only one big space where we’d have our presentations. Scheduling was always an issue.” Another advantage is greater visibility. The center has moved from its Stanford Circle location—once a bowling alley—to its current spot near the Stanford Drive entrance to UM, at 5225 Ponce de Leon Boulevard. UM trustee Patricia Toppel, B.Ed. ’58, M.Ed. ’59, made the new center possible. President Donna E. Shalala likens Toppel to a “fairy godmother” who, along with her late husband, Harold, helped turn a campus bowling alley into 6 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

JENNY ABREU

“a bustling and beloved career planning center” that changed the way students prepared for employment. “Like all great fairy godmothers, when the Toppel Career Center outgrew its home, Pat’s unconditional generosity made magic again with this amazing center before us,” Shalala notes. Updates include ceiling-mounted cameras to record job interviews

ANDREW INNERARITY

Students on the verge of entering a highly competitive job market welcomed the arrival of the new Patricia and Harold Toppel Career Center, which held its official opening in January. Accounting major Jasmine Holmes calls it “awesome.” International studies major Suzanne Aldahan appreciates the professional interview suites. Daniel Rosenberg, a biomedical engineering major, likes the video feedback available for mock interviews. “It’s a tremendous upgrade,” says Christian Garcia, the Toppel Career Center’s executive director for the past five years. At 12,000 square feet, the twostory center is twice its previous size, dwarfing the average college career center, which is just over 2,000 square feet, according to Garcia. “What that size allows us to do is provide more programs that can run concurrently,” he explains. “In our old

for feedback sessions; videoconferencing equipment to enable live streaming and archiving of presentations; and a well-stocked computer lab, courtesy of donors Marjorie Stone and Rick Rodriguez, who also led the Parents Council’s fundraising campaign for the center. “We’ve incorporated technology into every inch of this building, allowing us to reach students and alumni here and anywhere else in the world,” says Garcia, who serves on the National Association of Colleges and Employers board of directors.

The center’s staff of 18 works with high-profile recruiters such as Citi and Google, IBM and the Peace Corps, holding outreach events in the spacious Career Loft. William Scott Green, UM’s senior vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, emphasizes that the Toppel Career Center is “a place in which our students can envision the multiple possible trajectories for their lives after college.” Patricia Toppel adds, “We all have the same goal here at the University— to provide an excellent education, a wonderful campus life, and the opportunity to plan for our students’ future.” For Jasmine Holmes, who received help with résumés, interviewing, and internships, that future now includes a position in her field after graduation—as a risk assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Miami. To learn about the Toppel Career Center brick campaign, visit advancement.miami.edu/netcommunity/ sslpage.aspx?pid=1105. Email your best career advice in 140 characters or less to miami.editor@miami.edu. Christian Garcia, executive director, showcases the new Toppel Career Center at http://youtu.be/JMJL64aPI2g

Bottom Lines

“Zeroes across the board…Oh my goodness!” UM freshman Jorge Salas, doing the play-by-play on WVUM for UM’s baseball game against Villanova on March 4, after his big brother, Hurricanes pitcher Javi Salas, pitched a perfect game—only the second in UM history—retiring all 27 batters for a final score of 17-0.

“Very little of value in the world is done by people who are not obnoxious.” Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author, speaking at the Student Activities Center on February 11 in support of his new book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.

National ranking of UM’s Tax Law program, tying with Boston and Columbia universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 edition of “Best Graduate Schools.”  The guidebook hit newsstands on April 8.

$14.5 million Amount philanthropists Swanee and Paul J. DiMare have given to UM’s Momentum2 campaign, including a $6 million scholarship fund at the Miller School of Medicine, $2 million toward the Frost School of Music, and much more.

75th

Anniversary of the UM Theatre Arts Program, for which a standing-room-only tribute took place in the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre on March 3. Also honored was the Ring’s namesake, legendary composer and lyricist Jerry Herman, A.B. ’53, D.F.A. ’80, a proud alumnus of the program.

650,000

“People have a right to be informed.” Anthony V. Alfieri, School of Law professor and director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service, talking to The Miami Herald about his students’ efforts to bring broader public awareness to reports that revealed toxic chemicals were found in the soil of several Miami parks.

Gallons of water in the Whitten University Center Pool, which has been home to 27 Olympians, 41 national champions, and 118 All-Americans since its 1966 dedication.

Morning hour on October 15, 1926 when UM officially opened. Francis Houghtaling, A.B. ’32, son of a dairy owner, arrived before dawn to be first to register.

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Taking Health Care’s Temperature In the wake of the Affordable Care Act, a prescription for ongoing dialogue Britton, president and CEO of Mercy, touted the kind of technology advances his four-state health care system has employed, such as virtual care and centralized patient monitoring, as good medicine for both outcomes and costs. A third session, moderated by Shalala, explored some of the rapidly emerging costs and benefits, as well as

PHOTOS BY GORT PRODUCTIONS

With health care exchanges open for business, hundreds of policymakers, practitioners, and business leaders converged on the University of Miami to exchange another kind of currency: ideas and strategies for addressing what School of Business Administration Dean Eugene Anderson described as “the most pressing issues facing the nation in the rapidly evolving health care environment.” Among the headliners at “The Business of Health Care: Bending the Cost Curve” conference were former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and UM President Donna E. Shalala, U.S. secretary of health and human services from 1993 to 2001. This was the third conference in an annual series hosted by the school’s Center for Health Sector Management and Policy. Two of the day’s three panels, held on January 17, covered how employers and health care providers are faring under the Affordable Care Act. “Employers’ three biggest concerns are cost, cost, and cost,” said panelist Helen Darling, president and CEO of National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit that advocates the views of large employers. Panelist Michael Freed, president and CEO of Priority Health and executive vice president of Spectrum Health in Michigan, said increasing the amount individuals pay for health care and improving management of chronic disease conditions are two strategies to help control costs. Lynn

Olympia Snowe’s keynote, top, closes the conference. Helen Darling (National Business Group on Health) and Patrick Geraghty (Florida Blue) discuss the new law’s effect on employers.

the politics and policies behind them. Professor Steven G. Ullmann, the director of the business school’s health sector center, emphasized the importance of discourse. “We all have much to learn from each other, and this is an excellent forum to facilitate those discussions,” he said. In her keynote address, Snowe, a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, called for greater cooperation in Washington. “We have to do better as a country,” she said. “We have to pay

attention to the big issues, find common ground, and move forward.” Roughly 700 executives attended the conference at UM’s BankUnited Center. David Spillers, M.B.A. ’02, came from out of state to attend. “I learned that the issues we are facing in Alabama are similar to those in South Florida,” said the CEO of Huntsville Hospital Health System. “The conference was very helpful in stimulating my thinking about what we as a health system can do to reduce costs while continuing to improve the quality of care.” To access video and white papers from all panels, visit bus.miami.edu/ healthcare2014.

UHealth Heads South Outpatient center coming to Gables campus The next addition to the University of Miami Health System will rise on the Coral Gables campus. Groundbreaking on UHealth at Coral Gables—a multi-story, 200,000-square-foot ambulatory center at 5550 Ponce de Leon Boulevard—is slated for this summer, with completion expected in 2016. “The goal is to bring the expertise of our outstanding Miller School physicians and researchers to more patients,” says Pascal J. Goldschmidt, senior vice 8 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

president for Medical Affairs, dean of the Miller School of Medicine, and CEO of UHealth. “Opening this facility gives

our students, faculty, staff, and neighbors in Coral Gables and surrounding areas easy access to UHealth’s exceptional care.” That care will be provided by doctors from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and No. 1-ranked Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, as well as urgent care, outpatient surgery, men’s and women’s health, physical therapy, diagnostic imaging, radiation oncology, and other UHealth subspecialties.

Igniting the Ice in Sochi

ANDREW INNERARITY

When Lauryn Williams, B.B.A. ’05, rocketed to a silver medal in the twowoman bobsled with USA-1 teammate Elana Meyers on February 19 in Sochi, Russia, she became only the fifth person and second American in Olympics history to medal in both Summer and Winter Games. Yet the former University of Miami track and field superstar, who also won gold as a member of the 4x100m relay team in 2012 and silver in the 100m in 2004, downplays her personal feat. “I came here to help Team USA, and I feel like I did the best I could,” she told the media. “I’m just happy to be here, and it wasn’t about history for me.” Within six months of taking up the sport, Williams entered the Olympic arena as one of the world’s top female bobsled brakemen. Miami Herald writer Linda Robertson described her metamorphosis as “subtropical

sprinter to sub-zero pusher.” U.S. women’s bobsled coach Todd Hays praised her as “one of the greatest U.S. sprinters of all time, incredibly talented, incredibly powerful with an incredible work ethic.” Fellow Olympian Lolo Jones, who also turned from track to bobsled, even compared Williams to track legend Jesse Owens, calling her Sochi performance “the most brilliant thing I’ve ever watched.” USA-1’s first run set a track record of 57.26 seconds. Williams, who picked up bobsledding in July 2013, also set a record with her 5.13-second start time. In heat 2 she bested her previous record with a 5.12-second start time. Meyers then piloted USA-1 down the track for a heat best time of 57.63 seconds. “I felt like I was literally going to jump out of my skin,” Williams said of the event. “That’s a good

The UM Special Olympics unified basketball team poses with Miami Heat mascot Burnie at the regional games at the U’s Wellness Center.

PHOTOS BY KEVIN JAIRAJ/USA TODAY SPORTS

Peak Performance

Four-time Olympian Lauryn Williams, B.B.A. ’05

feeling and how I felt in track and field, and I know what that means—it means going fast.” Williams, who spoke at the Black Student Scholarship Reception in March, is UM’s first former student-athlete to qualify for a Winter Olympics and its second to have participated in four Olympics, after diver Jose “Chemi” Gil, ’96. The U.S. is the only nation to have medaled in every Olympic women’s bobsled event since the sport debuted in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Let the (Unified) Games Begin The regional Special Olympics Florida basketball games drew more than 300 athletes to the Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center for the first time in January, marking UM’s fast-growing commitment to the Special Olympics and integrated athletics. Two of UM’s teams won their divisions at the event.

“Unified sports is the future of the Special Olympics,” says junior Natalie Falcon, co-chair of UM’s newly formed Special Olympics club. “It meets the goal of inclusion and acceptance like nothing else.” The club’s unified basketball program pairs UM students with players from Our Pride Academy in Kendall, a school for students with developmental disabilities. “Don’t treat them differently; don’t baby them,” Our Pride athletic director and unified teams coach Danny Cartaya reminds UM students. “If you have an opportunity to make a shot, take it. If you have an opportunity to steal the ball, steal it. That’s how they’ll get better—by you giving them your best.” Falcon’s co-chair, Ross Ito, a junior psychology major, says his teammates push him too. “At practice, we do suicide drills, shooting drills, defensive drills, set plays,” he says. “It’s a real workout, and the teams are the real deal.”

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UniversityJournal

Google Eyes Promise of Visual Data Professor touts power of pie charts, bubble maps, spreadsheets, and more Alberto Cairo, assistant professor of professional practice in the School of Communication, knows infographics. He led the creation of Spanish newspaper El Mundo’s interactive infographics department 14 years ago and has since shared his expertise on the subject in more than 20 countries. So it’s no surprise that when Google hosted its Google for Media Summit in Miami this year, it was Cairo who delivered the keynote address, which he titled, “Believe It or Not, You Are or Should Be a Visual Journalist,” to more than 100 media professionals in attendance. More recently, Cairo, who joined UM in 2012, was invited to present at the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting’s 2014 conference. Infographics, data visualization, and visual thinking refer to the intersection of graphic design, computer science, and reporting, where charts, graphs, and other visual devices are deployed to help us number-nervous humans better digest complex comparisons and gobs of unruly data about potentially stultifying subjects. Cairo argues that it takes more than software—which is rapidly

Alberto Cairo delivers the keynote address at the Google for Media Summit in Miami on January 7 at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach.

evolving in this field by the way—to create effective visualizations. “In order to manipulate those data, we need to have a good grasp on how those data should be treated and why,” he says. Four of Cairo’s basic pointers: 1. Be truthful (reading and interpreting methodology is crucial). 2. Reveal what data hides. 3. Choose graphic forms carefully.

4. Don’t just visualize, write; headlines and copy will give heft to the graphics. Cairo is currently writing his second book, tentatively titled The Insightful Art: Communicating with Data, Charts, Maps, and Infographics (Pearson, 2015). “The power of visualization,” he notes, “is that it reveals patterns you cannot see in numbers or data themselves.”

Buoniconti Film Debuts How a legacy of football in one family became a legacy of hope for millions Father and son struggle, triumph, and strive to find a cure for paralysis.

NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti recounts the call he received: “The doctor’s words were, very simply, ‘Your son dislocated his neck and he’s going to be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life.’” Such a call might signal the end of most stories. In the case of the powerhouse Buoniconti family, it turned out to be 10 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

the beginning of a miracle mission. A new film, directed and produced by 19-time Grammy Award-winning producer Emilio Estefan, documents that mission—from the agonizing day in 1985 when Nick’s son Marc sustained a paralyzing injury on the football field, to their creation of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis with neurosurgeon Barth Green, to the most recent advances in stem cell transplantation. An Unbreakable Bond, which debuted in March, is narrated by

Estefan’s wife, Grammy Awardwinning artist Gloria Estefan, A.B. ’78, a Buoniconti Fund board member and former Miami Project patient herself. “Marc and Nick turned their tragedy into hope and inspiration for so many individuals and families who are impacted by paralysis each year,” says Emilio Estefan. “Their story hits close to home for me, as I experienced firsthand the struggles that Gloria endured after her paralyzing bus accident. Thankfully, Gloria was blessed with a miraculous outcome and was able to walk again. My hope is that all families may experience the same miracle mine did.” Watch the trailer at youtube.com/ watch?v=aNYyVGz7SLs.

DONNA VICTOR

Faculty Files

Safety in Numbers: Nurse’s Studies Save Lives As a teen on mission trips in the Dominican Republic, Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, Ph.D. ’08, was horrified to see that preventable deaths were plaguing the country’s most disadvantaged. Helping nuns and rural nurses in providing social and health services to underserved communities inspired her to study nursing and public health. As a nursing and international health student at Georgetown University, Gonzalez-Guarda conducted research in the Hispanic community of Washington, D.C. “It was even more appalling to see those health disparities in my own community, in my own country,” recalls the assistant professor

at the School of Nursing and Health Studies. “That shifted my interest—I wanted to make an impact in my own community before moving globally.” In 2008, after attaining a dual-degree master’s at The Johns Hopkins University in community health nursing and public health, the Miami native earned her Ph.D. in nursing, epidemiology, and psychology and joined UM’s faculty. She began to study the intersection between substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, and intimate partner violence among Hispanic women. Quickly learning that violence was the foremost concern, Gonzalez-Guarda

worked with Miami-Dade County’s Coordinated Victim Assistance Center (CVAC) and Community Action and Human Services Department to create a program called JOVEN—Juntos Opuestos a la Violencia Entre Novios (Together Against Dating Violence). It is one of their studies being evaluated as a way to stop domestic violence at its source—by teaching teens healthy dating and relationship norms and giving them, their parents, and teachers the skills to stop unhealthy behaviors early on. Gonzalez-Guarda is also collaborating with CVAC as the lead evaluator for the Miami-Dade County team of a groundbreaking multi-city

effort, funded by the federal Office on Violence Against Women. The goal is to test two evidence-based domestic violence homicide prevention models in diverse communities across the nation. Preliminary studies have shown the use of a danger assessment tool and intervention strategies effective in identifying victims at risk and reducing homicides. Gonzalez-Guarda is eager to pass on her passion for research to her students. “I want to break the stereotype that research puts you away from the action, from being with patients,” she says. “In fact, it can be used to bring you closer to them.” — Emily Mirengoff, M.A. ’14

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UniversityJournal

Safe Harbor Flying twin-engine Cessna 337s equipped with Loran-C transmitters, the pilots of Brothers to the Rescue patrolled the skies over the Florida Strait for more than a decade, searching for Cuban rafters adrift at sea and then alerting the U.S. Coast Guard to the migrants’ coordinates. Hermanos al Rescate, as the organization was known in Spanish, flew hundreds of missions and helped rescue thousands of men, women, and children from 1991 to 2003. But when the Coast Guard began returning all refugees intercepted at sea to Cuba and the fleeing migrants began relying on speedboats operated by smugglers to reach the U.S., fewer and fewer rafters were spotted, forcing Brothers to the Rescue to halt its search-and-rescue missions. The history of those missions, however, lives on in a trove of archival materials recently donated to the University of Miami Libraries’ Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC). The records, stored in 60 boxes, include documents, photographs, press clippings, flight recordings, logs of the pilots’ missions, forms reporting rafter sightings, and

leaflets dropped by aviators from their planes. “I can’t think of any other better place [to house the collection],” says José Basulto, B.S.A.E. ’69, the pilot who co-founded and led the volunteer group. Basulto and many other From left, Brothers to the Rescue pilot Mayte Greco, B.B.A. ’82, co-founder pilots attended a José Basulto, B.S.A.E. ’69, and others keep their mission’s memory aloft. reception in the CHC’s Goizueta Pavilion in January to have been in one of those planes on announce the acquisition and honor that fateful day 18 years ago but was the group’s members. The gift is part in the process of being interviewed of Momentum2: The Breakthrough for a story on women in flight for the Campaign for the University of Miami. Smithsonian. Greco, who attended the Among the archive’s important recent reception at the CHC, says the pieces: a dossier on the flight of two donated archive “shows the history Brothers to the Rescue aircraft shot and story of people who would risk down by a Cuban MIG fighter jet on their lives on an inner tube to find February 24, 1996, resulting in the a better life. It shows what they’ve deaths of four pilots. gone through and what communism Mayte Greco, B.B.A. ’82, the orgahas done.” nization’s first female aviator, would —Robert C. Jones Jr.

On Course Saying ‘I Do’ after DOMA

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and other issues tied to marriage equality, such as immigration, adoption, probate, and taxes. Organized by professor Charlton Copeland, associate deans Raquel Matas and Ileana Porras, and alumna Elizabeth Schwartz, J.D. ’97, the course was open to students for credit or audit and to practitioners. It launched January 22, just a day after six same-sex couples filed suit in Miami-Dade County for the freedom to marry. Schwartz is one of their attorneys in the historic case. “I’m so proud that my alma mater has taken the step to focus a whole series of discussions on the complicated legal issues around marriage equality,” Schwartz says. “It’s certainly perfectly timed as the national and statewide spotlight shines on this most basic aspect of human dignity.” Miami Law, OUTLaw, and the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association sponsored the series. —Catharine Skipp, B.G.S. ’79, M.A.L.S. ’13 JANET ATKINSON/THEISPOT.COM

The seeds for LAW540: Marriage Equality: Practical Implications for a Post-DOMA Landscape were planted by third-year law student Sean Maye, who grew curious about the rapidly evolving implications of the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which had enabled states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. “We learn in law school that there are myriad corners of the law that often overlap,” says Maye, co-president of OUTLaw, the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trangender student organization. “But when certain more contentious issues like gay marriage intersect with those different corners of the law, it is difficult to understand just what rights gay couples do and do not possess.” His curiosity led to a panel discussion during Miami Law’s Diversity Week, which soon mushroomed into an eightconversation series to examine the history, state of legal affairs,

KENIA POL

Brothers to the Rescue archives land at Cuban Heritage Collection

DONNA VICTOR

Student Spotlight Scituate, Massachusetts, native Patrick Rynne might as well be a merman. Considering how much of his life he’s spent both in and on the ocean, it’s a wonder he hasn’t grown gills. “I grew up by the water,” says Rynne, a 30-year-old Ph.D. candidate studying applied marine physics at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. “We went sailing as a family when I was about 2 years old, I caught the surfing bug when I was about 12 years old, and it was pretty much all downhill from there.” Rynne’s passion for the sea carried him from AllAmerican skipper at Brown University to campaigning for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with the U.S. Sailing Team. It lured him around the world as a competitive kite racer (a sport that looks like a cross between surfing, sailing, and wakeboarding). And in 2011 it inspired him to merge his athleticism with his research activities to launch a filmmaking project called Waterlust. Waterlust’s online movie hub, waterlust.org, prompts viewers to reconsider their relationship with Rynne’s favorite topic and one of our most precious natural resources. The goal, he explains, is “to get as many people as we can to think about what water means to them.” The efforts seem to be working. The site’s more than 20 short films to date have racked up over a million views and were among

Aquatic Attraction Patrick Rynne’s Waterlust is making waves.

the official selections of the 2013 Woods Hole and 2013 San Francisco Ocean film festivals. Generally shot on rugged, easy-to-use GoPro cameras, the brief documentaries have brought viewers inside of storms, gotten them up close to bottlenose dolphins, and even taken them surfing in Cuba. Waterlust’s success confirms that an old theory of Rynne’s—that science can excite the average person if presented through more stimulating formats—holds water. “Instead of just hitting people in the face with information, we engage them through immersive videos,” says Rynne, whose research ranges from investigating the hydrodynamics of tidal inlets to designing robots for marine exploration. “With a research paper, there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it, and you can’t really step outside of those lines. When you’re producing a video, there’s a freedom that’s really refreshing.” In the end, it’s that refreshing quality Rynne, who received a scholarship from the Florida Outdoor Writers Association in 2013, hopes will make all the difference to our world’s water security. “What does water mean in your life, whether it’s playing a watersport or running through a sprinkler in your back yard? That’s the kind of appreciation which— integrated over millions of people over time—can really shift perceptions and educate people,” he says. —Jason Fitzroy Jeffers

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A look at the UM center’s growing impact and life-changing approaches to helping families throughout South Florida affected by autism.

CARD Comes of Age BY ROBERT C. JONES JR. PHOTOS BY DONNA VICTOR

FIRST CAME THE PROLONGED STARING. TWO-YEAR-OLD SEBASTIAN

would train his gaze on the ceiling fan in his bedroom for what seemed like hours. Then, there was the peculiar way he would play with his toys—arranging them in rows. Ruby Diaz-Martinez knew something was unusual about her youngest son’s behavior, but she didn’t know where to turn for help. Eventually, her family doctor arranged for Sebastian to be evaluated by a psychologist, and DiazMartinez got the answer she sought.

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Lucas, 17, shows off his piano-playing technique to mom Lynette Estrada at their Homestead, Florida, residence. Estrada got help for Lucas at an early age.

ynette Estrada caught on that something was wrong with her son, Lucas, when he was about 1. “He was always in the normal range, but latenormal,” she says. Doctors dismissed the behavior, telling Estrada her son would grow out of it. But when Lucas stopped speaking, she asked psychologists to evaluate him. Since being diagnosed with autism as toddlers, Sebastian, now 8, and Lucas, 17, have come to find a common

source of help for the disorder at the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD). For the past two decades, CARD has served as a vital support network for children and adults with autism and their families, offering programs that help with everything from social skills development to workforce preparation. “We’re a lifeline to thousands,” says Michael Alessandri, a UM clinical professor of psychology and executive director of CARD, one of

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seven Florida Department of Educationfunded university-based centers of its kind in the state. The center’s client base, which spans Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties, has mushroomed since its beginning—from 88 families in 1993 to nearly 8,000 today. It serves a critical need. Autism spectrum disorders— characterized by social deficits and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors and interests, and, in some cases, cognitive delays—affect an

by a psychologist confirmed Johnson had the condition. “All my life I’ve had it but didn’t know,” says Johnson, 52. An employment training session hosted by CARD during the summer of 2013 taught her and other moderate- to high-functioning adults with autism different skills that could eventually help them land—and hold onto—jobs. Writing an effective résumé was at the top of that list. When Johnson signed up for the boot camp, her résumé was more than ten pages. By the time the camp ended, it had been whittled down to two. People older than 16 comprise 38 percent of CARD’s client registry. That percentage is growing, making it the largest segment of the center’s registry. Finding jobs for this transition group can be a challenge. “Employment opportunities are very limited generally right now, but they have historically been even more limited for those with disabilities, particularly those with autism,” says Alessandri. “Extensive job training is required—skill development, interview skills, grooming—but also job coaching may be needed regularly, sometimes daily.” That is the primary reason CARD developed Project EAARN (Employment

for Adults with Autism Resource Network), an initiative aimed at boosting the job skills of its clients and connecting them with employers willing to hire individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The one-week Project EAARN Employment Boot Camp that Johnson and 17 other adults attended last summer taught them skills that will make them more attractive to potential employers. Four of the 18 adults obtained employment as a result of the camp, says Deborah Chin, manager of social services in CARD’s Transition and Adult Services division. One of the architects of Project EAARN, whose funding is provided by the Dan Marino Foundation, the Sam Berman Charitable Foundation, Inc., and Bupa Latin America, Chin says people with autism have a lower employment rate than individuals with other disabilities. “But we believe that by being a hub of information and resources for our constituents and addressing the issue from multiple angles, we can increase employment opportunities for individuals with ASD,” she says. CARD also educates local businesses about the benefits of employing COURTESY LYNETTE ESTRADA

estimated 1 in 68 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even when she’s at work, Estrada is reminded of the odds of having autism. She helps adults with the condition find employment and develop other skills as a CARD transition specialist. “We do not call them children, but many people do, and that’s a huge problem,” she says of the clients she helps. “Their personalities or the way they speak may be like a child, but they are adults. And we’re trying to train parents to remember that they are adults. They need responsibilities. They need to do chores. They need to go out.” It is a regimen she maintains with Lucas, who is enrolled in the Culinary Arts High School Program at Easter Seals South Florida and enjoys playing the piano. “He communicates. He comes to CARD, he has chores he has to complete, he has homework,” Estrada explains. “But like I tell parents, it’s not going to just happen. You have to be on top of them when they’re little. It’s draining, a lot of work.” Lucas’s autism is just part of the story. He has battled brain cancer since he was 8, compounding the challenges he and his mother face. Estrada runs marathons and competes in triathlons to cope. “I get the parents. I know their stress,” she says. “Some parents will come in, arms folded, and they’re angry, and they tell me, ‘No, you don’t understand.’ And that’s when I tell them, ‘Yes, I do.’ I tell them about Lucas, and then they relax.”

Expanding Employment Options espite a straight-A college transcript with associate degrees in physics, electrical engineering technology, and mechanical maintenance, Susan Johnson has struggled to hold onto a job, often experiencing interpersonal difficulties with coworkers. But she never really grasped why until 2008, when a friend suggested she exhibited all the classic signs of Asperger’s syndrome, a developmental disorder considered on the milder end of the autism spectrum. Four years later an evaluation

Adult client Susan Johnson took part last summer in CARD’s Project EAARN Employment Boot Camp, learning to write effective résumés and gain skills that could help her get hired.

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people with autism. In November 2013 it partnered with the nonprofit organization Autism Speaks to host a town hall meeting at UM’s Newman Alumni Center, where companies like Rising Tide Car Wash, Lee & Marie’s Cakery, Extraordinary Ventures, and [words] Bookstore shared their experiences with hiring people with autism. “It’s important that they get out of the house and stay busy,” says Estrada. “Otherwise, most of them would sit at home in front of the TV or computer for seven to ten hours a day, if not longer. They need to have responsibilities.”

Summer of Learning for CARD’s Young Clients t a summer camp for highfunctioning 6 to 9 year olds with autism, today’s lesson is about compromise and flexibility, characteristics children with autism have difficulty demonstrating. Standing before a classroom of 6 year olds at Beth David Congregation—the camp’s home for the past two years— the instructor tells the children to draw a picture of themselves being adaptable. “What about being able to accept changes? Why is that a good thing?” she asks. Each child then sets about the task, using crayons to create images that illustrate how each can adapt to change. One little boy draws himself sharing his toys. Another depicts himself playing with a red car, even though he wanted to play with a blue one. With each drawing she reviews, the instructor nods her head reassuringly. Earlier in the day, the group of 12 youngsters had run agility drills around cones as part of the fitness and motor-development component. Their day would be rounded out with other lessons—a social skills module on tattling and telling the truth and a science block concentrating on ocean life. On this particular Tuesday in July, they are studying squids. During the regular academic year, most of these summer camp children, 36 in all, attend mainstream education classes in the Miami-Dade County public school system. “But they struggle more in that environment than they do here,” says Jennifer Durocher, a clinical

Sebastian has made tremendous progress since enrolling in CARD—improvement that can be attributed to efforts of psychologists like interim clinical director Jennifer Durocher, who runs a summer camp for children with autism.

assistant professor at UM who runs the camp and serves as CARD’s interim clinical director. “All of the autism supports that we infuse into our camp— adhering to schedules, social skills lessons, using lots of visual aids—aren’t always used in regular classrooms.” Funded by The Children’s Trust, the camp, says Durocher, is more than a means of building social skills in children with autism. “It’s very hard for kids in

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the autism spectrum to make friends in other environments,” she explains. “They have different interests and social skill deficits. Other kids may not always be as accepting. Here, they have kids with whom they have a lot in common and share similar interests. Oftentimes this is one of the few environments where they get to forge strong friendships.” Durocher says the camp is her “baby.” She helped create it seven years

ago as a pilot project based at CARD’s UM office in the Flipse Building, starting out with ten kids “causing a ruckus,” she recalls with a laugh. She saw a critical need for the seven-week session after many parents complained they couldn’t find a suitable summer activity for their children. “We see a significant improvement in kids after the camp,” says Durocher. “They become more flexible and better prepared for the school year, more socially motivated and better prepared to deal with problems.”

called Project S.O.C.I.A.L., which uses technology to expand social and communication skills in 2 to 13 year olds who fall in the autism spectrum. A $40,000 anonymous gift helped supply each family with the iPad and a $50 iTunes card for purchasing apps geared toward developing social skills. “The possibilities for communication and social learning with the iPad are as limitless for autistic people as they are for the general population,” says Robin Parker, senior director of

At CARD headquarters, executive director Michael Alessandri and transition specialist Lynette Estrada review case files. The center’s registry has grown to nearly 8,000 from three South Florida counties.

Apps Help Kids Communicate iagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at 3 ½ years old, Eric Daniel always had trouble communicating with others, seldom initiating conversations unless prompted. Then, in late 2013, Eric, now 10, picked up an iPad, using a specific app to write stories. Since then, his communication skills have soared. “He’s now starting conversations on his own,” says Eric’s mother, Anna Ramirez. “Sometimes we still have to nudge him, but it’s gotten better.” During the week, Eric is seldom away from his iPad, using it for his fifth-grade homework assignments and to log FaceTime with relatives. Eric’s iPad, and 43 others given to kids like him, are central to a CARD initiative

CARD’s Nova Southeastern University site. “But the technology for those with autism doesn’t just make things better; it makes things possible.”

Summer camps, job training, and iPads are just the tip of CARD’s extensive services. There’s also an annual surfing camp, the mobile autism assessment van, and educational outreach events. Last year, CARD’s 20th anniversary, signaled positive growth. More than 700 new families came to the center for help, its annual fundraising gala raised more than $400,000 (the most in its history), and executive director Alessandri was invited to introduce noted animal behaviorist and autism advocate Temple Grandin before an audience of more than 5,000 at UM’s BankUnited Center. But like most state-funded programs, the center faces daunting challenges: “funding limitations, for one,” says Alessandri, “and reaching more clients, particularly those who are traditionally underserved and the growing adult segment of our client registry.” Donations and grants help ensure CARD’s survival, which Alessandri considers crucial. “We typically are Florida’s first choice for autism support,” he says. Ruby Diaz-Martinez agrees. She says the benefits for Sebastian have been immense. “He’s been seeing a therapist recommended by CARD, and he’s doing better,” she says. “He’s made huge leaps in mathematics; he’s adding and subtracting now. He says he wants to work for Apple as a Genius.” CARD’s 12th annual Tropical Nights gala was slated for May 10 at the InterContinental Miami. For more information, visit umcard.org.

AUTISM BY THE NUMBERS n About 1 in 68 children (or 14.7 per 1,000 8-year-olds) are identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). n Boys are 4.5 times as likely as girls to be identified with ASD— about 1 in 42 boys vs. 1 in 189 girls. n About 1 in 63 white children, 1 in 81 black children, and 1 in 93 Hispanic children are identified with ASD. n 46 percent of children identified with ASD have average or above average intellectual ability (IQ greater than 85). Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Estimates based on information collected from the health and special education records of 8-year-old children living in areas of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin in 2010.

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Christopher Bennett, B.S.E.E. ’05, M.S.M.E.T. ’07, Ph.D. ’10, instructs Kelly Elizabeth in the functions of an iPad app that can “talk” to her prosthetic leg.

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Songs and sounds that can help amputees walk better, safer, stronger? Researchers are merging music, engineering, and medical disciplines to make sure there’s an app for that. B Y M E R E D I T H C A M E L , M . F. A . ’ 1 2 P H O T O S BY V E RSAT I L E L I G H T ST U D I O S

Body Tune-Up COULD ROCKY BALBOA HAVE BEATEN CLUBBER LANG IF his training montage hadn’t been set to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”? Maybe, but once Rocky III audiences heard those uptempo rock riffs, they wouldn’t dream of exercising without adding the track to their Walkman cassette tapes. To this day, the tune is a popular pick for workout playlists. n Colby Leider, associate professor and director of the Music Engineering Technology program at the Frost School of Music, knows a lot about musical motivation. He and biomedical engineer Vibhor Agrawal, Ph.D. ’10, an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the Miller School of Medicine, are orchestrating a first-of-its-kind collaboration among musicians, biomedical engineers, and physical therapists to create a mobile app that motivates amputees to knock out harmful walking habits.

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The unlikely marriage of these disciplines began in 2010, when Robert S. Gailey Jr., B.S.Ed. ’82, M.S.Ed. ’86, a physical therapy professor at the Miller School, arranged for his then-teenage son, Max, to chat with Leider about the Frost School’s Music Engineering Technology program. While in Leider’s office, Gailey took note of a graduate student’s research poster detailing a system that measures runners’ steps per minute and selects songs from their iPod library that have the same number of beats per minute. Gailey, who holds a research appointment at the Miami VA Healthcare System and is an advisor on prosthetics to the U.S. Department of Defense, immediately thought of the potential for soldiers who’ve lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

at the University’s Functional Outcomes Research and Evaluation (FORE) Center on the Coral Gables campus, including a collaboration with the Frost School’s Department of Music Therapy to determine how and when infants begin responding to music with physical movement. Another study, funded by a grant from the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, came to the center by way of Christopher Bennett, B.S.E.E. ’05, M.S.M.E.T. ’07, Ph.D. ’10, Frost School research assistant professor, jazz pianist, and expert on how humans respond to auditory signals. Bennett completed his postdoc under Miller School anesthesiologist Richard McNeer, M.D./Ph.D. ’99, exploring how the cacophony of hospital monitoring devices affects stress levels in both patients and clinicians. The study al-

them there physically, but they want to know how they’re doing.” Gailey says the mobile app will be like a “coach or therapist they can keep with them” without having to visit a rehab center, saving time and insurance costs. “When patients start noticing they’re getting tired more often, they can run the program without taking time away from family or work.” Designing this handheld “coach” involves a lot of technical know-how, not

“ It’s a computer, it’s a phone, it’s a musical instrument—and by the way, you can talk to your knee on it.” “I know a whole lot of amputees who are already listening to music,” Gailey says. “So if we can get their music to talk to their prosthetics and vice versa, the sky’s the limit in terms of rehabilitation.” For 20 years Gailey has fitted patients with prosthetics made by an Icelandic company called Össur, which has awarded Leider and Gailey a research grant to design and conduct a clinical trial of a new mobile app that employs audio, visual, social media, and haptic (vibration) feedback. The various signals let users know if they’re walking in a way that could cause body fatigue, ulcers on the stump attached to the prosthetic, or stress on the non-amputated leg, which greatly increases risk of double amputation. “It’s a computer, it’s a phone, it’s a musical instrument—and by the way, you can talk to your knee on it,” Leider says, pointing to his iPhone. The Össur study is one of six research projects, along with several more student projects, presently under way

lows Bennett, McNeer, and now Leider to continue that work. They are using a sophisticated set of microphones to isolate and record all sound sources in operating rooms at Ryder Trauma Center. The researchers play back the sounds for medical residents while the residents perform tasks on patient simulators at the Miller School’s Center for Patient Safety. Bennett’s expertise in psychoacoustics makes him an invaluable collaborator to Leider, Agrawal, and Gailey on the Össur study because it requires deploying sounds to simultaneously convey data that alert amputees when they’re doing something wrong, signal which movement is incorrect, and reward them when they improve their gait. “When I first started in this field, amputees were basically relegated to a wheelchair,” Gailey says. “At UM we’ve brought rehabilitation to the highest level. The military has actually taken 50 service members with a prosthetic limb back into the field. We know we can get

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just about app programming but also about the prosthetic limbs that communicate with the app. Össur engineers from Reykjavik, Iceland, routinely visit the FORE Center to help implement and adjust all the sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and other widgets in the study’s three microprocessor knee models—the Justin Bieber, the Lady Gaga, and the Britney Spears. The popstar labels are Össur’s way of giving UM musician-researchers a chuckle as they keep track of each prototype. The Britney Spears knee is actually the company’s Rheo Knee, which is the knee worn by study participant Kelly Elizabeth, who, as an ER technician, a nursing student, and a mother, spends a lot of time on her feet. Elizabeth lost her leg in a boating accident in 2001 and was introduced to Gailey and the Össur study by her prosthetist, Adam

Clockwise from left: The Britney Spears, aka Rheo Knee, is one of three models. Colby Leider explains to music engineering majors Jena Macias and Max Gailey how an Össur microprocessor knee adjusts its stiffness to the wearer’s activity. Robert Gailey Jr., B.S.Ed. ’82, M.S.Ed. ’86, guides study participant Kelly Elizabeth in a balanced walk.

Finnieston, who also works with Project Medishare in Haiti. “At first I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” Elizabeth recalls. “But from the moment I put on [the Rheo Knee], I noticed a bounce in my step. It was—from what I remember— what it felt like to walk on two legs.” Elizabeth travels from her home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, several times a week to the FORE Center, where wireless sensors on her body and floor

sensors in the lab track her movements while she listens to her favorite songs on her iPod. The FORE Center team is choosing methods of pairing music with movement in a way that would make behaviorist B.F. Skinner proud. One way to encourage good walking behaviors is through what Leider calls a “vocabulary of auditory penalty and auditory reward.” This can be done with pleasing or displeasing songs or sounds, or it can be done with auditory effects on your favorite music. “If we want to convey that you did something good,” Leider says, “we might supply an enhanced bass response, or we might make it a little louder. We could also cue an auditory effect penalty, like bit crushing. You as a user

don’t need to know anything about mixing. All you know is that the beautiful Norah Jones song you were just listening to now sounds like it came through a 1950s telephone.” The app is on track to be tested this summer in a clinical trial with amputees wearing the Össur Rheo knee. While music is one of the primary feedback systems in the app, it’s important to include other mechanisms because the goal is to show users exactly what they’re doing wrong. With eight different gait variations and multiple movements involved in those variations, a vast catalog of sensory signals is necessary. But is it possible for a person to receive several kinds of signals at once and understand what they mean? “We’re already doing it,” Leider says. “Your phone gives you feedback in the form of pictures, sounds, and vibration, all happening simultaneously. And you’re able to distinguish what these signals all mean—whether you’re getting a text message versus an email versus a phone call and who it’s from.” Leider, Agrawal, Bennett, and Gailey make the perfect quartet for the Össur study and other research opportunities that are bound to spring from it. Leider is quick to point out that the Frost School’s Music Engineering Technology program was the first music engineering program in the United States as well as “one of the few places in the country where you need to be a geek and you need to be passionate about music.” “Nobody in medicine can do what the Music Engineering Technology folks can do,” Gailey says. “What we learn can be translated to Parkinson’s disease, people with balance issues, and so many other areas of study.” Gailey, who has published dozens of research articles, returned wounded soldiers to active duty, and enabled double amputees to run again competitively, calls his work with Leider, Agrawal, and Bennett “the most exciting project I’ve ever been involved with. “I know this is the tip of the iceberg,” he continues, “and I can’t even see how far it’s going to expand.” This story first appeared in Score, the Frost School of Music magazine. miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 23

WALKING THE WALK Hundreds of students explore a resource fair presented by ’Canes Care for ’Canes, one of the initiatives Patricia Whitely, center, has spearheaded as vice president for student affairs to encourage students to support one another.

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The Life of Whitely Commanding emergency efforts, coordinating campus construction plans, and empowering 10,000 or so young adults to do their best—just a typical day at the office for UM’s vice president for student affairs. B Y S T E P H A N I E PA R R A , B . S . C . ’ 1 4

PATRICIA A. WHITELY, ED.D. ’94, STILL REMEMBERS her first day driving to her new job, and her new home, at the University of Miami. It was August 1, 1982. n “I was in an old beat-up car, a Maverick,” she recalls, “and because of the way Coral Gables streets are [marked with low white stones in the grass], I just couldn’t find it.” n But 31 years later Whitely has more than found her way at the University. Now finishing her 17th year as vice president for student affairs, Whitely ranks as one of the nation’s longest serving in the position—and most highly dec-

PHOTOS BY ANDREW INNERARITY

orated. She may also be one of the most active. Athletic by nature, Whitely can frequently be seen striding briskly across campus from Pavia Parking Garage to her office in the Ashe Administration Building to the Student Center Complex, monitoring her iPhone every step of the way. n According to Whitely, it’s all by design. “I see a lot of people as I walk to my office,” she explains. “I have a presence. People see me and say, ‘Hey, Dr. Whitely, I was just going to ask you a question.’ That’s important.”

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Whitely was 24 years old when she first joined UM as a residence coordinator. “I’ve grown up here,” she says. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in business with a second major in theology from St. John’s University and a master’s in higher education from the University of South Carolina, Whitely helped implement innovative changes in student life from the start. One major change involved inviting faculty to live on campus as resident masters. “It was cutting edge,” she says. “It was a terrific opportunity to establish all five residential colleges, begin-

Whitely who was tapped to advance his formidable legacy. Before retiring, Butler earned the highest honor that can be bestowed on a senior affairs administrator in higher education from NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education). In March 2013 NASPA presented Whitely with the same honor, the Scott Goodnight Award for outstanding performance as a dean. “Sixteen years later I was able to call him up, and I said, ‘Dr. Butler, did you know that there’s only

to ensure that every student feels like a part of the Hurricane family. Her tremendous dedication to student life is an important contributing factor to what has allowed us to take the University of Miami forward to even greater heights.” One of their joint efforts was the creation of an expansive mural chronicling UM’s history. It was unveiled inside the Whitten University Center in 2011, the same year UM broke ground on its new Student Activities Center. Undoubtedly the crowning glory of Whitely’s tenure, the Student Activities Center was more than a decade in the making.

For more than 30 years, Pat Whitely has helped see the U through changes in the student experience, both major and minor. She speaks warmly of her longtime predecessor as VP for student affairs, William R. Butler, opposite center, and considers it a “tremendous privilege to have worked so closely with President Shalala during her entire tenure at UM.”

ning with Hecht in 1984, and to attract top faculty to live and work among students.” Whitely soon advanced to assistant director and then associate director of residential colleges. The promotions came with their fair share of what Whitely calls “formative” experiences. One of those sure to remain etched in her memory took place on the first day of orientation in August 1992, when Category 5 Hurricane Andrew came barreling into South Florida. Whitely was one of the key staff who leapt into action to keep thousands of first-year students and their visiting parents safe and sheltered while getting the campus back up and running in just over two weeks, despite $14 million worth of damage. In 1994, the year Whitely earned her doctorate in higher education, she received another promotion, this time to director of student life. Just three years later, when William Butler, UM’s first-ever vice president for student affairs, announced his retirement after 32 years of devoted service to the U, it was

one university in the country that’s had two vice presidents obtain the Goodnight Award?’” Whitely told The Miami Hurricane. “And he said, ‘Is that you?’” “I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Butler told the paper. The award came on the heels of Whitely earning the distinction of becoming UM’s first administrator to be elected chair of NASPA’s board of directors, a role she assumed this March. But Whitely’s greatest pride comes from her work with student leaders. “When you treat students as adults and co-partners in running the University,” she says, “there’s a mutual respect that comes out of that.” As Student Government president from 2011 to 2012, Brandon Mitchell, B.S.Ed. ’12, collaborated with Whitely on several initiatives. “Dr. Whitely’s commitment to the University of Miami stems from her commitment to its students,” he says. “To Dr. Whitely, students are truly the foundation for a university, and she will stop at nothing

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Whitely recalls her first time touring the site with UM President Donna E. Shalala that would one day house the 119,000-square-foot facility for students. It was 2003, and the area included only the modest Rathskeller, a popular student hangout since 1973. Shalala asked her point blank: “What do you think if we tear this thing down and make a Student Activities Center?” Whitely was impressed by the idea, and ultimately so were the majority of students and the UM Board of Trustees. UM’s student body voted to accept an additional fee to help build the center, and the Fairholme Foundation gave a $20 million gift toward its construction. In 2011 the original Rathskeller was demolished to make way for this new beacon of campus-wide excellence. The completed facility—including a Rathskeller for the ages—was unveiled last August to rave reviews. “It’s a very

students a microcosm of what they’re going to experience in real life.” During her three decades at the U, Whitely has kept pace with its sweeping changes—the rise in academic rankings, the embrace of advancing technology and social media, major facilities upgrades, and more. “From the beginning this was always a special place,” she says. But by far the best part of her job, she notes, “is the way you impact students, the things you can help them with on a day-to-day basis. Whether it’s our gay

Iron Arrow honor society, the NASPA Pillar of the Profession Award, and the John Jones Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Professional, among many others. But it’s the rock-solid relationships she has built with students through the decades that she cherishes above all. In recognition of her unwavering advocacy on their behalf, in 2012 the Student Government Executive Board estab-

Administration of Higher Education class each semester at the School of Education and Human Development, she is an omnipresent force on campus. Whitely plays a vital role behind the scenes as well. The crisis management protocols she has implemented and continues to oversee are highly regarded by peer institutions, and she was the first student affairs vice president nationwide to appoint a social worker to her staff to help address what she recognized as the increasingly complex challenges college students face. Another top priority for Whitely is boosting student engagement on campus through programs like UM Unites, which helps identify students at risk for suicide, and ’Canes Care for ’Canes, which enlists students in the responsibility of keeping an eye out for one another. “If you don’t care for the people who are here and you don’t take pride in your own ’Cane community,” Whitely says, “how can you someday take part in the community that you’re going to live in? So I think these four years give

DONNA VICTOR

JENNY ABREU

proud moment for the University,” Whitely says of the stunning new center for student life. “Without the students and without the Fairholme Foundation, this would not have come together in terms of the business plan.” The center also stands as a monument to Whitely’s boundless energy. Whether grabbing a bite at the Rat (“I’m in charge of it, so I need to know what’s there,” she quips), cheering the Hurricanes on the field (“I’m a jock!”), or teaching her Organization and

students, our black students, our Chinese students—all students. We’re such a diverse campus. “I’ve been stunned sometimes by the kind of backgrounds students come from,” she continues. “And I’ve been deeply humbled by the fact that they’ve shared their stories with me. At the same time, I try to share my story. I worked my way all through school. I’m definitely self-made and proud of that.” Whitely maintains close ties with her family outside of the U as well. Originally from New York, she is the eldest of seven children. Whitely calls George, her husband of 19 years whom she met on the UM campus, “the wind beneath my wings.” And though her University-issue iPhone is on 24/7, she tries to preserve Saturdays for their 12-year-old daughter, Megan, who “is very pro UM,” says Whitely. “We have a good relationship, and I think she’s proud of my accomplishments and what I do.” Also on Whitely’s long list of achievements: induction into UM’s

lished the Patricia A. Whitely Unsung Hero Award for Student Government members who go above and beyond their duties. “Dr. Whitely is someone who is widely respected both at UM and in the student affairs world,” says Justin Borroto, 2013-2014 Student Government vice president. “She has an incredible and unique ability to immediately see all sides of a story and the effect that things will have on the student body and the campus community. “She truly keeps students at the forefront of her mind in making decisions and is a huge advocate for the student experience on campus. She is very present around campus and a great resource to students.” Stephanie Parra was editor in chief of The Miami Hurricane. miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 27

Ricardo Arregui was one of Cuba’s reigning ad men.

28 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

Meet the marketing maven whose award-winning campaigns uniquely preserve Havana’s street-level culture.

CUBA’S OWN

‘MADMAN’ “HAVE I EVER SHOWN MY DAD ANY EPISODES OF MAD MEN?”

Richard Arregui, B.S. ’85, muses with an incredulous laugh. “He lived it. Once was enough!” Indeed, vintage photographs of Richard’s father, Ricardo Arregui, instantly conjure the sharp-suited corporate advertising world of the ’50s and ’60s as portrayed by the popular AMC television series—albeit transported to Havana. It was in that city where Ricardo Arregui co-founded Fergo-Arregui Advertising. One of Cuba’s top ad agencies, it billed more than $18 million at its 1958 height ($143 million in today’s dollars). n The 94-yearold Arregui has donated the archives from his illustrious career to the University of Miami Libraries’ Cuban Heritage Collection, adding a fascinating new chapter to its ongoing chronicle of the Cuban experience both on and off the island. Encompassing everything from ad campaign artwork to recordings of radio commercials, the Ricardo Arregui Papers serve up a rich snapshot of pre-revolutionary Cuban culture. BY BRETT SOKOL PHOTO BY DONNA VICTOR

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“It really defines a place and a time,” explains Maria R. Estorino-Dooling, the Cuban Heritage Collection’s Esperanza Bravo de Varona Chair. “One look at a certain ad, or just hearing Celia Cruz singing the Café Pilón jingle, immediately takes you there.” But the archive is more than an exercise in colorful nostalgia. “It provides a unique lens into what society was really like in Cuba at that time,” Estorino continues. “It really gives you insight into what was going on in the life of the average person.” Developing that kind of insight was key to Arregui’s success with his clients’ brands, which ranged from Polar beer to Iberia Airlines. “You have to listen to the street, you have to do research,” he says. “There’s no magic crystal ball in advertising.” These days, that business philosophy may be second nature. But in the 1950s it was groundbreaking—Arregui’s demographic studies and detailed neighborhood profiles were widely hailed. In fact, after armed soldiers burst into

From left, four ads produced by Havana-based Fergo-Arregui Advertising in the 1950s promote Spanish toiletries and Scotch whisky, Cuban cigarettes and soda. After fleeing Cuba with his family in 1961, Ricardo Arregui picked tomatoes in Miami before rebuilding his advertising empire. He went on to represent Hispanic brands in Miami such as La Andaluza olive oil and Diana foods (pictured above, opposite page). All images courtesy Cuban Heritage Collection.

his office in December 1960, officially nationalizing the firm, Arregui’s consumer research seemed to be the true prize that the nascent Castro government sought. Several tense months later, Arregui received a tip from an old friend who was now a military official: Arregui was about to be placed on an ominous “no fly” list. Racing to the airport, he

A Fergo-Arregui “living” billboard for Royal Premier cigarettes in late 1950s downtown Havana, complete with attentiongrabbing dancers.

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embarked on a one-way journey all too familiar for so many of his compatriots. With little more than the shirts on their backs, Arregui and his wife, Olga, who was already pregnant with Richard, started over in Miami. “Like many Cubans at the time, he picked tomatoes,” Richard Arregui recalls of his dad’s day job during his Miami childhood. “It was a tough time.”

Eventually his father launched a new firm, Arregui International Advertising. It was one of South Florida’s first Latino-focused agencies, notes Estorino. “People knew who I was, but budgets that were once millions were now thousands,” Arregui, now retired, explains. “We grew slowly, just as the whole Cuban community grew slowly.” Over the subsequent decades the firm developed into a local institution, representing Cuban-American mainstays like Sedano’s Market and Pharmacy, as well as clients looking to break into the lucrative Latino market, like wholesaler Sam’s Club. Son Richard Arregui, co-director of one of Miami’s most prominent art dealerships, the Fredric Snitzer Gallery, says he sees today that his father’s ad biz and the modern art world are far more intertwined than he ever imagined when he was studying art history at UM in his undergraduate years. Plenty of lessons gleaned from his father still resonate. “You have to do market research,” he says, “whether you’re selling Polar beer or a painting by Hernan Bas.”

Tony Fergo, left, and brothers Ricardo and Tirso Arregui celebrate success in 1950s Havana. The brothers regrouped in Miami as Arregui International. The emphasis on market research remained, as did their distinctive haircuts, playfully rendered on the infants in the above promotional piece.

The Ricardo Arregui Papers are available for research at the Cuban Heritage Collection. A Spanish-language interview with Arregui is online at http://merrick. library.miami.edu/streaming/botifollvideo.php?interview=chc5212000078 as part of the Cuban Heritage Collection’s Luis J. Botifoll Oral History Project. miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 31

Alumni Digest

“I worked at the Rat”

“I’ve got baseball fever”

“I loved engineering”

“I was a thespian”

“I’m a ZBT”

“I was a film buff”

“I played intramurals” “I was on Student Government”

Lake Osceola

“I am a veteran”

“I worked at the Wellness Center”

“I’m an art lover”

“I was a commuter student”

“I joined COISO”

“I was in Christian Fellowship”

The time

“I lived in Pearson”

From football games to nights at

of Your Life Should Last

a Lifetime

the Rat, talent shows to student government campaigns—tell us about the faces and places, activities, and events that made your University of Miami experience special. To begin, visit miami.edu/alumni and complete our Alumni Affinity Program form online. Tell us about your special interests! We’ll use those

“I’m a ’Cane for life”

details to help you reconnect and reunite you with fellow ’Canes who share your affinities.

For more information, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-866-UMALUMS (1-866-862-5867) or alumni@miami.edu. 32 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

Alumni Digest

NEWS AND EVENTS OF INTEREST TO UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ALUMNI

Cheer on Your ’Canes to Reign in Spain Fans can join expeditions, attend games this summer Hurricanes near and far are invited to join the University of Miami men’s basketball team for its first foreign outing in 16 years—a summer tour of Spain. The ten-day trip, which lands in Madrid on August 13, is an educational excursion that will also include sightseeing and community service, plus a series of games. “With just four veterans returning from this year’s team and eight new

city, with three nights in Madrid, two in Valencia, and the final four nights in Barcelona.

Coach Jim Larrañaga and his team prepare to court fans in a new country during the ten-day tour.

players joining our roster, we felt it was very important to give them some playing experience together,” explained Coach Jim Larrañaga of his 2014-15 squad. “The trip to Spain is an ideal opportunity for our players to grow physically, mentally, and educationally together as a team.” Miami will play four matchups against professional club teams in Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona. The entire team, including incoming freshmen and transfers, will have ten days of practice leading up to their overseas voyage. NCAA rules permit schools to take one foreign tour every four years. Miami’s last tour was to Argentina and Uruguay in the summer of 1998. Aside from competition, the team will explore cultural icons of each

Highlights will include the chance to visit Madrid’s Prado Museum, the ancient walled city of Toledo, the picturesque beaches of El Cabanyal in Valencia, Barcelona’s

Olympic sites, Gaudi’s architectural wonders, and the peaks of Montserrat. There will also be ample opportunities to taste Spain’s celebrated culinary offerings from land and sea. “Spain is a tremendous country,” said Larrañaga. “I know our players and fans will enjoy a great trip.” Complete travel packages with air begin as low as $5,020, and ground travel packages are available from $3,600. To join the official Miami Hurricanes travel party or to find out more about travel and accommodations, visit http://ems.resrunner.com/ miami, or contact Becky Johnson at Becky@BasketballTravelers.com or 425-776-3309.

Furry ’Canes Unite Does your pet love orange and green as much as you? Help the UM Alumni Association launch a new interactive program by sending in a memorable photo of your special four-legged friend sporting his or her finest ’Canes attire to alumni@miami.edu. The first Furry ’Canes Club gathering took place on the pet-friendly UM campus in April on the Foote University Green, with a dog-training session, agility demonstrations, and more. For more information call 866-UMALUMS (862-5867) or 305-284-2872.

Furry ’Cane Penny Mann loves her humans and the U.

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Alumni Digest

Scores of Scores, Singers, and Showtunes Composer and lyricist Jerry Herman, A.B. ’53, D.F.A. ’80, whose Tony- and Grammy-winning productions (Mame, La Cage aux Folles, Hello, Dolly!) have helped shape musical theater in America, was the guest of honor at a March event to mark 75 years of excellence in theater arts. A standingroom-only crowd joined the Kennedy Center honoree in his namesake Jerry Herman Ring Theatre on the Coral Gables campus as entertainers Klea Blackhurst, Jason Graae, and Valerie Perri shared the stage with UM Theatre Arts and Conservatory students, as well as the Miami Gay Men’s Chorus. James Followell served as guest music director/accompanist. Henry Fonte, director of the College of Arts and Sciences Conservatory Programs and producing artistic director for the Ring, produced the tribute, which featured reprisals of classic songs from Herman’s musicals,

UM_AlumniCtr_8.5x5.5.indd 1

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including a rendition of “Hello, Jerry!”— adapted from the tune “Hello, Dolly!” Calling his career a tribute to both his creativity and humanity, President Donna E. Shalala said Herman “left a trail of stardust” at UM. “Your melodies are unforgettable, your words inspiring,” she added. “In your tunes, love is eternal and the heart an open book.” Donna A. Arbide, M.B.A. ’95, associate vice president of alumni relations and individual giving, presented a Distinguished Alumni Award to Herman, who was visibly moved by the outpouring of admiration in the room. One of only two people to have written three musicals with more than 1,500 performances each on Broadway, Herman made his first stage appearance as a UM student playing Og the Leprechaun in Finian’s Rainbow. “It’s been a thrilling life,” he said. “And it all really started in the drama department

SAGETTE VAN EMBDEN, B.F.A. ’12

75th anniversary gala honors shining star of Broadway

Jerry Herman, A.B. ’53, D.F.A. ’80, shares UM memories at a gala in his honor.

at the University of Miami.” Graae, a collaborator of Herman’s for more than three decades, sang “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles. “He’s been the greatest gift of my life and career,” Graae said of Herman. “I hold on to him for dear life.” —Melissa Peerless

3/11/14 10:50 PM

Diving into Higher Ed Summer Scholars helps high schoolers navigate college landscape live on their own and take care of each other, they learned to study for collegelevel courses.” They also gained priceless practical experience. “In the business program, for example, they had the opportunity to visit the Federal Reserve and a local law

professors provided important career guidance that helped to prepare the students for their future.” Even more appealing, children of UM alumni receive a $500 tuition waiver. “Alumni value being able to share their legacy with the next generation,” says Rebecca MacMillan Fox, dean of the Division of Continuing and International Education, which administers the program. “For these families the Summer Scholars Program offers an PHOTOS BY BYRON MALDONADO

Avid scuba diver Aalekhya Reddam thought she might want to pursue a marine science degree in college. The Summer Scholars Program at the University of Miami not only helped her test the waters; it immersed her in them in more ways than one. “The program exceeded my expectations,” says Reddam, an international student from Singapore. “I thought I would just come and learn about marine science, but I actually got to immerse myself into the field for three weeks. It was one of the best experiences of my life.” Open to highly motivated high school juniors and seniors, Summer Scholars offers college credit in the following concentrations: marine science, digital media production, health and medicine, engineering, international relations, business and law, filmmaking, forensic investigation, sport administration, sports medicine, or theatre arts. “The students grew an incredible amount in those three short weeks,” observes Bhumi Patel, former Student Government president and graduating senior, who worked in the program for two years. “In addition to learning to

Summer Scholars offers a thoroughly fun way to earn college credits.

firm, and compete in a mock debate,” she says. “In the sports medicine program the students got their CPR certifications and learned how to assess field injuries and provide basic first aid. In addition,

Career Event Goes Global On April 30, members of the 166,000-strong network of ’Canes gathered in cities around the world to take part in the UM Alumni Association’s inaugural Global Networking Day. Everyone from recent grads to talent seekers took part in the event to build their professional networks, reconnect with classmates, and share personal and professional experiences with fellow alumni. To see photos from various sites, visit miami.edu/globalU or Twitter #GlobalU. To submit your own Global Networking Day photos, email miami.editor@miami.edu. Please include your name, degree, and graduation year— and, while you’re at it, feel free to share (in 20 words or less) the best career advice you’ve ever received. For more information on alumni career resources, visit miami.edu/alumni/career.

unparalleled opportunity for students to experience college life and grow both academically and socially.” International students now have the option of taking a noncredit Toefl Prep program as well. For Reddam, who just finished her first year at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Summer Scholars was “a perfect mix of academics and extracurricular activities.” “It definitely did help me decide what I wanted to study,” she adds. “In fact, it made my decision. It also introduced me to so many new people, some I’m close friends with even now, so starting college with people I knew made the transition easier.” The Summer Scholars Program runs June 21 to July 11. Participants can elect to live on campus or commute. For more information visit miami.edu/ssp, call 305-284-5078, or email ssp@miami.edu. miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 35

Alumni Digest

One Hundred Years of Certitude The man who put Miami tennis on the map surpasses a century Sedgman; teamed with Billy Talbert to win four U.S. Open men’s doubles titles; captured the 1957 Wimbledon doubles championship at age 44 with Budge Patty; and helped the United States win three Davis Cup championships against Australia. Known as the “silver fox,” Mulloy played the senior circuit well into his 90s. His decades-long competitive

skippered a landing ship tank (LST), seeing action in the North African and European invasions. “I don’t know why it’s never gotten its due,” Mulloy says of the LST, an amphibious naval vessel. “The destroyers and submarines could do only one thing, but the LST could do it all. We brought in troops, supplies, and tanks. We were a hospital ship. It could even carry the complete

When he launched the University’s tennis program almost 80 years ago, Mulloy knew he had weather on his side. components to build an airport practically overnight.” Still, most people want to hear about Mulloy’s exploits in tennis, a game his father taught him on the backyard clay court of their Miami home. Today, he says, tennis is different. “There’s no net play,” he gripes. “I don’t enjoy the game as much, but I watch it anyway.” As UM’s head tennis coach, Mulloy recruited the likes of Pancho Segura, ’45, who won Senior statesman of the tennis world, Gardnar NCAA singles titles in Mulloy, J.D. ’38, is the first International Tennis 1943, 1944, and 1945. Hall of Famer to hit 100. Segura, now 92, is among the Tennis Hall career yielded more of Fame’s ten oldest surviving members, than 127 national as is 88-year-old Doris Hart, ’48, also of championships and UM. Mulloy, who lives in Miami with his 25 international wife, Jackie, is its most senior. titles, No. 1 U.S. and Last April, when a section of road in No. 6 world rankings, his neighborhood was renamed Gardnar and admission to the Mulloy Way, former pro tennis player International Tennis and UM coach Kim Sands, B.Ed. ’78, Hall of Fame in 1972. summed up Mulloy’s enduring legend But Mulloy insists his greatest pride thusly: “You are ‘Mr. Tennis’ in this came during his brief interruption from community.” the sport, when in World War II he —Robert C. Jones Jr. HURRICANESPORTS.COM

ART SEITZ

Gardnar Mulloy’s blade-thin frame could endure no more. Weary of the pounding he was taking as a member of the University of Miami’s freshman football squad, he marched into President Bowman Foster Ashe’s office one day and asked if he could change his scholarship to a different sport: tennis. There was only one problem: UM, at the time, had no tennis program. So with Ashe’s approval, Mulloy, J.D. ’38, started one. “I knew all of the best players,” he says. He scheduled matches with Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. “Everybody laughed at us. They said we couldn’t schedule such schools because we’d get killed. But I knew we had a tal-

ART SEITZ

ented team,” recalls Mulloy, now 100, with remarkable clarity. When he launched the University’s tennis program almost 80 years ago, Mulloy knew he had weather on his side. “While the schools up North couldn’t get out to practice until the snow melted, we were able to practice year-round,” he says. “I knew we could beat them.” And so they did, winning a college championship in 1936. Mulloy’s career from that point on was storybook. He reached the 1952 U.S. Open men’s final, losing to Frank 36 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

It’s the U’s Turn After an amazing 24-year run, UM’s beloved mascot Sebastian the Ibis has retired from his duties on the state license plate. Alumni helped choose the split-U design for the new plate, which is available for $25 per year over the standard tag rate for vehicles registered in Florida. As was the case with the Sebastian plate, which debuted in 1989, funds generated from its sales will be directed to University of Miami Alumni Scholarships for UM students. Over the program’s lifespan, almost 80,000 UM custom tags have been purchased. With roughly 25,000 registered UM plates riding the roads each year, the program has raised more than $14.7 million for the scholarship fund. Now the split-U, one of the most recognizable institutional symbols in the world, is ready to go wherever ’Cane-loving Florida motorists roam. “Sebastian is a very important part of our history and of the present-day experience at the U,” says Jacqueline R. Menendez, A.B. ’83, vice president for University Communications. “But we also recognize the U is iconic. It is our visual identity—diverse, modern, confident, and bold. Sebastian is our mascot and represents us very well, but it’s time to send the U on the road.” Jim Watt, A.B. ’66, a former state legislator who happens to be the father of the UM tag and the 119 other specialty plates sold in Florida today, couldn’t agree more. Watt got one of the first UM plates, emblazoned with CANES66. His father, Walter Watt, B.B.A. ’45, who wore No. 52 as a star running back for the ’Canes and held the record for the longest punt return for 47 years, had a UM 52 plate that Watt inherited after his father’s death in 1994. Watt’s parents met at UM. And Watt—who also met his wife, Susan

DONNA VICTOR

New design brings Sebastian’s road running days to an end

Schlemm Watt, B.Ed. ’67, at UM—attended his first ’Canes game as a baby. Forty years later, then a state representative from Palm Beach County, he was driving to Georgia on a weekend getaway from the legislative session when he saw a car sporting a University of Georgia license plate. Determined to have his own UM plate, Watt researched the law that created Georgia’s specialty tags. In the process he found that the extra fee for the plates went to Georgia’s general fund instead of to the school the plate promoted. “That was a big mistake,” Watt says. “I am an attorney, but I know enough about marketing to know that alumni would buy more plates if they knew the money

“ The U is iconic. Sebastian is our mascot and represents us very well, but it’s time to send the U on the road.” was going back to their alma maters.” With Watt guiding the legislation, Florida avoided Georgia’s pitfall, and today UM’s plate is this state’s 15th most popular, eclipsing the Miami Dolphins. The No. 1 specialty plate belongs to Florida’s largest public university. In May 2013, when UM launched an online contest to select the plate’s new design, Watt and his daughter Jennifer Watt Frankl, B.H.S. ’95, M.S.P.T. ’97, gladly voted, along with 6,300 other alumni. “I will be very proud to have the U on my plate,” Watt says. —Maya Bell miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 37

Alumni Digest

It’s easy to leave a

legacy

“ The University of Miami was my academic home for more than two decades, and I believe in saying ‘thank you’ for the support. There are many ways of giving, and the personal rewards are truly priceless.”

Educator Okhee Lee-Salwen and her husband, award-winning journalism professor Michael B. Salwen, were on faculty at the University of Miami for over two decades. When tragedy struck their family—Michael learned he had cancer in 2001—the couple kept their family at the U close to heart. Through Michael’s six-year battle against the disease, Okhee says his School of Communication colleagues helped to keep him active and engaged. “We were both very touched by the respectful way the University treated him as a scholar at such a painful time.” Michael and Okhee showed their thanks by including UM in their estate plans prior to Michael’s passing in 2007. To ensure that her late husband’s legacy and love for the U would live on, Okhee, now living in New York, created the Michael B. Salwen Endowed Scholarships at both the School of Communication, where Michael was a professor, and the School of Education and Human Development, where Okhee was a professor. After a series of gifts to the Scholarship funds, Okhee decided recently to make their bequest to UM public. “Michael and I were poor when we were doctoral students, so we felt it was appropriate for us to help students who would need financial support to attend our University.” Today, Okhee encourages other members of the UM family to give back, even in small amounts or through a bequest or other planned gift.

38 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

— UM Professor Emeritus Okhee Lee-Salwen

Any gift, no matter the size, can make a lasting impact for generations to come. To learn more about making a planned gift, please visit www.miami. edu/plannedgiving or contact Cynthia Beamish, Office of Estate and Gift Planning, at 305-284-4342 or um.plannedgiving@ miami.edu.

Class Notes 1930s

Al G. Wright, A.B. ’37, M.Ed. ’47, was inducted into the Band of the Hour Hall of Fame individually in 2012 and then again in 2013, as part of the first UM band group, which was formed in 1933. The cohort’s only surviving member, Wright lives in Indiana and is director of bands emeritus for Purdue University.

1950s

Seymour Gelber, J.D. ’53, was on hand in downtown Miami in February for the official dedication of the new Miami-Dade Children’s Courthouse, named for him and another longtime judge, William E. Gladstone. Gelber, 94, is a former Miami Beach mayor who sits as a senior judge in the family and child support division, working a few days a week. He was appointed to the Circuit Court bench in 1974 and served as an administrative judge for the juvenile division until his mandatory retirement in 1990. He served three terms as mayor of Miami Beach. Phyllis Gelbard Walker, B.Ed. ’54, M.Ed. ’57, published her “Miami Stories” article in The Miami Herald recently. A retired teacher, she takes continuing education classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institue on the University of Miami campus. Valeria Smith, B.Ed. ’59, M.Ed. ’71, is in her 90s and living in North Port, Florida.

1960s

Ron Godfrey, B.Ed. ’61, of Coral Springs, Florida, was inducted into the ACC Legends Hall of Fame in 2012. He played basketball for the Hurricanes from 1958 to 1961.

Leon J. Hoffman, A.B. ’61, has a private practice in psychology in Chicago, specializing in individual and group psychotherapy with adults and organizational consulting. He is eager to hear from classmates. Herbert A. Rosenfeld, B.Ed. ’62, gave the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Lecture, sponsored by the Honorable Julia Chang Bloch and Stuart Marshall Bloch, A.B. ’64. Rosenfeld is president of Michelle Rosenfeld Gallery in New York City. Previously he was president of MacGregor Sporting Goods, growing the company from a worth of $18 million to over $900 million. Rosenfeld lectures on Art as an Alternative Asset in the Visiting Scholars Program in the Department of Economics at Harvard University and works closely with Harvard’s athletic and men’s basketball departments. Stanley Satz, B.B.A. ’63, is chairman and chief scientific officer of Bio-Nucleonics. Based in Doral, Florida, the company is focused on developing and producing generic radiopharmaceuticals.

1970s

Gene D. Gomberg, B.Ed. ’70, was one of ten recipients of the South Florida Business Journal’s Broward Ultimate CEO Award. Robert Mann, A.B. ’70, a UM trustee and chair of the School of Communication’s Visiting Committee, made a $1 million planned donation to create the Samuel and Grace Mann Endowed Scholarship Fund. Named after his parents, it supports undergraduate broadcast journalism majors. Mann, former president of R.A. Mann Inc. and a co-founder of U.S. Biochemical Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, was the first general manager and

Citizen ’Cane Prodigy’s Light Shines Bright At 11 years old, most students are preparing to enter middle school. Stephen A. Baccus, B.S. ’83, J.D. ’86, Ph.D. ’98, clearly was not “most students.” By age 11, he had appeared on TV and in movies, including a film with Jerry Lewis, and was attending college. By age 17, before most young people even start college, Baccus already had not one but three degrees—a bachelor’s in computer science and a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami, plus a master’s in computer science, completed in one year, from New York University. Baccus made history at UM as the University’s youngest enrollee and graduate. Then he entered the national spotlight when he argued against a New York state statute prohibiting law school graduates under 18 from practicing—and won. “I certainly looked younger than the normal lawyer. But people are professional. Once they got over the surprise, they treated me like everybody else,” says Baccus, now 45 and married with a young daughter. After seven years of practicing law, though, Baccus sought new intellectual ground. He returned to the University of Miami, this time for a doctorate in neuroscience from the medical school. He admits he didn’t overthink his new direction. “I didn’t understand what a scientist did,” he says. “I didn’t know how a lab was run.” But as with most of his other endeavors, Baccus caught on quickly, going from postdoc at Harvard to assistant professor at Stanford University. He is now an associate professor in neurobiology at Stanford, researching how the eye’s retina detects light and how the brain interprets it. Eventually, Baccus hopes to end some forms of blindness by developing a retinal prosthesis, a “high-resolution implant” that would function “like a contact lens, stimulating the brain cells using ultrasound,” he explains. “It would produce visual sensation even though the light-sensitive cells have died.” With characteristic modesty, Baccus points out that he’s not the only one pursuing such possibilities—though his team’s ultrasound approach is unique. “A number of companies and universities are trying to develop retinal prostheses,” he notes. Still, somehow it’s easy to believe that if anyone can find a cure for lost vision it’s the man who made law and medical school look like child’s play. —Jen Karetnick, M.F.A. ’96 miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 39

Class Notes a founder of WVUM The Voice 90.5 FM. Veda L. Andrus, B.S.N. ’73, is vice president, Education and Program Development, for The BirchTree Center for Healthcare Transformation. She is also on the board of directors for the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation and on the editorial review board for the Journal of Holistic Nursing. Steven Ginsburg, B.B.A. ’73, J.D. ’76, a partner in the Atlanta office of Duane Morris, coauthored a chapter on discovery in the book Florida Civil Practice Before Trial (Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education, 2013). He has written this chapter for the book’s past four editions. David B. Mitchell, A.B. ’73, received his advanced diploma in local English history with distinction from the University of Oxford (UK), and co-authored Family Law Strategies in Florida (Aspatore/Thomson Reuters, 2012). He practices marital and family law in Coral Gables. Nathaniel Trigoboff, B.Ed. ’73, an adjunct instructor at Palm Beach State College, wrote the love song “Debra’s Song,” and performed it on YouTube under the name Nathan Trig in honor of his 25th

wedding anniversary. Andrea Green, B.M. ’75, a playwright, composer, lyricist, director, and music therapist, received a special resolution by the City of Philadelphia and inspired a television documentary series, On the Other Side of the Fence, for her nationally known work creating Broadway-style musicals for children that embrace and celebrate diversity among all children, including those with special needs. Christopher Migliaccio, B.S. ’75, received a 2013 John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College in recognition of his academic contributions and leadership as professor of ecology and environmental science at Miami Dade College, where he is the McGregor Smith Endowed Teaching Chair in Environmental Ethics. Raul Alvarez, B.B.A. ’76, a UM President’s Council member, was recognized in the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Immigrants: The Pride of America campaign, featured in The New York Times. Eric Barron, M.S. ’76, Ph.D. ’80, was named president of Penn State University.

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An exciting array of high-quality personal items and accessories that highlight your ’Cane pride, this limited-edition collection also features wonderful gifts for friends and family members.

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40 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

Mixed Media Gracie Normally a 30-second commercial wouldn’t make it into this space, but this was really the ad seen round the world. The sequel to an already-viral Cheerios spot, “Gracie” was developed by art director Taylor Lucas, B.S.C. ’11, and copywriter Nick Marchese, B.S.C. ’11, of Saatchi & Saatchi in New York, and it aired during Super Bowl XLVIII. If you’re one of the few who missed it, take our word that it’s adorable, or judge for yourself at hudsonhouston.com/2014/01/gracie.

Grammys Roundup Frost School of Music alumni triumphed at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in a range of categories, from classical to metal. Recording engineer Brian Losch, B.M. ’08, won Best Engineered Album, Classical for his work on Winter Morning Walks (ArtistShare, 2013), with compositions and orchestration by another Frost School attendee, Maria Schneider, ’83. Her work won two more Grammys: Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Vocal Solo (soprano Dawn Upshaw). Schneider has two previous Grammys.

Even unlucky numbers seem to be lucky for Andrew Scheps, B.M. ’89. He was the audio engineer for a new Black Sabbath album, 13 (Vertigo/ Republic, 2013), which won Best Metal Performance. A few years ago Scheps won a Grammy in the Album of the Year category for his engineering work on Adele’s 21.

Christopher “Kip” Sullivan, B.M. ’81, M.M. ’84, M.B.A. ’86, a partner with Summit Records, celebrated a win in the category of Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for Night In Calisia (Summit Records Inc., 2013), featuring Randy Brecker, the Wlodek Pawlik Trio, and the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra.

’76, Ph.D. ’77, has just published two new books, Shakespeare and Philosophy: Lust, Love, and Law (Rodopi, 2012) and Jesus or Nietzsche: How Should We Live Our Lives? (Rodopi, 2013). He is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy at SUNY Fredonia. Jay Orringer, B.S. ’76, M.D. ’80, is a plastic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California. His patients have included Angelina Jolie, who had reconstruction surgery after a double mastectomy last year. Sandra P. Greenblatt, M.B.A. ’78, J.D. ’84, is an AV-rated, boardcertified health lawyer based in Miami. Janet Bond Brill, B.S. ’79, M.S.Ed. ’86, Ph.D. ’01, has had her third book published. Blood Pressure DOWN (Three Rivers Press, 2013) is a compendium of multiple evidence-based lifestyle techniques for lowering blood pressure.

1980s

Hilarie Bass, J.D. ’81, UM’s Momentum2 campaign chair for the School of Education and Human Development, was named co-president of Greenberg Traurig LLP. She is the law firm’s first female president. Bruce A. Blitman, J.D. ’81, of Fort Lauderdale, co-authored with David R. Carlisle, B.M. ’79, J.D. ’84, a shareholder with Duane Morris LLP in Miami, “Tips for Managing the ‘Mega-Mediation.’” The piece ran in the Winter 2013 edition of the American Arbitration Association’s The Dispute Resolution Journal. Blitman also collaborated on a piece titled “Ten Cornerstones for Effective Mediation Advocacy,” which appeared this year in Claims Magazine, a journal for insurance industry professionals, and the e-newsletter for the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates, based in London. In February he celebrated his 25th

anniversary as a Florida Supreme Court-certified Circuit Civil and County Court Mediator. Robert C. Hickson Jr., J.D. ’81, was elected to his second sixyear term as a Morrow County Common Pleas Court judge, all divisions. The common pleas court is the highest trial court in an Ohio county. Sophia M. Nash, A.B. ’81, is writing a new series of contemporary fiction based on her years as an expatriate living in France’s Basque Country. She has already written 12 books published by HarperCollins. Richard R. Diaz, B.B.A. ’82, was honored as a statewide “Hospital Hero” by the Alabama Hospital Association. For 13 years he has been operations manager of dietary services at Springhill Medical Center in Mobile, personally raising more than $150,000 for charities during that period. María-Teresa Lepeley, M.S. ’82, M.A. ’87, was an invited presenter at the Pan American Academy for Advancing Executive Women Leaders in Academia, hosted by the University last June. She is founder, president, and CEO of the Global Institute for Quality Education. Marc M. Trestman, J.D. ’82, replaced Lovie Smith in 2013 as head coach for the NFL’s Chicago Bears. Edward A. Morton, M.B.A. ’83, formerly a health care executive with NCH Healthcare Systems, was named to the Board of Governors by Florida Governor Rick Scott. Pablo Meles, B.S.E.E. ’86, joined law firm Duane Morris’s Intellectual Property Practice Group in Boca Raton, Florida. Alex Mendez, B.B.A. ’89, M.B.A. ’96, was promoted to executive vice president of operations and chief financial officer of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Elaine Rinaldi, B.M. ’89, is a conductor and the artistic director of Orchestra Miami, which she

Citizen ’Cane Women’s Rights Leader’s Iron Resolve When Patricia Ireland, J.D. ’75, was a law school student in the early ’70s, the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the University of Miami’s highest honor attainable, didn’t admit women—a policy Ireland protested in the spring of 1974 by leading an effort to ban the group from law school grounds. She and a friend even formed a parody organization, Broken Arrow, inducting members who wouldn’t have been tapped into Iron Arrow at the time. It wasn’t the first time Ireland took a stand for equality. As a flight attendant for Pan Am during the 1960s, she sued her employer over her insurance coverage because it didn’t pay for dental work her husband needed, despite the fact that benefits for male employees covered their female spouses. The U.S. Department of Labor ruled in her favor. Ireland, who went on to serve as president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1991 to 2001, shared those and other details of her life as a feminist leader during her keynote address for the 43rd annual UM Women’s Commission Breakfast in March. From higher wages to significant legislation such as the Voting Rights Act, she recounted plenty of examples of the “incredible progress” achieved by women. But she also warned of “unfinished business.” Women, for example, still earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn. “We’ve not moved in closing that wage gap,” she said, describing the longtime disparity as “a decade of stagnation.” Ireland, now practicing labor law in Miami, urged women in the audience to take action on two fronts: to throw their support behind the Military Justice Improvement Act, which would remove the commanding officer’s power to decide whether to try sexual assault cases and place it in the hands of an independent prosecutor; and to email the state attorney in Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, expressing displeasure with the decision to retry Marissa Alexander for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband after the 20-year sentence she’d received in 2012 was overturned. “Determine what moves you, and take that next step outside your zone of comfort,” advised Ireland. “Try something new. If someone says something homophobic, speak up. Help change the world. You’ll be so happy that you did.” —Robert C. Jones Jr. miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 41

ANDREW INNERARITY

Raymond Angelo Belliotti, M.A.

Class Notes founded in 2006. She recently conducted a program featuring soloist Elizabeth Caballero, B.M. ’99, for an outdoor concert series. Bertila Soto, J.D. ’89, an adjunct professor at the UM School of Law, was elected chief judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, serving Miami-Dade County. She is the first female and first Hispanic chief judge of the circuit.

1990s

Jeanmarie C. Ferrara, B.S.C. ’90, J.D. ’93, was promoted from vice president of public affairs to executive vice president at Wragg & Casas Public Relations in Miami. Dorothy J. Harden, J.D. ’90, presented the speech “Whistleblower and Other Retaliation Claims” at the judges’ meeting in Key West for the Florida Bar. Carlos J. Martinez, J.D. ’90, is serving his second four-year term as Miami-Dade Public Defender.

In 2008 he became the nation’s first elected Hispanic public defender. Susana Alvarez-Diaz, B.B.A. ’93, M.B.A. ’95, CEO of the Alvarez Diaz Group, is interim director of entrepreneurship programs at the University of Miami School of Business Administration.  Mario Cristobal, B.B.A. ’93, M.A.L.S. ’99, was hired as offensive line coach for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Curtis B. Hunter, LL.M.T. ’93, a partner with the Florida business law firm Berger Singerman, was named to the board of directors for the Children’s Bereavement Center. Kembala Evans, B.B.A. ’95, is the founder of KP Evans Financial, a personal finance education and coaching firm. She is also the author of Get Your Money Right: The 7 Keys to Unlocking a Better Financial Future (KP Evans Financial, 2011).

BRIAN LESTER

’C A N E I N T H E AC T

Jeffrey R. Margolis, J.D. ’96, joined law firm Berger Singerman as a partner and member of the firm’s business, finance, and tax team in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Mark Wisniewski, J.D. ’97, LL.M.T. ’02, joined ShuffieldLowman in Orlando, Florida, as an associate attorney in corporate and tax law practice. Frank Diaz, B.B.A. ’98, was appointed to the Housing Finance Authority of Miami-Dade County. He is the owner of ADG Omnimedia. Kasey Drapeau D’Amato, B.H.S. ’99, a physician’s assistant, and her husband, Stephen D’Amato, B.S.C. ’00, a television director, launched Airelle Skin, a natural anti-aging skincare line formulated with an extract from the Maine blueberry plant. Stephanie Scheinman, B.B.A. ’01, M.B.A. ’03, is Airelle’s business development manager. Justin R. Steinmark, B.B.A. ’99, was promoted to special counsel in the Miami office of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.

2000s

Bonnie Laden Hernandez, B.S.C.

As if the practice of yoga weren’t challenging enough, Arianne Traverso, B.F.A. ’03, a graphic designer by trade, found a way to take it to the next level through AcroYoga, a blend of traditional yoga wisdom and postures with the spirit and excitement of acrobatics. For almost ten years she has taught AcroYoga, vinyasa, and dynamic hatha yoga. Her weekly classes at TRIO Studios, which she co-founded in Miami’s arty Wynwood neighborhood, include vinyasa and AcroYoga Thai and Fly. For more on Traverso’s creative ventures on and off the yoga mat, visit miami.edu/ miami-magazine.

42 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

’00, won a SunCoast Regional Emmy for March of the Living: Return to Auschwitz, a documentary about Holocaust survivors living in South Florida. Racquel Russell, B.S.C. ’00, deputy assistant to the president for urban affairs and economic mobility, was among those named in an article titled “Beyond Obama: 13 Power Players in 2013,” posted on theroot. com, a site for “African-American influencers.” Nicolas DeGrazia, B.F.A. ’01, and Daniel Kullman, B.S. ’01, owners of Bitter Jester Creative, won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for Special Event Coverage (Editing) for a commercial they produced for the 2011 Chicago Restaurant Pastry Competition. They also were nominated for

two other commercials. Wakaba Stephens, B.B.A. ’01, is an accountant in Honolulu, Hawaii, who recently began bodybuilding. She was thrilled to be one of a few fans in the stands during December’s Diamond Head Classic when the UM men’s basketball team beat the University of Hawaii 73-58. Monika Leal, M.A. ’02, has been information services director and head researcher at The Miami Herald since 2009. She shared a 2007 Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper’s coverage of corruption in federal low-income housing fund appropriations. She is responsible for long-term preservation of the Herald’s 100-year-old archival collection, which was relocated from the downtown building the company had occupied since 1962 to its new offices in Doral, Florida. Adam Parmenter, B.B.A. ’02, received the 2013 Rising Star Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District II in recognition of his work since 2011 as associate director of alumni relations at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where he also serves as head men’s basketball coach. Ken Dorsey, B.B.A. ’03, was named quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers in January. He had been a pro scout for the team since 2011. Tamiko Bolton, M.B.A. ’04, married George Soros in September in Bedford, New York. Christopher Dy, B.S. ’04, M.D. ’08, M.P.H. ’08, a health services research fellow and orthopedic surgery resident at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, received a Presidential Scholarship for the AcademyHealth Institute on Advocacy and Public Policy. As part of the scholarship, he took part in the 2013 National Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. Dy also received a Patient Safety Champion Award at Special Surgery, where

Hurricane Sandy. She performed during “Hollywood Week” on Season 12 of TV’s American Idol. Ben Geyer, B.M. ’07, is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in music theory at the University of Kentucky. He has presented papers on swing microrhythm and continues to perform as a jazz pianist. Melissa A. Klunder, M.S.Ed. ’07, a product manager for Fantasy Sports at CBS Interactive in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, climbed Africa’s highest peak, Kilimanjaro, as part of the Make a Difference (MAD) Kilimanjaro fundraising effort to provide opportunities for youth in need. The climb took seven days. Megan Sterritt, B.S.C. ’07, principal and director of account services with KWE Partners in Miami, won two social media awards for her work in 2012. Preston J. Clark, J.D. ’08, received kudos from Business Insider, which named his website, TheLawInsider.com, among the nation’s 15 Most Influential Law Blogs last year. He is vice president of business development at ThinkHR in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anthony Franco, B.B.A. 08, and Alina Hernandez, B.S.Ed. ’09, were married on March 9, 2013. Their reception was in the Newman Alumni Center at the University of Miami, where they met. The event had several UMthemed touches, including a visit from Sebastian the Ibis. Franco is enrolled in UM’s M.B.A. program.  David Podein, J.D. ’08, traveled to Alaska for a climbing expedition on Coffee Glacier with First Descents, an organization that provides outdoor adventures for cancer survivors ages 18 to 39. Podein’s diagnosis came during law school. He’s now an associate in The Law Office of David B. Haber, P.A., in Miami. He also fundraises for First Descents. Jacquie Franciulli, B.S.C. ’09, won the Mid-Atlantic Emmy for

Citizen ’Cane Making History as Lieutenant Governor When Florida Governor Rick Scott selected Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos M. Lopez-Cantera, B.B.A. ’96, as the state’s 19th lieutenant governor, it was duly noted he would be the first Hispanic to hold the state’s No. 2 spot. But the history making doesn’t stop there. Lopez-Cantera, who assumed the vacant post on February 3, is also the first Miami Hurricane to serve as Florida’s lieutenant governor. “It is an honor to be part of Governor Scott’s team and a privilege to represent UM,” he says. “The governor is a proud supporter of higher education, and we will continue to support UM’s mission to educate students, create knowledge, and provide service to the community.” A licensed realtor and former state legislator, Lopez-Cantera is no stranger to service, or to UM. Neither is his family. Not only did he marry a ’Cane—his wife, Renee R. LopezCantera, M.B.A. ’98, is a member of UM’s Iron Arrow Honor Society—both he and his sister, Monica S. Lopez, A.B. ’96, followed their Cuban-born father, Carlos C. Lopez-Cantera, B.Arch. ’70, to the U. In the mid ’70s, their late grandfather, Carlos Lopez-Aguiar, also attended UM—to revalidate the law degree he earned in Cuba. On Renee’s side, father Bob Rosen, B.B.A. ’68, M.B.A. ’71, is a two-time graduate. “We’re all proud [of being ’Canes],” says the lieutenant governor’s father, a community leader in his own right. “When Carlos was in the legislature, he was very supportive of UM.” Prior to his election as property appraiser in 2012, the younger Lopez-Cantera served eight years in the Florida House. There, as majority leader in 2011, he was instrumental in securing the passage of the University’s milestone sovereign immunity initiative, which protects private university physicians who treat patients at public hospitals. He also served as majority whip and chaired the Committee on Business Regulation and the Government Affairs Committee. Though raised in Miami, Lopez-Cantera was actually born in Spain—an early surprise for his traveling parents. Married since 2005, he and Renee have two young daughters, Sofia, 1, and Sabrina, 6, who endorsed her father’s decision to accept the lieutenant governor’s job and be Scott’s running mate as the governor seeks re-election. No word yet on whether she’ll be a ’Cane, too. —Maya Bell miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 43

MEREDITH HOPE HALL / FLORIDA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

he chairs the House Staff Quality and Safety Council. Marina Radiushina, M.M. ’04, D.M.A. ’08, an award-winning Ukrainian-American pianist, toured Europe, performing with the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. Horacio Sierra, B.S.C. ’04, is a tenure-track assistant professor of English, specializing in Renaissance literature, at Bowie State University. He edited a collection of essays, New Readings of the Merchant of Venice (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013). Caitlin Feikle, B.S.E.N.E. ’05, and Geoff Klug, B.S.E.N.E. ’05, both engineers based in Jacksonville, Florida, were married in Cleveland, Ohio, last October. Alumni at the wedding included Amy (Outz) Salazar, B.S.’04; Tara Fishbain, B.S.E.N.E. ’04; Dana (Fishbain) Royston, B.S. ’04; Christian Martos, B.S.A.E./M.S.A.E. ’04; Sean Mauldin, B.S.E.E. ’05; Amy Omae, B.S. ’04, M.S.C.E. ’06; Colleen Block, B.S.E.N.E. ’06; and Elise (Rosen) Martos, B.B.A. ’07. Jessica Hall, B.S.C. ’05, is a marketing manager at Office Depot. She founded First Book-South Florida, a local advisory board that provides new books to children in need in Palm Beach County, Florida.  Mark Levine, A.B. ’05, co-founded the law office of Pacin Levine, P.A., in Coral Gables, Florida, focusing on personal injury and property damage insurance claims. Hema A. Persad, B.B.A. ’05, joined Carlton Fields’ Tampa office as an associate in the firm’s bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice group. Shani K. Simpson, B.A.I.S. ’05, had a wearable artwork titled “Upon Further Inspection” accepted into the Fashion ARTillery show in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Cara Samantha Scherker, B.A.M. ’06, performed on Broadway last December in the Broadway Blows Back fundraiser for victims of

Class Notes Best Sports Story about a girls’ basketball team and the young female athlete who inspires them. She is sports director at Blue Ridge Communications Cable 11 near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Christina Guzman, J.D. ’09, joined the law firm of GrayRobinson as an associate in the banking and finance practice. Callie Ray, B.S.C. ’09, released her first music video, “Walking Home from Hollywood,” with her L.A.-based indie folk band, The Borrower’s Debt. Their first album is A Treehouse Narrative. Shane Vernon, B.S.C. ’09, is the CEO of Red Rabbit Presents, a Miami-based communications firm with an artist-management division and a newly launched line of T-shirts.

2010s

Louis Smoller, J.D. ’10, of the Bradley Legal Group, P.A., was

appointed to the board of directors of the South Florida-based nonprofit Jazz Archive, Inc. Zoe Zeniodi, D.M.A. ’10, A.D. ’11, was named head of music staff and assistant conductor for the Florida Grand Opera. She also works with local orchestras and teaches at Broward College. Benjamin M. Kosinski, A.B. ’11, is founder and president of Sumpto LLC, which measures the social media influence of college students. The New York City-based tech start-up recently was featured on TechCrunch.com and received $75,000 in angelinvestor funding. Lindsey Lazopoulos, J.D. ’11, is a commercial litigator in a firm in Florida. She was featured in a Wall Street Journal article about how women now account for a third of doctors and lawyers in the United States. Andrew J. Blitman, B.A.M.A. ’12, self-published his second book,

Birthright 2012: A Voyage into the Heart and Soul of Israel, inspired by his ten-day journey to the Holy Land; his first book, From the Blogosphere (Amazon. com, 2012), is a memoir of his college years. This February, University of Miami Hillel and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation recognized Andrew as a distinguished student. He is completing his Master of Professional Science degree at UM this year. James Tyler Kirk, J.D. ’12, is a lawyer in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investment Management Division, in Washington, D.C. Kirk, blind since age 9, was profiled in a Washington Post article, alongside his service dog, Sailor. Jon Kowalsky, B.B.A. ’12, launched the website Studio120Music.com, an independent music distribution site that gives 1.2 percent of its revenue to

support music education programs or charity. Saliha Nelson, M.S.Ed. ’12, is vice president of Miami’s Urgent Inc., a nonprofit youth and community development program that runs after-school, camp, and intergenerational programs. Christopher Perez, B.S.H.S. ’12, and Mayra Perez married in Key West on December 8, 2012. Their wedding colors were orange and green. Melissa Saitta, M.B.A. ’12, is a registered yoga teacher who leads yoga retreats in Italy through her recently launched business, Beyond Yoga. She also is a certified personal trainer, nutritionist, and wellness consultant. Aaron T. Williams, J.D. ’12, has joined the Cypress Creek, Fort Lauderdale, office of law firm Greenspoon Marder as an attorney specializing in commercial, homeowners association, and condominium association litigation.

NEVER STOP LEARNING Apply your alumni benefit to online and on-campus programs offered through the Division of Continuing & International Education:

LEARNING FOR EVERY STAGE OF LIFE.

• UM’s online preparatory middle and high school • Summer college credit for high school students • Professional development and language certificates • Bachelor of General Studies’ degree completion program • Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for adults 50 or better Enjoy your ‘Cane benefits—discount also extends to your family. To learn more, please visit continue.miami.edu/alumni or call 305-284-4000.

44 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

In Memoriam* Richard W. Robinson, A.B. ’41, J.D. ’51 Margaret E. Reid, A.B. ’42 Mary W. Milam, B.S. ’44 M. J. Berliner, A.B. ’46, J.D. ’49, M.A. ’60 Edison E. Archer, A.B. ’47 Frank A. Howard, A.B. ’47 Geraldine D. Rasmussen, B.M. ’47 Jack P. Franzen, B.S.E.S. ’48 Robert B. Goeser, B.B.A. ’48 Ruth S. Schaffer, A.B. ’48 Charles H. Wakeman, J.D. ’48 Garland B. White, B.S.I.E. ’48 Donald F. Benoit, B.B.A. ’49 Robert H. Bogen, B.B.A. ’49 John B. Coffey, B.B.A. ’49 Martin Fine, J.D. ’49 Rodney E. Ludder, B.S.I.E. ’49 William A. Byrd, M.Ed. ’50, Ed.D. ’69 William K. Coulbourn, A.B. ’50 Robert E. Dusenbury, B.B.A. ’50 Muriel Gray, A.B. ’50 Max W. Harris, B.B.A. ’50 Victor J. Keller, B.B.A. ’50 Joseph E. Ludick, J.D. ’50 Paul Manoogian, B.S. ’50 Francis J. Martin, B.B.A. ’50 Christine K. Minear, A.B. ’50 Irving S. Pont, B.B.A. ’50 Barbara H. Scott, B.M. ’50 Robert F. Alshouse, A.B. ’51 Cecil V. Bollinger, B.Ed. ’51 Jodie Kaplan, B.Ed. ’51 George J. Shamas, J.D. ’51 Charles E. McGlothlin, B.S.I.E. ’52 Norbert J. Podawiltz, B.B.A. ’52

Roy J. Schneider, B.B.A. ’52 Charles Treble, B.B.A. ’52 George D. Welch, B.B.A. ’52, M.B.A. ’53 Daniel M. Brundage, B.B.A. ’53 Harold A. Greene, J.D. ’53 Joseph F. Herger, B.B.A. ’53 Christine R. Harrison, B.B.A. ’54 Donald E. James, B.Ed. ’54 Stuart A. Markus, B.Ed. ’54, J.D. ’57 Richard J. McCullough, B.S.E.E. ’54 Donald J. Soper, B.B.A. ’54 Rubye D. Burke, B.S.N. ’55 Peter G. Cortessis, B.S. ’55 William R. Oliver, B.S. ’55 John T. Stone, A.B. ’55 Willis A. Brown, M.D. ’56 Francis J. Duffy, B.B.A. ’56, M.B.A. ’59 Salvatore Fapore, B.B.A. ’56 Alan G. Fetterman, B.M. ’56 Thomas E. Flynn, B.B.A. ’56 John W. Moats, A.B. ’56 Lewis M. Williams, J.D. ’56 Blair I. Zimmett, J.D. ’56 Alfred E. Bernstein, B.B.A. ’57 Eleanor P. Ourhaan, B.Ed. ’57 James G. Pearce, B.M. ’57 Ferguson E. Peters, B.Ed. ’57 Norman M. Trabulsy, B.S. ’57 Roger G. Welcher, J.D. ’57 Allan Berry, B.S. ’58 Edwin L. Canter, B.S.E.E. ’58 Henry De Stefano, B.S. ’58 Robert S. Feldman, M.S. ’58 Richard M. Langdon, B.S.E.E. ’58 Earl H. Lanier, B.B.A. ’58

Trustee Shared His Joy of Music Engineer Victor E. Clarke, whose name adorns the Frost School of Music’s 120-seat recital hall, was passionate about music and fascinated by music technology, says Dean Shelton G. Berg. A University of Miami trustee whose parents also were noted philanthropists, Clarke grew his father’s engineering firm into a global force in custom avionics control panels and audio systems. Clarke died November 27, 2013. He was 81.

Novelist Influenced Many Writers Lester Goran, a talented writer, inspirational teacher, and founder of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Miami, died on February 6. He was 85. During a career at the College of Arts and Sciences that spanned more than half a century, Goran helped some 20,000 students find their voices and tell their stories. Former students recall a fantastic storyteller who inspired them to look for surprises in their work, which he was equally quick to praise and criticize, as needed. Goran joined the UM faculty in 1960, launching the creative writing curriculum at UM in 1965 and the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program in 1991. He also penned eight novels, a memoir, and three short story collections. “Lester Goran was a writer who practiced his craft to the end,” said M. Evelina Galang, current creative writing director. In 2010 the Goran Reading Series and the Lester Goran Endowed Creative Writing Fellowship Fund were established to honor his fifth decade of literary devotion and guidance. For more information visit as.miami.edu/english/creativewriting/ lestergoran.

Frances J. Loder, M.S. ’58 Daniel Bader, B.S. ’59 M.D. ’64 Richard A. Borysiewicz, B.S.E.E. ’59 Lydia S. Clark, A.B. ’59 Walter M. Dingwall, J.D. ’59 Philip R. Elmore, B.B.A. ’59 Theodore J. Engel, B.B.A. ’59, M.A. ’61 Dave J. Madden, A.B. ’59 Frank J. Tepper, J.D. ’59 Thomas V. Butler, B.S.C.E. ’60 William M. Getz, B.B.A. ’60 Vincent E. Herman, B.B.A. ’60 Howard A. Lyons, B.Ed. ’60 Louis R. Ricca, B.S. ’60, M.D. ’62 Robert H. Spitz, B.B.A. ’60 Edgar A. Braddock, B.B.A. ’61 Joseph B. Merlin, J.D. ’61 David L. Prescott, B.B.A. ’61 Carol A. Young, A.B. ’61

Dean R. Fletcher, B.B.A. ’62 Harry G. Mozealous, B.B.A. ’62 Jeffrey I. Pitman, B.B.A. ’62, M.Ed. ’74 Joseph H. Wolfson, B.Ed. ’62 Edward C. Ludwig, B.B.A. ’63 Mary Ann Magnes, B.M. ’63 Patricia A. Mincey, B.Ed. ’63 Raoul G. Rehrer, B.S. ’63 Bryna Bloom, A.B. ’64 Lawrence F. Burns, B.Ed. ’64 Alice G. Pomerantz, B.S.N. ’64 Clifford M. Gordon, A.B. ’65 Marty A. Rubin, B.Ed. ’65 Dan W. Ward, B.B.A. ’65 Nita P. Maercks, B.B.A. ’66 Irene A. Norris, A.B. ’66 Peter J. Valter, M.D. ’66 Ronald A. Wagstaff, M.S. ’66, Ph.D. ’70 Charles N. Zalis, A.B. ’66

miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 45

In Memoriam

Booster Backed His Hurricanes Mack A. Roper, B.S.E.S. ’49, attended Miami High School before serving as a U.S. Army sergeant in World War II. At the University of Miami, he studied chemical engineering and became a ’Cane for life, professing to have missed just one home football game since 1945. He even named two businesses—Hurricane Engineering Company and Hurricane Chemical Company—for the team. Roper, who was also an avid golfer and church council president at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Miami, died at age 89 September 14, 2013, following a car accident in Highlands, North Carolina, where he and his wife resided for part of the year. A memorial celebration of his life took place in October 2013 at the Newman Alumni Center, where the Mack and Betty Roper Plaza has graced its front entrance since 2010.

Robert L. Bedell, M.D. ’67 James L. Joseph, A.B. ’67 Judith R. Shealy, A.B. ’67 Daniel M. Barber, B.Ed. ’68, M.A. ’71 Evelyn W. Counts, M.Ed. ’68

R. S. Huff, A.B. ’68, J.D. ’72 E. T. Rowland, A.B. ’68, M.D. ’73 Frances R. Sargent, M.B.A. ’68 Raymond H. Mathisen, LL.M.T. ’69 Leslie P. Schindler, B.Ed. ’69 Robert J. Swanson, M.D. ’69

Make a Note of It. Send Us Your News. Enjoy reading about your classmates in Class Notes? Share some news about yourself in a future issue of Miami magazine. Complete this form and return it to: Class Notes Miami magazine University of Miami Post Office Box 248053 Coral Gables, Florida 33124 Or submit online at miamialumni.net or via email: alumni@miami.edu

46 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

Janie E. Barrows, Ed.D. ’71 Susan K. Drew, B.S.N. ’71 Jon J. Ferdinand, A.B. ’71, J.D. ’74 Robert K. Jordan, B.B.A. ’71, J.D. ’74 Henry W. Kunce, M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’79 Reginald W. Pasteur, M.Ed. ’71 Marcie L. Brines, B.Ed. ’72 David H. Maddern, B.M. ’72, M.M. ’74 Keith L. Rinehart, J.D. ’72 Robin M. Rubin, B.Ed. ’72 Franc J. Talarico, B.G.S. ’72 Theodore W. Bridis, M.S.C.E. ’73 Aura K. Kruger, M.Ed. ’73 William L. Wagener, B.Ed. ’73 Patricia L. Weck, J.D. ’73 Earl W. Dennison, B.B.A. ’74 William R. Rea, B.B.A. ’74 Gregory G. Costas, J.D. ’75 Gina M. France, A.B. ’75 Linda Wolff, J.D. ’75 Subhash C. Gulati, Ph.D./M.D. ’76 David R. Illingworth, Ph.D./M.D. ’76 Thomas J. Summers, Ph.D. ’77 Bernard B. Krier, B.B.A. ’78 Cornelius P. Lenihan, B.B.A. ’78 Seymour A. Seiler, J.D. ’79 Charles M. Stuart, LL.M.E. ’79

Mary B. Guthrie, M.B.A. ’80 Herman H. Harms, Ph.D./M.D. ’80 Marie G. Coolidge, A.B. ’81, M.A.L.S. ’95 Victor Koler, B.M. ’82 Bruce E. Schuckman, M.S. ’82 Virginia M. Goodson, B.S.N. ’84 Jorge Hevia, M.B.A. ’84, J.D. ’96, LL.M.E. ’97 Marshall I. Farkas, J.D. ’85 Helen A. Johnson, B.S.N. ’85 Russell Geiger, J.D. ’89 David B. Pearce, B.B.A. ’89 James R. Young, D.M.A. ’90 Fernando A. Ceruti, B.B.A. ’91 Patricia Capote, A.B. ’93 Sean M. Wofford, B.S.C. ’96 Brooke C. Werner Hirsch, A.B. ’97 Sanford B. Miot, M.B.A. ’98 Ailette Valcarce, B.B.A. ’05 Tyler R. Keene, A.B. ’06 Stephen M. Nobles, B.S. ’07 *As of January 25, 2014 We diligently research each name in the “In Memoriam” section. If you spot an error, please notify us so we can correct our records.

Name/Degree/Year Graduated

Address

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Home Telephone Email Address

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Latest News (career changes, accomplishments, promotions, honors, etc.)

DateBook

ALUMNI EVENT INFORMATION 305-284-2872 OR 1-866-UMALUMS SPORTS TICKETS 305-284-CANES OR 1-800-GO-CANES MIAMI.EDU/ALUMNI *For complete Hurricane sports schedules, visit hurricanesports.com Events are on the Coral Gables campus unless otherwise noted

29 Annual Giving Leadership and

15-17 Baseball North Carolina

AUGUST

Loyalty Recognition Reception

vs. UM, Mark Light Stadium

12-22 Basketball Summer Tour

Student Activities Center

22 ’Canes Film Showcase

of Spain

30 Global Networking Day

Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, California

SEPTEMBER

22 Chicago Coaches Dinner

1 Football UM vs. Louisville,

Chicago, Illinois

Alumni Clubs Worldwide

MAY Reception Newman Alumni

JUNE

Louisville, Kentucky 6 Football Florida A&M vs. UM, Miami Gardens, Florida

Center

4 Alumni Career Webinar Series

20 UM Alumni Association

2 Alumni Board of Directors

“How to Define Your True Value and Sell It to Your Target Market,” miami.edu/alumni/career

Pregame Celebration and Football Game UM vs. Nebraska,

1 Alumni Board of Directors

APRIL

Meeting Newman Alumni Center 2 Alumni Board of Directors Family Night Baseball Tailgate

Ongoing Lowe Art Museum

Newman Alumni Center

Museum China’s Last Empire:

Lincoln, Nebraska 27 Football Duke vs. UM, Miami Gardens, Florida

Through June 1 Lowe Art

3 Alumni Board of Directors

Museum Faculty Exhibition:

Shark-Tagging Virginia Key,

The Art and Culture of the Qing Dynasty

OCTOBER

Lise Drost

Florida

Through July 13 Lowe Art

7 Graduating Legacy Students

JULY

Museum Terrestrial Paradises:

Toast Newman Alumni Center 8-10 Spring Commencement

Through August Summer

BankUnited Center

around U.S.

Barton Wing of Ancient and Native American Art

Imagery from the Voyages of Captain James Cook

ALUMNI LEADERSHIP Board of Directors Executive Committee

John Calles, A.B. ’89, J.D. ’92, President Dany Garcia, B.B.A. ’92, Immediate Past President Brenda K. Yester, B.B.A. ’90, President-Elect Devang B. Desai, A.B. ’97, J.D. ’03, Vice President Victoria Corrigan Fine, B.S. ’80, M.B.A. ’81, Vice President Frank Jimenez, B.S. ’87, Vice President Oti Roberts, B.B.A. ’03, Vice President Linda Steckley, M.B.A. ’87, Vice President Donna A. Arbide, M.B.A. ’95, Executive Director

Alumni Trustees

T. Kendall “Ken” Hunt, B.B.A ’65 William Koenigsberg, B.B.A. ’77

Regional Directors

Guillermo de Aranzabal Agudo, M.B.A. ’84 Robert Cohen, B.B.A. ’84 Larry King, Jr., A.B. ’83, M.B.A. ’93 Robert J. Munch, A.B. ’73 Kourtney Ratliff, B.B.A. ’03 Alex C. Rodriguez, B.B.A. ’86 Erica Zohar, A.B. ’92

Directors

Taghreed Al-Saraj, B.F.A. ’99, M.S.Ed. ’01 Suzanne M. Block, A.B. ’81 James J. Blosser, B.B.A. ’60, J.D. ’65 Victoria A. Colon, M.B.A. ’98 Santiago Corrada, A.B. 86, M.S.Ed. ’91 Jorge Duyos, B.S.I.E. ’85, M.S.I.E. ’88 Martin J. Ganderson, B.B.A. ’73 Cynthia Hudson, A.B. ’84, M.A. ’97

Camilo Lopez III, M.B.A. ’82 Noelia Moreno, B.B.A. ’86, J.D. ’89 John Pittaluga, B.S.M.E. ’83 Andrew F. Potter, M.B.A. ’04 Winston Warrior, B.B.A. ’93, M.B.A. ’96

Faculty Representatives

Robert F. Moore, Associate Chair, Department of Teaching and Learning Richard Williamson, Chair, Faculty Senate

Student Representatives Casey Rea Alessandria San Roman

Alumni Network ’Canes Communities

Atlanta Jane Snecinski, B.M. ’74, M.B.A. ’82, jane.snecinski@ postacuteadvisors.com Austin Lori Luza, B.B.A. ’94, M.S.Ed. ’95, president@austincanes.com Boston Ryan Magee, B.S.B.E. ’08, rpmcane@gmail.com Brazil Ric Scheinkman, ’00, ricscheinkman@gmail.com Broward Jason Haber, A.B. ’03, haber.jason@gmail.com Charlotte Judson Dry, B.B.A. ’07, judsondry@yahoo.com Chicago David Panitch, B.B.A. ’80, david@rtg-inc.com Cincinnati Karin Johnson, B.S.C. ’08, karinj13@aol.com Cleveland Diego Perilla, B.S. ’06, M.P.A. ’10, M.B.A. ’12, perilld@ccf.org Colombia Oscar Paez, B.B.A. ’03, M.A. ’05, ospaez@gmail.com Dallas Regan Wagh, B.B.A. ’03, reganwagh1@gmail.com Denver John Victor, B.B.A. ’06, td4j@aol.com Detroit Shannon Bartlett, B.S.B.A. ’12, s.bartlett@umiami.edu

21-October 19 Lowe Art

30-November 2 Alumni

Weekend and Homecoming

Sendoff Receptions Various dates

Houston Michael Williams, B.B.A. ’01, michael.williams@aig.com Indianapolis Jordan Miller, B.S. ’07, jordymiller@gmail.com Jacksonville Merissa Amkraut, B.M. ’02, merissaum@aol.com Las Vegas Hal Moskowitz, B.B.A. ’69, vegashal@yahoo.com London Gustavo Pifano, B.B.A. ’08, g.pifano@gmail.com Los Angeles Chad Fisher, A.B. ’00, canesinsocal@gmail.com Louisville Michael Friedman, B.B.A. ’74, mfriedman@sustainablemgt.com Middle East Reyadh Al-Rabeah, B.S.I.E. ’87, ralrabeah@yahoo.com Nashville Mark Block, B.S.C. ’99, theblockagency@yahoo.com New Jersey Michael Solomon, B.B.A ’98, J.D. ’01, solomon.michael@ gmail.com New York Asgar Ali, B.B.A. ’05, asgaraali@gmail.com Orlando Roger Jeffery, B.S.C.E. ’76, rogerljefferype@aol.com Palm Beach Jared Lighter, M.B.A. ’93, jared.lighter@gmail.com Philadelphia Richard Month, B.S. ’03, M.D. ’06, rcmonth@gmail.com Phoenix Kathleen George, J.D. ’88, Kathleen_m_george@yahoo.com Portland Iraida Babilonia Hermann, M.B.A ’08, ibhermann@yahoo.com Richmond Matt Roberts, M.M. ’97, mroberts@poolemahoney.com San Diego James Mullaly, B.S.B.E. ’07, james.mullaly@gmail.com San Francisco Jeffrey Machlin, B.B.A. ’09, Jeffrey.machlin@gmail.com Sarasota Chris Clayton, B.S.C. ’94, cclayton12@aol.com Savannah Tom Farnkoff, B.B.A. ’69, farneey1946@hargray.com Seattle Christian Hasenoehrl, M.S. ’95, M.B.A. ’95, seattlecanes@gmail.com Southwest Florida Molly Caldaro, A.B. ’04, m.mcguire@umiami.edu

More at miami.edu/calendar

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

To nominate an alumnus for the UM Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, complete the online form at miami.edu/alumni/ umaa/board/nominationform.htm. For more information, contact Erica Arroyo, B.S.C. ’03, M.A.L.S. ’08, senior director, Alumni Programs, at 305-284-1724 or earroyo@miami.edu. Spain Daniela Martinez, B.S. ’11, d.martinez18@umiami.edu St. Louis Nick Turner, B.B.A. ’12, n.turner1@umiami.edu Tampa Cori Pecoraro, B.S.Ed. ’00, coriross@aol.com Washington, D.C. Donald Wine II, J.D. ’07, president@dccanes.com

Special Interest Groups

Black Alumni Society Vanessa Lerouge, B.S.C. ’03, v.lerouge@umiami.edu Band of the Hour Joseph E. Bagierek, B.M. ’03, M.B.A. ’07, jbagierek@gmail.com Public Health Alumni Association Vanessa Cutler, A.B. ’06, M.F.A. ’08, M.P.H. ’12, vanessajcutler@gmail.com UM Sports Hall of Fame K.C. Jones, ’97, kc.jones@canesfish. com, and Gerard Loisel, B.S. ’76, goldensounds@hotmail.com

School and College Groups

College of Engineering Alfonso D. Dager, B.S.C.P.E. ’07, alfonsodager@gmail.com, and Tamara Ali, B.S.I.E. ’04, M.B.A. ’06, M.S.I.E. ’09, t.ali@umiami.edu School of Law Jaret L. Davis, A.B. ’96, J.D. ’99,

davisj@gtlaw.com, and Patricia A. Redmond, A.B. ’75, J.D.’79, predmond@stearnsweaver.com Miller School of Medicine Jeffrey S. Block, M.D. ’82, docblock@bellsouth.net, and Vicky Egusquiza, A.B. ’83, M.D. ’87, mve510@aol.com School of Nursing & Health Studies Jennifer A. Lopez, B.S.N. ’09, Jalopez86@gmail.com, and Sonique Sailsman, B.S.N. ’00, s.sailsman@umiami.edu Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Erica Towle, B.S.M.A.S. ’10, etowle@rsmas.miami.edu Alumni records of the University of Miami are kept strictly confidential. Directory information is released only to other members of the alumni community unless an alumnus or alumna has requested complete privacy. On a very limited occasion and only at the approval of the UM Alumni Association Board of Directors, directory information is shared with outside vendors who are in a joint relationship with the University. Should you not wish to release your name to any outside vendor and/or other members of the UM alumni community, please notify the Office of Alumni Relations in writing at P.O. Box 248053, Coral Gables, Florida 33124-1514.

miami.edu/miami-magazine Spring 2014 MIAMI 47

Big Picture

JENNY ABREU

A SNAPSHOT OF THE U TODAY

¡Ay que rico! The Federación de Estudiantes Cubanos (Federation of Cuban Students) celebrated “A Week of Cuban Culture” in March with rich spices, enchanting colors, intoxicating rhythms, and 100 pounds of paella, served up for free on the Foote Green. The savory mix of chicken and rice in a six-foot paella pan made hundreds of hungry students happy. Email your Big Picture submissions of the U today for consideration to miami.editor@miami.edu (jpgs must be high-resolution and vertically oriented).

48 MIAMI Spring 2014 miami.edu/miami-magazine

A little green can make a big impact for scholarships! Fifty years ago Judi Prokop Newman, B.B.A. ’63, came to the University of Miami on a donor-funded scholarship. Judi started giving back as soon as she graduated—she readily acknowledges it was very little at the time, but as her finances improved, so did her giving. Since then, the generosity of Judi and her husband, Robert Newman, Honorary Alumnus ’08, has enabled many other excellent students to graduate. Now the Newmans, for whom the Newman Alumni Center is named, have launched a $500,000 philanthropic challenge to encourage all fellow ’Canes to keep supporting the U at any level. If a total of 10,700 donors from last fiscal year renew their gift this year by May 31, 2014, the entire $500,000 will be secured for student scholarships.

Any gift to the University of Miami is fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Any gift, any size, anywhere makes a difference. To join the Newman Alumni Loyalty Challenge, call Troy Odom, Executive Director, Annual Giving, at 305-284-2667 or email t.odom@miami.edu. For more information, visit miami.edu/annualgiving.

MIAMI

The University of Miami Magazine

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OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE U! As a â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Cane, you know Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s All about the U. Now with the brand-new University of Miami license plate, you can flash the U wherever you go! Available at any Florida tag agency for just $25 above the cost of a regular plate, the new U plate prides your ride while supporting University of Miami Alumni Scholarships for UM students. The only requirement is that you must be a Florida resident with a vehicle registered in the state.

Pride your ride with the new University of Miami license plate today!