The School will be named the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.   The gift will also fund programmatic endowments, faculty chairs, student scholarships, and facilities.        

“The arts play a vital role in the life of a community, and music in particular is a unifying force that transcends age, race, and culture. Miami is our home, and Patricia and I wanted to create a legacy that would enhance and sustain the school's important work,” said Dr. Phillip Frost, chairman of the University's Board of Trustees and chair of Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami.

The Frosts are well known throughout the community for their generous support of education and the arts. Dr. Frost is chairman and CEO of IVAX Corporation, a Miami-based, publicly traded, multinational pharmaceuticals company.   Mrs. Frost is a retired educator who served for more than 20 years as principal of West Laboratory Elementary School located adjacent to UM's Coral Gables campus. Mrs. Frost is also the chairman of the Smithsonian NationalBoard and the Commissioner Emeritus of the Smithsonian American ArtMuseum, a member of the Florida International University Board of Trustees, and past chair of the Florida International University Foundation.

“The University has shown the community its commitment and leadership in the arts by positioning the School of Music as a premier institution in which so many young people have gained a love of music. It is our great joy to be able to repay a small part of our great indebtedness to this community,” said Mrs. Frost.

“The arts are an integral part of any great city,” said UM President Donna E. Shalala. “The generosity of Pat and Phil Frost enables us to attract the best and brightest students and faculty from around the globe, making the University of Miami a more vibrant and dynamic place to live and learn.”

With 10 bachelors and over 36 graduate programs, including composition, music business and entertainment industries, music education, music engineering technology, music therapy, musical theatre, musicology, performance – classical, studio music and jazz, UM's School of Music has risen in the ranks and is considered one of the top music schools nationally.   Admission into the School of Music is highly competitive, with only 172 freshmen selected this year from a pool of more than 800 applicants.

“This landmark gift by Dr. and Mrs. Frost represents the most significant chapter thus far in their ongoing dedication to and support of our important work.   This gift is the confluence of shared dreams, vision, commitment and generosity,” said William Hipp, Dean of the School of Music for more than 20 years.

The Frosts' gift is a major part of the School of Music's overall fundraising initiative, which includes significant gifts from other key supporters. The Reverend Marta Weeks, a UM Board of Trustees vice chair and chair of the School of Music Capital Campaign, said the gift raises the bar and leverages other's contributions by enhancing their cumulative impact.

“This type of investment is transformational and provides a forward thrust that will carry the school well into the future.   The School of Music and the University of Miami are first-class institutions. Now, with the Frosts' gift they will be exceptional,” said Reverend Weeks.

The announcement coincides with the public launch of the billion-dollar Momentum campaign, the first fundraising campaign of this magnitude in the state of Florida.   President Shalala together with the UM Board of Trustees and other university supporters celebrated the campaign's significant progress, which has raised over $552 million to date.

The University of Miami's mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond.   Committed to excellence and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world.

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