Ethics Programs Receive $1 Million Gift
ADRIENNE ARSHT GIVES $1 MILLION GIFT TO SUPPORT UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ETHICS PROGRAMS
Coral Gables, Florida – University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala today announced a $1 million gift from community leader Adrienne Arsht, chairman of the Board of Directors of TotalBank, to benefit the University of Miami’s Ethics Programs. Ms. Arsht’s gift, one of the largest supporting ethics programs in the state of Florida, will fund university-wide, interdisciplinary initiatives that engage students, faculty and the community into a new level of collaborative thinking and research.
“Ethics are at the core of everything we do. By incorporating ethics into most fields of study, the University of Miami is providing a vision for leadership in this community," said Arsht. "My hope for this endeavor is that students from across all of UM's campuses will have a core understanding of ethics as it relates to all aspects of their lives.”
“Adrienne’s leadership in our community continues with her gift to the University’s Ethics Programs,” said UM President Shalala. “It is through her example that our programs and our students will continue to be successful.”
The gift creates a platform for expanded university-wide, interdisciplinary programs. The gift will enhance an already successful program that has been in existence at UM for 15 years under the leadership of Anita Cava of the School of Business and Ken Goodman of the Miller School of Medicine and Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences. It will also aid its expansion into three primary areas (listed below).
The Arsht Ethics Debate will provide significant enrichment to the ethics debate program launched in the School of Business two years ago, heightening students’ awareness of the ethical components of real-life situations and improving their debating and communication skills;
The Arsht Ethics Speaker Series will bring prominent individuals from the areas of government, media, science, legal, medicine, philosophy and corporate arenas to share their knowledge and experience;
The Arsht Fellowships in Ethics and Community will allow faculty and students to conduct interdisciplinary research across campuses on topics that are actively engaging the community, such as environmental ethics, business ethics, and bioethics.
"Great universities have great ethics programs. This gift will help us build on a decade-and-a-half track record and cement UM's status as a national leader in interdisciplinary education, research and community service," said Goodman, who together with Anita Cava, have worked with Adrienne Arsht on these issues in the past.
Cava notes that “this gift is the culmination of an ongoing dialogue between Adrienne and the University. She is passionate about the integration of ethics at every level of learning, and Ken and I are both grateful to and inspired by her.”
The UM Ethics Programs’ website www.miami.edu/ethics includes such helpful resources as a geriatrics and ethics curriculum, the Philosophy, Science & Law online journal, and extensive documentation related to the Terry Schiavo case. Additionally, the University is developing a bioethics curriculum in Spanish as part of an ongoing international outreach initiative, to be launched in the fall 2006 semester.
On April 12, 2006, Arsht celebrated 10 years in Miami as chairman of the Board of TotalBank. This year, total assets surpassed the $1 billion mark – nearly a five times asset growth over the decade. Ms. Arsht has involved herself deeply in the community, serving on boards and funding vital community non-profit organizations.
