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Fifth President Named
Shalala to Lead UM
 y
a unanimous vote this past November, former U.S. Secretary of Health
and Human Services Donna E. Shalala will succeed Edward T. Foote II
as president of the University beginning June 1, 2001.
Her appointment ended a nine-month national search by a 15-member presidential
search committee. Some of the nation’s leading university presidents,
provosts, and other officials had indicated an interest in the position,
according to Charles E. Cobb, Jr., who chaired the search committee.
“We were looking for people to nominate candidates, not for candidates
to apply,” says Cobb, a former Board of Trustees chairman. “The
very best people almost never apply.”
 After
some 2,000 to 3,000 University alumni around the world had received
a detailed letter outlining the criteria for a new president and asking
for their nominations, applications poured in. But, early in the search
process, the committee concluded that Shalala would bring extraordinary
talents to the University of Miami.
 Throughout
her career, Shalala—the longest-serving Secretary of Health and
Human Services in U.S. history—has been a scholar, educator, and
administrator. As chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
from 1987 to 1993, she was the first woman to head a Big Ten University.
During her tenure at the University of Wisconsin, she helped raise
more than $400 million for the institution’s endowment and spearheaded
a $225 million public-private partnership program to renovate and expand
the university’s research facilities. While presiding over one of the
largest and most prestigious state universities in the nation, she recruited
world-class scientists and at the same time upgraded undergraduate education
and restructured the university’s athletics program.
In her eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Shalala
oversaw some of this country’s most important initiatives providing
essential services to the American people in recent years. These included
directing the federal welfare reform process and extending the life
of the Medicare Trust Fund. As a proponent of scientific research, she
took a leadership position in strengthening the scientific budget of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Shalala says she looks forward to returning to academia. “I am thrilled
to lead the University of Miami and become part of the South Florida
community,” she says. “I look forward to working with Miami’s gifted
faculty, alumni, and students. This is an important and challenging
time for higher education.”
Shalala will become the fifth president of the University of Miami
as well as a member of the faculty. She joins as UM prepares to celebrate
its 75th anniversary this fall.
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Expanding
Horizons of Medical Genetics
Quantum Leap
 edical
genetics has been touted as one of the most remarkable, breakthrough
sciences of the modern-day world. And thanks to $12.5 million in grants
from the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation to the School of Medicine,
the evolving field will continue to advance. “We wanted to make a profound
statement by funding major new initiatives,” says George Mekras, chairman
of the board of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation. Indeed they did.
 One-half
of the gift, $6.25 million, will create the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation
Center for Medical Genetics, an innovative new center for genetics research
and one of the first comprehensive genetics initiatives at a U.S. university
since the completion of the Human Genome Project’s first draft
in June. The foundation also is funding a $6.25 million program in public
school health that is expected to become a national model.
“This extraordinary commitment will enable us to build upon our significant
strengths in genetics research and to enrich our understanding of genetics
in a way that will change the way we practice medicine,” says John G.
Clarkson, senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the
School of Medicine. “We are very grateful to the Dr. John T. Macdonald
Foundation for their vision and generosity in supporting this important
work. We look forward to forging an enduring partnership with the foundation
to develop this world-class program in genetics.”
The grant for the center includes funding to recruit a nationally recognized
expert in a specific area of focus: cancer genomics, stem cell research,
the genetics of prematurity, or the genetics of birth defects. The grant
also provides funding for additional research faculty members, a fellowship,
education programs in medical genetics, equipment, and necessary supplies.
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Rosenstiel
School Sets Course for Science on the High Seas
  n
what may signal a wave for the future, the Rosenstiel School of
Marine and Atmospheric Science has teamed up with cruise giant
Royal Caribbean International to conduct research in an ideal
environment at sea—a 1,020-foot luxury liner.
Equipped
with high-tech atmospheric and oceanographic laboratories, Royal
Caribbean’s newest vessel, aptly dubbed Explorer of the
Seas, will help scientists discover answers to some of today’s
most significant questions in ocean and climate research—in
style, of course. The ship is decked out with all the creature
comforts of a five-star hotel, including an ice rink, rock climbing
wall, and sumptuous meals.
The
unprecedented collaboration also will provide an exciting new
venue to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of
our planet. An exploration center will allow leisure passengers
to join in the study at sea.
Scientists
from Rosenstiel, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
and other research institutions around the globe will conduct
research in the facilities, which will be managed by the Rosenstiel
School.
“This
partnership of cruising and science is an exciting and wonderful
approach to modern science,” says Otis Brown, dean of the
Rosenstiel School. “By making more than a million-dollar
contribution to the project and housing the facilities on Explorer
of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International will greatly assist
all researchers. What we will learn will have a substantial impact.”
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Gift Enhances School of Music
Making Beautiful Music
 he
recent announcement of an anonymous gift to the School of Music—to the
tune of $8 million—was music to the school’s ears. Already recognized
as one of the largest and most comprehensive music schools in all of
higher education, the school will use the funds to build a state-of-the-art
music library and advanced technology center. The donation will enable
the school to further excel as a leader in offering traditional programs
as well as innovative music technology, composition, and business programs.
 The
25,000-square-foot, two-story facility on the Coral Gables campus will
include a 15,300-square-foot music library and a 4,200-square-foot advanced
technology center featuring five computer-based laboratories.
“The donors of this extraordinary gift have a deep awareness of the
strategic importance of a new music library and technology center as
a major resource for the students and faculty here at UM as well as
for the entire arts community in South Florida,” says William Hipp,
School of Music dean.
The School of Music is preparing to launch a major capital campaign
for the construction of new facilities and to endow scholarships, programs,
and professorships. Construction of the new center will be part of the
capital campaign, which will be cochaired by Board of Trustees Vice
Chairman Phillip Frost, chairman of the board and CEO of IVAX Corporation,
and his wife, Patricia, a longtime supporter of the School of Music
and a prominent community leader.
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Center
Engages At-Risk Students Through Sports
 hances
are, students would be much more inclined to figure out the batting
averages for their favorite baseball players rather than solve a traditional
mathematics problem on percentages. That’s what the University
of Miami Center for Research on Sport in Society is counting on.
Part
of the College of Arts and Sciences, the center recently was awarded
a three-year grant to implement the South Florida Annenberg Challenge/United
Way Partnership to Improve School Achievement. The $748,088 grant enabled
the center to create TEAMS (Teaching Excellence, Achievement, and Motivation
through Sport), an innovative extended school-day program with a sport-based
curriculum targeting the academic areas of math, reading, and writing.
In January the program was implemented in four Miami-Dade County public
elementary schools that have been given a D or F rating and that have
a high concentration of students who are considered at risk for future
school failure or dropout.
“The
program is based on the philosophy that when children are taught educational
concepts in a manner that is meaningful and important to them, they
will more fully learn and retain these concepts,” says Jan Sokol-Katz,
senior research associate for the center and TEAMS’ principal investigator.
After
the center’s research is complete and improvement is measured, researchers
hope to expand this program to other schools.
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New
‘LIFE’ for Neuroscience Research
Center Opens Doors
 ith
the recent opening of the Lois Pope LIFE Center at the School
of Medicine, “We are on the brink of greatness,” says John G.
Clarkson, senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of
the School of Medicine. The spectacular new home of The Miami
Project to Cure Paralysis and other neuroscience programs, the
state-of-the-art scientific facility has ushered in a new era
in neuroscience research.
 “We
are very grateful to Lois Pope for her magnificent gift. Her generosity
has helped make this new research center a reality,” says
Edward T. Foote II, president of the University of Miami. “The
University has emerged as a leader in neuroscience research, and
we are now able to bring together under one roof scientists, clinicians,
and doctoral fellows who are working to find treatments and cures
for neurological diseases and injuries.”
The seven-story, 118,000-square-foot facility was dedicated at
a special all-star celebration recently. Emcee for the event was
Tom Brokaw, anchor of NBC’s Nightly News. Other distinguished
guests included Lois Pope; University Trustee Nick Buoniconti
and his son, Marc; University Trustee Gloria Estefan; actor and
spinal cord research advocate Christopher Reeve; and General Norman
Schwarzkopf.
“I hope my efforts awaken in others an understanding that
making a difference in the world is the right and responsibility
of each one of us,” says Pope. “Everyone can make a
difference.”
 Pope
is the founder of LIFE, Leaders in Furthering Education, an organization
dedicated to rewarding and encouraging young community volunteers.
She became interested in the neurosciences when Christopher Reeve,
a friend and member of the LIFE board of directors, was paralyzed
in a horseback riding accident in May of 1995. Following Reeve’s
accident, she learned of The Miami Project’s work and was
moved by its efforts to help people who face the daily challenges
of living with paralysis.
The opening of the Lois Pope LIFE Center brings to fruition her
gift of $10 million in 1996, one of the largest private gifts
ever committed for research on spinal cord injury. Her gift was
matched by the State of Florida in the spring of 1998 and joined
by considerable commitments from the Buoniconti Fund.
The Miami Project was cofounded in 1985 by Barth Green, professor
and chairman of neurological surgery, and the family of Miami
Dolphins legend, Nick Buoniconti. The collaboration began after
Nick’s son, Marc, was paralyzed from the neck down following
a spinal cord injury sustained in a college football game.
Accomplishments at The Miami Project include comprehensive studies
of human spinal cord tissues after injury, as well as studies
of human nervous system cells. Such studies have provided direct
evidence of regeneration of adult human central nervous system
tissue. To exploit this potential for repair, scientists have
developed techniques to grow millions of growth-supporting cells
from both rodent and human nerves, with the goal of one day grafting
patients’ own cells into their spinal cords to promote regeneration.
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Expanding
Knowledge of Our Resources
Monitoring Mangroves
rees
often provide home and shelter to hundreds, if not thousands of land
creatures, from squirrels, possums, and raccoons, to birds, lizards,
and insects. But they also can play a significant role in underwater
life communities, serving as a sanctuary for a multitude of lifeforms
and fulfilling myriad vital roles.
One such dynamic species of tree is the mangrove, a conspicuous sight
along the shorelines of many tropical and subtropical islands, bays,
and rivers, including those that grace Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Collier
Counties. Sitting at the interface between aquatic and land ecosystems,
mangroves fulfill many important natural functions, both above and below
the water line. Their obvious purpose above the water line is that the
trees buffer against heavy wave action, filter sediment- and pollutant-laden
water, prevent shoreline erosion, and serve as rookeries for a variety
of wading birds. Less obvious is what goes on underwater.
 It
is among the submerged, entangled mangrove prop roots that assistant
professor Joe Serafy and his graduate students are conducting the first
mangrove fish study in Biscayne Bay and adjacent inshore waters. Because
mangrove-lined shoreline habitats are the first and most significant
marine areas to be affected by changes in water management policies,
Serafy’s findings could play a key role in evaluating the downstream
effects of the multibillion-dollar Everglades Restoration Project, especially
as they relate to Biscayne Bay and northeastern Florida Bay. Following
the initial study, he hopes to establish an ongoing monitoring program
for these often-neglected aquatic habitats.
“Compared to coral reefs and sea grasses, the value of mangrove trees
as fish habitat has received the least scientific attention,” says Serafy.
“The reality is that many valuable fish species require all three habitats
in sequence to complete their respective life cycles.”
Inshore and back-country fishermen know, for example, that barracuda
and several snapper and grunt species first live in sea grasses as small
juveniles, and then live among mangroves as larger juveniles, before
they ultimately take residence on coral reefs offshore.
But until Serafy and graduate students Craig Faunce and John Barimo
began their work, there were no accurate estimates of the diversity,
density, and sizes of these fish in both Biscayne Bay or Florida Bay
mangroves, nor of another important mangrove-dwelling game fish, the
common snook. Without this type of data, it is difficult for resource
managers to make informed decisions regarding habitat protection, fisheries
conservation, and wetlands restoration.
 Funded
by the Perry Institute for Marine Science and the Audubon Society of
Florida, Serafy, Faunce, and Barimo have been conducting visual fish
censuses of Biscayne Bay, northeastern Florida Bay, and the sounds connecting
them since 1998.
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Bringing
Latin American Interests Together
Building Bridges
 LAS
is now in session. Though it was formally established little more than
a year ago, the new Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) already
is thriving. Modeled after counterparts at Stanford and Yale universities,
the center is an interdisciplinary organization through which faculty
and advanced graduate students from the University of Miami can meet
and discuss issues relevant to Latin America.
 CLAS
serves to promote interest in such topics through its offering of an
annual film series, lectures featuring national and international speakers,
awards and grants, visiting faculty scholars, and a Brown Bag Lunch
Series that provides Latin Americanists with an opportunity to present
and discuss their research with other scholars at the University. The
program series were designed to complement the activities of existing
Latin American studies programs, such as the North-South Center and
the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.
“Scholars
tend to work in isolation, sometimes only seeing and talking with colleagues
outside their own institutions at professional meetings,” says Director
Robert M. Levine, Gabelli Senior Scholar in Arts and Sciences and professor
of history. “Our first year was spent building bridges, providing a
critical mass of activities at the University to entice faculty and
graduate students to come out of their institutional schools and colleges
and to engage one another.”
The
center’s creation of nine funded “niche groups” does just that, encouraging
interaction, cross-disciplinary exploration, and the sharing of knowledge
and experiences.
The
center also has been forging partnerships to maintain contact with premier
academic and research institutions in the hemisphere.
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Go
Figure
A
strictly by-the-numbers perspective of UM
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Number
of people in the United States waiting for a kidney transplant:
48,200
Number
of kidney transplants performed in the United States in a year*:
12,488
Total
number of kidney transplants performed at the University of Miami/Jackson
Memorial Medical Center:
2,000
Lifetime
total of organ transplants performed by UM Professor of Surgery
Andreas G. Tzakis:
2,000
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Farthest
long jump by a Hurricane track and field athlete—Horace Copeland
(1992):
25 feet, 10 inches
Length
of a Hurry ’Cane shuttle:
24 feet, 1 inch
Highest high jump by a Hurricane track and field athlete—Tim James,
the only UM high jumper ever to clear seven feet (1996):
7 feet, 11/4 inches
Standard
height of a door:
7 feet
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Amount
of paper and cardboard recycled monthly at the University:
45 tons
Percentage
of trash recycled monthly at the University:
23
Weight
of seven adult male African elephants:
42 tons
*In
1999, the last year for which complete figures are available.
Sources:
United Network for Organ Sharing; American Zoo and Aquarium Association;
University of Miami School of Medicine, Sports Information Office,
Parking and Transportation Services, and Facilities Administration.
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