DEBATE IS A COUP FOR UM COMMUNITY

Presidential Sweet

elevised debates have been a part of presidential campaigning since 1960, when Richard M. Nixon faced-off against a younger, healthier-looking John F. Kennedy. It was the first time the world had witnessed the power of a public contest on conversation as well as complexion.

Today debates are a fixture on the campaign trail, and since 1988 they have been produced by the Commission on Presidential Debates—the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has selected the University of Miami to host the first one of 2004. Underwritten at UM by a gift from the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the nationally televised debate is scheduled for Thursday, September 30, at the Convocation Center on the Coral Gables campus. It is the centerpiece in a spectrum of events themed “Celebrating American Democracy and Diversity,” including a lecture featuring husband-and-wife political strategists James Carville and Mary Matalin, authors of All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President. Through a partnership with the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, the School of Communication is planning a University-wide exhibition of White House photography. Politicians, including former presidents George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, have been invited to participate in lectures or on panels at the University. The school also is negotiating a concert that would bring a major rock band to campus to stimulate voter registration among students. It will supplement the student-driven Get Out the Vote campaign, which has registered more than 900 new voters since November.

Presidential candidates rarely make the same mistake Nixon did in 1960 of underestimating the importance of preparation. “Now the debates are sort of like comprehensive finals,” says David Steinberg, faculty advisor to the University’s student debate team. Preparation also is the key to winning academic debates. Students on UM’s debate team, ranked No. 3 regionally and No. 14 of 133 schools nationally, do research equivalent to a doctoral dissertation to prepare, he says.

Determining the debate winner often is a matter of interpretation. “Most debates are decided, even at the highest level,” Steinberg says, “by debaters who either fail to answer or fail to capitalize on an opponent’s missed opportunity.” In an academic debate, there are judges who make the decision. In Election 2004, ultimately the voting public will decide.

“ For the University, hosting the debate is an opportunity to show the world that Florida’s political horizons are much broader than butterfly ballots and dangling chads,” Steinberg says.

For updates on presidential debate-related activities, visit www.miami.edu/debate04.

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IMPROVING EDUCATION IN
LATIN AMERICA

Corporate Crusaders

hen was the last time your company hired someone with only a fourth-grade education? In many countries south of our border, nearly one-half of the population never reaches the fifth grade.

Business leaders understand that companies can be successful and the countries of the region can be economically viable, only if there is a highly skilled workforce. This is the stated rationale for the Latin American Basic Education Initiative (LABEI), founded in 2001 by companies with operations in Latin America to improve primary and secondary education in the region. The University of Miami School of Education now houses the group’s project office, managed by program director Delia C. Mijares. A former longtime executive at IBM Latin America and previously the marketing director at a Brazilian-Venezuelan security corporation, Mijares is familiar with the educational deficits of the region. “From here I will coordinate all efforts from different partners and also stimulate other institutions to join this initiative,” Mijares says.

Reports from groups like UNESCO and the Inter-American Dialogue indicate that inefficient bureaucracies, inadequate investment, a decline in the teaching profession, and a lack of academic standards and testing systems are the primary reasons the educational system in Latin America is failing. LABEI plans to address these issues by partnering with business leaders, academic communities, education leaders, and government authorities.

“The University of Miami plays an active role in making our mission a reality,” Mijares says. “With School of Education faculty, we are working collaboratively to understand the realities in the region and find opportunities to improve the quality of education for children.”

In addition to IBM Latin America, LABEI members also include senior executives from the Latin American divisions of U.S. companies Motorola, AT&T, MasterCard International, Citigroup, The Miami Herald, and others, as well as representatives from Latin American companies such as Suramericana de Inversiones, S.A., Promo Tecnología, Banco Mercantile, and CANTV.

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It Takes a Village to Serve a Community

ter more than two years of discussions and mediation sessions with neighbors, the University Village Student Apartment Plan will become a reality in the not-too-distant future. The new apartments will add to the University’s housing availability for students, which is currently at capacity and serves only 27 percent of the entire population.

Located on the west side of campus, between Red Road and San Amaro Drive, and between Brescia and Corniche Avenues, University Village will encompass a series of two- to four-story buildings housing 800 upperclass, law, graduate, and medical students in one-, two-, and four-bedroom apartments. Additional parking will accommodate student residents and guests. According to the plan, the University also may build up to 16 single-family town homes between Mataro and Corniche Avenues, which will be occupied by faculty and administrators of the University.

The University first submitted plans for University Village to the City of Coral Gables in 1992. It will be the first student housing built on the campus in more than 36 years.

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Hand in Hand with RAND

he University of Miami has partnered with the RAND Corporation to restructure its Dante B. Fascell North-South Center. Created in 1984 to serve as a national resource for the development of trade, economic, and migration policy in Latin America and the Caribbean, the center will broaden its reach to address health care and medical research, environmental programs, education, infrastructure, and security issues in the region.

RAND, a name derived from the words research and development, is an outgrowth of a World War II initiative that became an independent, nonprofit organization in 1948 dedicated to tackling society’s most pressing problems. The policy think tank has offices in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, and Qatar, in addition to its U.S. headquarters in Santa Monica, California, and offices in Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The North-South Center had been funded since 1990 through federal appropriations authorized by the U.S. Congress. Now the center is part of the State Department budget. Top-level administrators for the center will be jointly recruited by UM and RAND.

“This relationship benefits the University, the global community it serves, and Miami-Dade County in general as it is seen as the geographic and economic gateway to the Americas,” says President Donna E. Shalala.

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NAMED SCHOLARSHIPS WILL HELP ATTRACT TOP ATHLETES

Fielding Dreams

ecember 15, 1962—the second and last Gotham Bowl game at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was 14 degrees on the rock-solid gridiron, but Ken Hunt, B.B.A. ’65, was feverish with excitement. A sophomore from Mount Vernon, Illinois, he was a starting halfback for the Miami Hurricanes in the era of quarterback George “The Matador” Mira.

The ’Canes lost the nail-biter against Nebraska 34-36, but it was a minor disappointment compared with what happened to Hunt a few months later. He was shot accidentally at a local outdoor firing range, shattering his right ankle and his chances of playing pro football. But instead of withdrawing Hunt’s football scholarship, which would have ended his days at the University, coaches Andy Gustafson, Walt Kichefski, and others kept his education funded in exchange for Hunt’s assistance in the coaches’ box.

“They could have been selfish and said, ‘We need that scholarship for someone who can play,’” Hunt says. “I can’t tell you how important it was to me as a young man to have them stand by me.”

Now Hunt is repaying the favor with a $500,000 gift that will fund, in perpetuity, a scholarship for the halfback position on the Hurricanes football team. He joins Fred Berens, B.B.A. ’63, M.B.A. ’64, a University trustee and senior vice president at Prudential Securities, Inc., who has endowed the quarterback position, and New York Yankees third baseman and new UM trustee Alex Rodriguez, who funded a baseball scholarship for a member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Donors can select the sport and team position their scholarship will fund. “It’s a way to leave a permanent legacy at UM in your name or in someone else’s name,” explains Brian Cockerham, assistant athletic director for development. Berens and his wife, Marilyn, named the scholarship for their sons, Oliver and Spencer, both of whom are loyal ’Canes fans. “Both my husband and I feel it’s very important to teach children about philanthropy,” Marilyn Berens says. “We wanted to pick something they could relate to.”

To attract the best student-athletes, Varsity Athletics awards 241 scholarships at an annual cost of
$8 million. The endowment gifts will help the department reach the $63 million goal it established as part of the University’s billion-dollar Momentum fundraising campaign.

“Ten years ago, the Athletics budget was one-half what it is now,” Cockerham says. “For so long we have relied on current-year gifts to help make ends meet. These endowed scholarships will provide us with a savings account that will continue to grow.”

Without a scholarship, Hunt’s life may have turned out differently. Today he is chairman and CEO of Vasco Data Security International, Inc., a publicly traded company that produces a patented security device used primarily in banking. “My goal is to encourage other alumni-athletes to step up,” he says. “I’m as proud as I can be that this is something I can be associated with forever.”

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Electric Slide

f the Department of Art and Art History moved its slide collection to the Orange Bowl, it would fill four rows of filing cabinets, each row stretching end zone to end zone. Fortunately, the Richter Library is developing a way to store all 180,000 slides electronically, freeing the gridiron for photo finishes of a different ilk.

“Research libraries that are going to assume leadership positions and sustain leadership positions have to be pioneers in digitizing information,” says University librarian William D. Walker, who is helping to create a system for digitizing, storing, and retrieving University images via the Web. The task requires large-capacity servers, search engine software, and standardized terminology for cataloging each item. Codirecting the effort is Jeff Barry, director of digital library programs and technology, who led the team that digitized images from the Cuban Heritage Collection.

The project, funded by a $1.5 million anonymous gift, parallels a national project called ARTstor, which has cataloged about 300,000 core images used to teach art history. “We see our imaging project as a companion to ARTstor,” Walker says, noting that UM’s system will focus on images that are unique to the University. Slides from the Department of Art and Art History, the School of Architecture, and the Lowe Art Museum will be archived first, a task Walker expects will be completed within two years.

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CLINICAL RESEARCH BUILDING WILL MAXIMIZE SPACE AND ENERGY

Smart Move

o lease or own? It’s a common question people ask themselves when they’re in the market for a house or car—or 338,000 square feet of clinical research space. For the School of Medicine, ownership has its privileges.

“We used the rent we were paying others to finance a new building and still increase total capacity,” says Ronald Bogue, assistant vice president for facilities and services on the medical campus. He explains that building efficiency, or usable occupied space, hovers around 60 percent in the rental properties. “Our goal for this new building is 90 percent.”

From space to energy efficiency, the 15-floor building will incorporate such innovations as window glazing and a special type of air-conditioning system. Outfitted with “plug-and-play” wiring, phone jacks and electrical sockets can be moved easily to accommodate any room reconfiguration.

Located next to the Professional Arts Center on NW 14th Street, the building and a 1,420-space parking garage with an employee wellness center are slated for completion in spring 2006 or earlier. Among the major programs to relocate there are the Center for Research in Medical Education, Early Intervention Program, Perinatal Chemical Addiction Research and Education Program, Center for Family Studies, and Center on Aging.

“Currently we are widely dispersed, conditions for subjects and equipment are suboptimal, parking is very inconvenient, and accommodations for the studies themselves are lacking,” says Carl Eisdorfer, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Center on Aging. “This new building will greatly enhance our work to improve the quality of life for older people and their families.”

In addition to fitness equipment, exercise studios, spa services, and a food court, the 60,000-square-foot wellness center will have a pool designed for exercise and physical therapy.

“For the first time, our medical school faculty, all of our employees, and Jackson Memorial Hospital employees will have access to a world-class wellness center,” says President Donna E. Shalala. “I’m very proud of that because we thought both about our employees’ health and the health of the nation reflected in the research that will be done in this facility.”

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Foundations Help Patients Find Freedom from Insulin

he Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, created in 1971 by parents of children with diabetes, has given $50 million to the UM School of Medicine’s Diabetes Research Institute (DRI). The funds will be used to accelerate the institute’s pioneering research on islet cell transplantation, a procedure for restoring to patients the insulin-producing pancreas cells that have been destroyed by their body’s own immune system.

Considered the most promising cure for type 1 diabetes, islet cell transplantation has given many patients at the DRI freedom from insulin injections for the first time since being diagnosed with this devastating disease. The DRI is seeking FDA approval for the procedure so it may one day qualify for coverage by America’s health insurance companies.

Encouraging results in islet cell transplantation trials at the DRI also have prompted a prestigious $6.75 million grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF). Matched by funds from the DRI Foundation, the award will establish a JDRF Research Center at the DRI. JDRF Research Centers are flagship programs at very select organizations that help translate emerging ideas into patient benefits.

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UM HOSTS EASTERN-ATLANTIC STUDENT RESEARCH FORUM

Meeting of the Minds

very spring semester, there is a great migration of students to Miami. They may catch some rays while here, but the true purpose of their visit is to present their research in biomedical science.

For the past 30 years, the University of Miami School of Medicine has hosted the Eastern-Atlantic Student Research Forum, sponsored in large part by the American Medical Association for medical and graduate students and resident physicians. Harvard, Emory, Columbia, and dozens of other schools in the eastern United States and throughout Europe and Canada send their sharpest science minds to the four-day forum, which is entirely student-run and includes poster sessions, oral presentations, faculty panel discussions, a banquet, and a keynote lecture.

“This is a great venue for them to present their work in a fairly collegial environment and to get stimulated about research by talking to other students,” says Marilyn Glassberg Csete, M.D. ’85, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care and a faculty advisor for the forum, along with John Hackman, B.S. ’69, M.S. ’76, Ph.D. ’80, and Micheline McCarthy, M.D.

“The forum also is a learning experience for the audience in terms of being able to analyze other people’s work quickly and ask questions on the spot,” says Gary Danton, B.S. ’96, Ph.D. ’02, M.D. ’04, who cochaired the forum this year with second-year medical student George Lee.

UM faculty members judge entries and award cash prizes, plaques, and scientific journal subscriptions. Top winners also receive travel awards to the National Student Research Forum, held annually since 1960 at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. “UM students have traditionally won at the national forum, so by sending our best students we’re also promoting the University,” says Glassberg Csete.

Roderic Pettigrew, M.D. ’79, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health, delivered this year’s keynote address on some of the latest high-tech projects under review by his office.

“The forum reflects the best of academic medicine,” says John G. Clarkson, M.D. ’68, senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “By showcasing student research, it helps create new generations of leaders in the rapidly advancing fields of biomedical science.”

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Pair of Kings

ow do you tell the difference between Henry King Stanford and King Henry of Stanford? King Henry has a lot more hair. Students in Stanford Residential College have created King Henry, their new mascot, to honor Dr. Henry King Stanford, president of the University from 1962 to 1981. When asked if he has an affinity for lions, Dr. Stanford replied, “If not, I’m going to develop one.”

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COLLEGETOWN OFFERS ON-CAMPUS BENEFITS

Being Neighborly

ith the launch of “Collegetown: Your ’Cane Community,” the University of Miami invites homeowners in the immediate vicinity of the Coral Gables campus to take advantage of the athletic and entertainment activities, educational opportunities, and tropical atmosphere at the University.

By presenting the ’Cane Community Card they receive by mail, Collegetown neighbors can enjoy discounts and access to events at the Jerry Herman Ring Theater and Alvin Sherman Family Stage, Bill Cosford Cinema, Lowe Art Museum, Cuban Heritage Collection, Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, and other cultural venues. The card also gives neighbors access to some programs at the Wellness Center as well as discounts on noncredit classes in the Division of Continuing Studies and on purchases at the Campus Bookstore.

To encourage recreational use of the grounds, the University has outlined various points of interest for neighbors to explore, including the 2.6-mile paved Ibis Walking Trail, a butterfly garden located behind Eaton Residential College, multiple arboretums with tropical plants and trees, and the new labyrinth designed for meditative inspiration.

“This is the first step in a revitalized effort to communicate better with our neighbors and to create more of a neighborhood atmosphere,” says Jerry Lewis, vice president for communications. “We want our neighbors to feel welcome on campus and to visit often, whether it’s for an art exhibit, a theatrical performance, or just a stroll around the lake.”

Neighbors can learn more online about the comprehensive benefits program designed exclusively for them at www.miami.edu/collegetown.

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