Miami magazine: University Journal

Noteworthy News and Research at the University of Miami

Early Arrival		Pain Relievers

Duke Cardiologist Takes the Helm		World-Class Glass Contribution

Remembering Dean Sam Yarger		Song of the Sell

Home Court Advantage		Computing Powers Unite

Hot Wheels		The Leading Edge

Supporting Judaic Studies		A Royal Achievement

Dean Sandler Concludes Four Decades of Service		Go Figure

Campaign reaches $1 billion, continues the Momentum

Early Arrival

t raced to the finish line, but it’s not over yet.

Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami surpassed its $1 billion goal in January, a year and a half ahead of schedule, and the University has set its sights on raising an additional $250 million by the end of 2007.

“The Board of Trustees understood from the beginning that success would not only be measured by the dollars raised but also by the fulfillment of specific funding priorities,” says Dean Colson, J.D. ’77, chair of the Board of Trustees and the campaign.

“When we decided to launch the Momentum campaign, we knew we had the institutional commitment and community support to reach our goal,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala. “What has been very exciting is that we have done so ahead of schedule, and our Board of Trustees plans to keep going. The Momentum campaign has truly lived up to its name.”

The total of $1,053,028,740 as of March 31 is from a record 107,112 donors, of which 166 have given $1 million or more. The campaign, launched publicly in October 2003, has generated unprecedented levels of giving from Univer-sity alumni ($322 million) and trustees ($279 million). A total of 19 endowed chairs and 124 endowed scholarships have been established, which will have a significant impact on the recruitment of outstanding faculty.

“Every dollar will be returned many times over to the community through an educated workforce, enhanced health care delivery, and civically engaged citizens,” says Sergio M. Gonzalez, vice president for university advancement.

The largest gift to the campaign and in the history of the University to date is $100 million to the medical school from the family of the late Leonard M. Miller.

Enhancing the undergraduate experience, research facilities, and faculty are among the goals of raising the additional $250 million.

For more information, visit www.miami.edu/campaign.

Pascal Goldschmidt is new medical school dean

Duke Cardiologist Takes the Helm

ith a new Clinical Research Institute nearly complete and plans under way for a university hospital and biomedical institute, the Miller School of Medicine is moving ever higher in its mission of excellence. Now, after a yearlong search, the school has a new leader whose experience and ambition match the pace of its progress.

Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., former Edward S. Orgain Professor of Cardiology and chairman of the Department of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, has begun his post as senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School. The eighth dean of the medical school, Goldschmidt replaces John G. Clarkson, M.D. ’68, who announced his resignation last year to become executive director of the American Board of Ophthalmology.

At Duke, Goldschmidt oversaw an annual budget of $250 million, 370 physician-faculty members, 80 Ph.D.’s, 1,200 staff, and 300 trainees in 16 divisions. He also ran a research lab that applied genomics and cell therapy to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of coronary artery disease. Under his watch, the Department of Medicine rose to third in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding among similar departments.

Before joining the Duke faculty in 2000, Goldschmidt was director of cardiology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, where he built the Heart and Lung Research Institute. He believes cardiology and vascular disciplines should be major areas of emphasis at the Miller School, and he views foreign-born epidemics such as avian flu, environmental health issues, obesity, AIDS, and hepatitis as other top priorities for the University in its approach to global health care.

“The geographic position of Miami gives the University of Miami a privileged opportunity to become a leader in one of the greatest advancing parts of medicine, which is global health,” says Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt received his medical degree from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and completed residency and fellowship training in Brussels at Erasme Hospital and in the United States at Johns Hopkins University.

Remembering Dean Sam Yarger

he University of Miami mourned the loss of a passionate educator and skilled administrator when Samuel J. Yarger, dean of the School of Education, died following a heart attack on November 14, 2005. Family, friends, colleagues, and students filled the Storer Auditorium in a memorial service honoring the man who dedicated his career to training better teachers who could improve the nation’s schools.

“Since 1992 he led our faculty and students during an unprecedented era in educational reform both within our community and across the nation,” said President Donna E. Shalala.

Under Yarger’s tenure, the School of Education ranked fourth among the nation’s top 50 graduate schools of education in terms of the amount of funding generated per faculty member, and in 2005 U.S. News and World Report ranked the school’s graduate program 14th among private universities. Yarger also worked with community leaders and organizations, forging alliances such as a Miami-Dade Public Schools partnership that helps UM education students turn theory into practice.

“He turned our School of Education from a fledgling school to an outstanding one,” noted Liz Rothlein, associate dean. “He was one of a kind.”

Luis Glaser, former executive vice president and provost, is interim dean while a nationwide candidate search takes place.

BankUnited names UM arena

Home Court Advantage

ith six seconds left in regulation, Hurricanes basketball forward Darius Rice nails an arching three-pointer from the corner, sending the game against national power North Carolina into overtime and bringing a near-sellout crowd at the University’s new on-campus arena into a frenzy.

A year later, thousands pack the 7,000-seat facility during two days to listen to the religious teachings of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. And only a few days later, more than 60 million people watch on live television as the arena hosts the first U.S. presidential debate of 2004.

When the University of Miami opened its majestic Convocation Center more than two years ago, UM officials promised that the state-of-the-art men’s and women’s basketball arena would fulfill more than hoop dreams. And those promises have been kept, as the arena has hosted everything from concerts and conferences to family shows and commencement ceremonies during its brief history.

Now, the facility has the one component that makes it complete: an identity. In a move that mirrors a growing trend of event arenas across the nation selling naming rights, the University of Miami and Coral Gables-based BankUnited have entered into a ten-year sponsorship agreement that renames the Convocation Center as the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami. The BankUnited name and logo have been added to the interior and exterior signage of the arena.

“The University is not only partnering with a fine South Florida company but also with a wonderful UM family,” says President Donna E. Shalala, referring to BankUnited Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Alfred R. Camner, who, along with his wife, Anne, are both graduates of UM’s School of Law.

“As a kid, I played tennis on the University’s courts and would go to UM football games,” says Camner, J.D. ’69, adding that the new agreement makes sense for his institution because it recruits from the University’s pool of alumni. “Our financial support will enable UM to continue to offer outstanding educational opportunities to talented young people.”

Camner has two daughters with law school degrees and a third who holds an M.B.A. from the University. His youngest child is a current undergraduate.

Hot Wheels

he Department of Parking and Transpor-tation jumped in fleet first this semester with spiffy new shuttles. Now the 850,000 people who board the Hurry’Canes shuttle each week are sharing the ride with Sebastian the Ibis, whose image graces both the interior and exterior of the vehicles. The new buses accommodate a ridership that has been steadily growing since the shuttle system was introduced in 1984.

Instead of 18 shuttles that carry 23 passengers each, the new fleet comprises 12 shuttles with a 25-person capacity and 6 larger shuttles with a capacity of more than 30. According to Chuck McConnell, director of parking and transportation, the larger shuttles will help meet transportation demands posed by 800 new on-campus residents in the forthcoming University Village apartment complex. They also meet increased demand for express shuttles and shuttles that go to the beach, Coconut Grove, and Sunset Place on the weekends.

Program gets new name, boost for academic mission

Supporting Judaic Studies

niversity of Miami trustee George Feldenkreis has long been a devoted supporter of Jewish causes. Born in 1935 in Cuba to parents who fled the Ukraine just before the Nazi invasion, Feldenkreis as a teenager raised funds for a summer camp for Zionist children in Havana. He arrived in Miami in 1961 and eventually became the first Cuban native to serve on the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s board of directors.

Today his devotion to Judaism continues in the form of a $2 million commitment to The Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies that names the University’s Judaic Studies Program in his honor. The gift, managed by the Miller Center, will enable the program to invite distinguished visiting scholars and guest lecturers and will provide support for enrichment programs for both students and the public.

“It is another step toward our quest to be one of the world’s great universities and to simultaneously strengthen our ties to our own Jewish community,” UM President Donna E. Shalala says.

Renamed the George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies, the interdisciplinary program is part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Established in 1972, it explores all aspects of Jewish civilization, from its origins in biblical times to its diverse expressions of culture, society, politics, and religion in the new millennium. About 20 full-time faculty members from all disciplinary areas of the University, alongside distinguished visiting scholars, contribute to the program.

Haim Shaked, professor and director of both the program and the Miller Center, says three aspects make the program unique: its partnership with the Miller Center on a pilot project in which students visit Holocaust survivors in the Miami area, its receipt of one of six grants from the Center for Cultural Judaism to help develop new curric-ula in secular and cultural Judaism, and its collaborative relationship with the Miller Center.

Feldenkreis arrived in Miami with $700, a pregnant wife, and a toddler. In the late 1960s, he and his brother started a business importing guayaberas—the pleated shirts favored by Hispanic men. Once the “Guayabera King,” Feldenkreis is now chairman and CEO of Perry Ellis International.

”Back to Top

Dean Sandler Concludes Four Decades of Service

illiam W. Sandler Jr.’s service to the University began in 1962 as assistant dean of men and ended 43 years later with his retirement this year as dean of students, a position he has held since 1989. Through turbulent times and the often-frenetic pace of progress, he has listened to students and given them a voice in campus issues.

“We became student advocates rather than University administrators,” Sandler says.

Sandler’s leadership has included advisement of fraternities and sororities, development and oversight of the Student Discipline System, the institution of a student-run honor code, oversight of the University Chaplains Association, and establishment of the Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Education. He retires in July but will remain active in Iron Arrow, the highest honor attainable at the University, into which he was tapped in 1974.

Nursing School Enrolls First Nurse Anesthesia Class

Pain Relievers

s a nurse in the surgical intensive care unit at UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital, Annette Peraza cared for critically ill patients coming directly from the operating room. Her job of five years was rewarding, but she wanted more. Then she learned that the University of Miami received a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to launch a nurse anesthesia master’s degree program.

“As a nurse anesthetist, Peraza says, “you are required to make quick, critical decisions. It’s more exciting.”

Peraza is among 11 students who are the first group enrolled in the School of Nursing and Health Studies’ 28-month nurse anesthesia M.S.N. program, which prepares them to be certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). Established in the late 1800s as the first clinical nursing specialty, nurse anesthesia today encompasses more than 30,000 practitioners. There are roughly 90 nurse anesthesia programs nationwide, with about six in Florida. The University of Miami program is the only one in Florida housed in an academic health center.

“We’re highly collaborative with the Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, and Pain Management,” explains Stephen J. Yermal, nurse anesthesia program director. “That provides students with a vast array of clinical experience plus all the resources that a medical school offers.”

Throughout the program, students gain experience in simulation labs at both the nursing and medical schools. During the second half of the program, they spend at least 40 hours a week in clinical rotations, providing anesthesia to all types of patients—from pediatric to general surgical to obstetric. This is where they learn their role in the anesthesiology care team—often one anesthesiologist working with one or more nurses. “They devise and collaborate on an anesthesia plan for each patient,” Yermal says.

World-Class Glass Contribution

rior to the 1960s, glass was rarely considered a creative medium. Master glass workers such as Dale Chihuly and the University’s own William Carlson have since shown art enthusiasts the value of this specialized craft.

Sheldon, B.B.A. ’56, and Myrna Palley, B.Ed. ’56, had an eye for studio glass long before many galleries recognized the art form. Gradually over the past 30 years, they built a glass collection that has grown into one of the finest in the country, with about 100 pieces valued at more than $2.5 million. The Palleys donated their contemporary glass collection to the University, along with $1 million to build a 3,500-square-foot addition to the Lowe Art Museum that will house the collection.

“I feel it’s very important that collections stay in Miami, and I hope other collectors follow suit,” Myrna says. “This is our community, and the Lowe is our gem.”

A November 28 groundbreaking ceremony for The Sheldon and Myrna Palley Pavilion at the Lowe Art Museum signaled the start of the Lowe’s first structural addition in ten years. Slated for completion in March 2007, the pavilion is being designed by Coral Gables architect Rony Mateu, B.Arch. ’76, and will encompass four gallery bays.

UM music men make sound waves in advertising

Song of the Sell

hen Visa executives were preparing to launch the credit card company’s new “Life Takes” advertising campaign during the 2006 Winter Olympics broadcast, it was music streaming from a University of Miami source that caught their ears. Nick Scapa, B.S.C. ’05, and J. Read Fasse, a senior in the Frost School of Music’s media writing and production program, submitted the sounds that beat out 50 other tracks from Los Angeles-based composers to accompany four out of six commercials in the campaign series.

Operating under the business name Honor Roll, Scapa and Fasse are contractors for Mophonics, a music marketing and branding firm in Venice Beach, California, that has supplied songs for such clients as Nissan, Scion, and Pepsi. They often supplement their two-man team with University of Miami composers and performers. Senior music engineering student Devin Smith, for example, composed one of the Visa commercials.

Scapa and Fasse met at UM two years ago when Scapa, a Los Angeles native majoring in advertising, needed a music engineer to help him in a burgeoning music recording business.

“We went into the studio and wound up being there for nine hours,” Scapa says. “With Read in the equation, the level skyrocketed.”

Confident in their new sound, they approached the principals at Mophonics, who tested the Scapa-Fasse team by giving them a mere 24 hours to produce a track for Kohl’s Department Stores in Latin America. Performed by Frost School students, the product Scapa and Fasse delivered was a concoction of Cuban-inspired chords peppered with a grassroots percussion using pots, pans, knives, and washboards. The client loved it.

“We were like a bunch of hillbillies, but Read made it sound authentic,” Scapa says. “We delivered a product that won the respect of Mophonics.”

So when Mophonics decided to open a Miami studio, they looked to Scapa and Fasse to man it. The Visa account is a coup for Honor Roll, which last year pitched a track to Apple’s ad team for the iPod Nano commercials. Though not the final choice, theirs was one of two tracks to ultimately make it to Steve Jobs’s desk. It was also through Mophonics that another Scapa-Fasse creation was picked up as the theme song for VH1’s reality TV show, But Can They Sing?

At Honor Roll, Scapa focuses on artist development, while Fasse is most interested in scoring for television and movies. “We’re kind of yin and yang,” Fasse says.

Scapa, who has no formal music training, describes the duo’s creative process: “I have this block of sound in my head; Read comes in with his DaVinci ear and carves it out.”

Latin american Grid fosters academic collaboration

Computing Powers Unite

n the Terminator films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the world’s computers link to unleash an Armageddon upon humanity. In real life, the world’s computing powers are linking, but their purpose is to solve complex medical, scientific, and societal problems.

The University of Miami is a key partner in Latin American Grid (LA Grid), a new international network designed to enhance research while preparing Hispanic students for careers in information technology and engineering. Other partners include IBM, The Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Florida International University, the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico. IBM corralled these institutions because they are sources for the greatest volume of Hispanic talent in the United States, explains Pete Martinez, B.S.E.E. ’75, IBM vice president and senior location executive, who is a principal architect of LA Grid.

“This partnership will provide an incredible opportunity for these future engineers to learn cutting-edge theory while gaining industry best-practice experience,” says M. Lewis Temares, dean of the College of Engineering and vice president for information technology at the University.

LA Grid is an example of grid computing, which is a shared platform of linked computers. IBM provided the technical infrastructure for LA Grid, which includes access to two of the world’s five fastest supercomputers.

Through LA Grid, top Hispanic students at member institutions receive grid computing internships at IBM, working with Hispanic mentors.

LA Grid partners will collaborate on health care, hurricane mitigation, biotechnology, and nano-technology research.

The Leading Edge

s chairman and senior executive consultant at JJA Consultants, Johnson A. Edosomwan, B.S.I.E. ’79, M.S.I.E. ’80, has helped organizations worldwide “close the performance gap” by training better leaders, executives, and managers.

“Leadership is one of the most critical drivers of performance in any organization,” says Edosomwan, whose support has created The Johnson A. Edosomwan Leadership Institute at the University of Miami College of Engineering.

The new institute, which already has several programs under way, serves experienced leaders, managers, and professionals, as well as students. By combining faculty from the Department of Industrial Engineering with faculty from other UM schools and colleges, the institute is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach to teaching leadership best practices. Core programs include: expansion of UM’s existing joint M.S.I.E./M.B.A. program to include leadership training; introduction of a Master of Science degree in leadership; certificate programs for professionals in areas such as leadership, executive development, and information technology management; fellowships; and conferences, workshops, and lectures.

Edosomwan, who has a doctorate in engineering management and economics, has spent the majority of his career developing effective leadership techniques and imparting them to his clients. Good leaders, he says, are those who “know how to articulate a clear vision for their organization, have a well-defined strategy to deliver the organization’s mission, and know how to empower employees to maximize their skills and talents.”

Architecture Dean Honors Prince Charles

A Royal Achievement

pon invitation from the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., School of Architecture Dean Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk delivered a tribute speech to The Prince of Wales at a November ceremony presenting him with the Vincent Scully Prize. The prince is the sixth recipient of the prize, established in 1999 to recognize exemplary practice, scholarship, or criticism in architecture, historic preservation, and urban design. Dean Plater-Zyberk and her husband, Andres Duany, also are past recipients of the prize.

Vincent Scully, distinguished visiting professor in the University’s School of Architecture and prominent architect for whom the prize is named, lauded the prince for having “revived, defended, and sustained the most humane principles of British and American architecture and town making.”

“He courageously maintained his opinion and set out to learn more about what he had intuited,” Plater-Zyberk said, describing a 20-year effort by The Prince of Wales to look critically at the built environment and promote change through education and practice. One of the prince’s signature initiatives is the town of Poundbury, a project that began in 1993 and challenged architects, developers, and governments in an international debate about urban design.

“When I was first poised, along with Leon Krier, to undertake the development of a new settlement at Poundbury, I was hugely encouraged by the achievement of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk at Seaside,” Prince Charles said at the ceremony.

The UM School of Architecture has a long-time collaboration with The Prince of Wales. UM students have attended the Prince of Wales Summer School, and faculty from the prince’s school have taught at the School of Architecture.