Gift names the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center

Nourishing the Roots of Alumni Pride

ongtime benefactors of scholarships and academic programs at the University of Miami, Bob and Judi Newman have now made a commitment to deepen the long-term connection students have with the University. With their generous gift, the recently named Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center is well on its way to becoming a landmark building—both in purpose and style—on the Coral Gables campus.

“The minute students arrive here, it’s important to have them start thinking about their relationship with the University and their role as alumni,” says Judi Prokop Newman, B.B.A. ’63, who also is a University trustee. “A welcoming environment, a place to gather, and a place to showcase traditions of the University are all important for establishing roots.”

Judi sees her UM education as the root of so many wonderful twists and turns throughout her life. “My parents didn’t see a need for me to go to college,” says the St. Louis, Missouri, native who earned a scholarship that ultimately enabled her to attend. “It changed my life and opened my eyes to a whole different world. I received a social degree as much as an academic one.”

Armed with professional poise and valuable skills in the then-burgeoning field of machine accounting, Judi landed a job at an aerospace company in Los Angeles, which is where she met Bob. The Newmans now divide their time between Miami and Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, where Bob is founder of Greenwood Gulch Ventures, which provides financial and strategic support to technology companies. He also is cofounder and former director of a software company, J.D. Edwards, which is now Oracle, and he holds the South Florida franchise rights for GolfTEC, a golf swing analysis and instruction shop. After a 26-year career with United Airlines, Judi retired in 1995 as general manager of metrics and measurements for the computer division, responsible for “everything that supports the computer activities of the company,” she explains. “I put my education to good use.”

The couple, avid philanthropists in many cultural and academic arenas, intensified their contact with the University of Miami in the early 1990s, when they began vacationing here on a regular basis. “Virtually everyone we’ve met at the University has shown a great amount of southern hospitality,” Bob says.

Having directed much of their previous support to the School of Business Administration, the Newmans this year learned about the need for an alumni center. “We have a common goal in what we want this to be.”

The design elements the Newmans cite as their favorites are representative of renowned architect Michael Dennis’s strategy for creating a cozy, inviting space for working, lounging, and entertaining. “The fourth floor will have a glass room with a balcony from which The Biltmore Hotel is visible—a vista unlike any place on campus. It will be a wonderful building,” Judi says.

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Deans on Scene

wo deans and an executive vice president and provost—that’s a lot of new academic leadership in the course of one year. But recruiting pivotal, powerhouse leaders is part of the University’s surefire strategy for progress. These are positions with great potential to shape growth and direction of the institution, which is why the Alumni Association has endeavored to introduce them to the extended UM community.

The Alumni Association’s September 26 reception in New York City was the first of a nationwide tour enabling College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael R. Halleran and School of Communication Dean Sam L Grogg to share their vision with alumni and friends. Subsequent receptions feature Thomas J. LeBlanc, executive vice president and provost.

Halleran, a renowned scholar in Greek literature and Greek intellectual history, explained to nearly 200 attendees in New York that academic excellence and opportunity is what brought him to Miami from the University of Washington. Excellence, he said, is seen in the scholarship and dedication of the faculty and in the continuous improvement of the UM student body. “They are bright, engaged, and spirited,” he said.

Grogg, former dean of the American Film Institute, explained that the city of Miami, an anything-goes town full of creative enterprise, lends itself to great opportunities for students of journalism, broadcasting, film, advertising, and public relations. His plans include strengthening the integration of all sectors of the media.

Additional cities to host the Alumni Association’s New Deans Receptions include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Call 1-866-UMALUMS (862-5867) for current information on dates and locations.

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Going the Extra Yard for ALS

erhaps best known for his bullet-like passes down the gridiron, 1992 Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta, B.B.A. ’91, is not one to pass up an opportunity to help others. Through the Torretta Foundation, he and his wife, Bernadette, B.S. ’97, have donated $25,000 to the University of Miami Kessenich Family MDA ALS Center at the Miller School of Medicine.

The Torrettas established their foundation in 2002 to raise money specifically for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS is a progressive disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. There is presently no cure. The Torrettas decided to pledge their support to ALS research after Bernadette’s grandmother, Marguerita Fosseca, became afflicted with myasthenia gravis, a similar neurodegenerative disease.

“We have seen on a personal level how devastating a neurodegenerative disease can be, and we wanted to do all that we could to support research that will someday cure these afflictions,” says Gino, who served as UM Alumni Association president from 2001 to 2002.

After four years in the NFL, Gino embarked on a career in finance, now serving as manager of institutional sales at Gabelli Asset Management. Each spring the Torrettas, who now have an eight-month-old daughter, host Gino Torretta’s Celebrity Blue Tee Weekend on the Blue Monster course at the Doral Golf Resort.

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Sticking Her Neck Out for Others

he first thing you notice about Audrey Finkelstein’s home in Coral Gables is a brightly colored, 750-pound concrete turtle on her front lawn. Dozens of china and crystal turtles adorn every room. “I like turtles because they stick their necks out to get ahead,” explains Finkelstein, A.B. ’38.

For the last six decades, Finkelstein has lived that philosophy. Throughout her life, this youthful octogenarian has never hesitated to break new ground and challenge the status quo. It all started in the sixth grade in Savannah, Georgia, where she grew up. “The principal of my elementary school wanted to teach children how government worked,” she recalls. “She made the school a replica of city government, which she called Midget Savannah. At 12 years old, I became the first female mayor of Midget Savannah.”

At the then-new University of Miami, Finkelstein was one of only 300 students. “There were few opportunities to pioneer in the ’30s,” says the go-getter who helped establish the University’s first sorority for Jewish girls and cofounded the first honor society for women on campus.

A year after graduation, she met and married her husband, Charles, an attorney who became involved in the toy industry, with creations like Silly Putty, the Slinky, and Balloono.

While raising a son and daughter with Charles, Finkelstein assumed important roles in the community, first in New York City, then back in Miami. She was the first female officer of the local United Fund, the first female chair of the Community Relations Board, and the first female president of the Miami Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

Few causes are more important to Finkelstein than lifelong learning. In 1988 she and Charles established an endowment fund that grew into the Audrey R. Finkelstein UM Experience—an interactive, educational series for alumni during Alumni Weekend. She also supports other programs at the University.

Finkelstein, who will celebrate her 90th birthday in January, has recently received the prestigious McLamore Award for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. “People don’t grow old,” she says. “They become old by not growing. I have miles to go before I sleep.”

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