Pleased by Aplysia News

I enjoyed reading about the National Resource for Aplysia facility at the Rosenstiel School (“Aiming to Aplysia,” Fall 2008). I was amazed and gratified to read that the head culturist at the facility, Ana Bardales, is raising 30,000 Aplysia californica a year and sending them to scientists around the world.

As a student in Gilbert Voss’s marine biology class in 1960, I was asked to select a marine animal for a detailed study. I chose Aplysia.

Tom Capo and Nobel Prize recipient Eric Kandel are to be commended for their pioneering efforts as founding fathers of the National Resource for Aplysia. However, they were not the first to raise Aplysia in the laboratory. The first person to do so was a fellow at Pacific Bio-Marine Laboratories in California. He did this in 1972, and in the mid-’70s raised a few hundred Aplysia californica with funding from the National Institutes of Health. I was that fellow.

James A. Vallee, M.S. ’63, Ph.D. ’65
Midpines, California

Turning the Tides

Regarding the article “On the Waterfront,” Fall 2008, it is interesting to see waterfront design approached from the land. Places like Chicago, Rhode Island, San Francisco, and Boston were all working waterfronts that attracted business and visitors to the scenic location. Even William and Mary Brickell opened their trading post because of access from the water—not because of access from land.

True revitalization will take place only when we approach the solution from our greatest asset (the water) and work our way to land—not the other way around.

Bill Scheuermann, M.B.A. ’95
Miami, Florida

Political Polling, Part 2

I wanted to follow up on Miami magazine’s coverage of my political science course on the 2008 election and our Miami-Dade County exit poll project (“Punching up Politics,” Fall 2008). My students collected more than 2,300 questionnaires from voters. Fifty-five percent of voters who were approached agreed to fill out the questionnaire, an extremely high cooperation rate for a study like this. The project’s success is a testament to the University of Miami’s positive standing in the community as well as my students’ hard work.

I also want to thank the sponsor of the exit poll, UM’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS). Jaime Suchlicki, director of the ICCAS, and Andy Gomez, senior ICCAS fellow and UM assistant provost, provided invaluable feedback, support, and the funds necessary to complete the project. My collaborator, Benjamin Bishin (formerly of the UM political science department), and students sincerely appreciate their generous assistance.

Casey A. Klofstad
Assistant Professor of Political Science
University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences
 

Major League Academic

I saw the positive recognition given to former athletes for completing their degrees (“Gridiron Gradutes,” Fall 2008). I was on the 1999 and 2001 National Championship baseball team and left my junior year to play with the San Diego Padres. In 2006 I returned to UM and earned my business degree. Currently, I'm running Hidden Gem Discoveries LTD, the athletic consulting firm I started in 2005.

Marcus Nettles, B.B.A. ’08
Chicago, Illinois

O.R. Dathorne’s Legacy

I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Oscar R. Dathorne, M.B.A. ’83, M.P.A. ’83 (“In Memoriam,” Fall 2008). At UM, I was a work-study student in his office for two years and his graduate assistant for one. When “Dr. D,” as he was affectionately known by many, arrived at the University, black students finally had a faculty member who not only taught about the contributions that African, Caribbean, and African-American scholars, writers, and academicians made to the Western world, but also brazenly spoke out about social issues and ills that directly affected minorities.

Although Dr. Dathorne left UM in 1987, many students continued to seek out his guidance, advice, and counseling. He regularly returned as guest speaker at the Black Alumni Society reunion. After I completed my studies at the University in 1983, I stayed in touch with Dr. Dathorne and his family, and closely followed his career and writings for the past 25 years. His impact on students during his tenure at UM was long-lasting.

Reginald Henderson, A.B. ’80, M.P.A. ’83
Via the Internet

Editor’s Note: Oscar R. “O.R.” Dathorne, novelist, poet, critic, and professor, taught at UM from 1977 to 1987 in the Department of English, leading the Caribbean, African, and African-American Studies Program. He died last December at age 75. Dathorne was born and raised in Guyana and educated in England and Miami. He taught in Africa and the United States, including at Ohio State, Yale, and the University of Kentucky. His final book was On the Margins: Race, Gender, and Empire (2008).

It’s Your Choice

“Change We Can Believe In” is how Barack Obama branded his successful White House bid, but change is only part of the package that prompted U.S. voters to buy into his message. It may be unusual to think about politics in terms of branding and packaging, but marketing campaigns do play a pivotal role in all types of consumer choice—whether we’re choosing a new president or a new brand of fabric softener.

Every day, we as consumers make decisions based on an array of intricately devised promises. Is he really smarter? Are those actually crunchier? Is she more honest? Is that genuinely lighter, longer-lasting, fluffier? You get the idea. Our cover story provides intriguing insight on consumer behavior and the complex messages behind even our most routine supermarket picks. Knowing how advertisers think may help you to be a savvier consumer—particularly these days, when every purchase counts so dearly on both sides of the cash register.

And much like the myriad messages that flood your daily consciousness, multiple magazines, newspapers, and brochures fill your mailbox and compete for your attention. My goal as the new editor of Miami magazine is to keep this award-winning publication rising to the top of that stack by sharing informative and engaging stories that showcase the extraordinary faculty, students, graduates, and initiatives of your ever-evolving alma mater. As the saying goes, change is the only constant, and it’s indeed part of the mantra that carries us as a nation and a university into 2009. Despite such volatile times, it’s a mantra that still holds the potential for great optimism, as the late UM president Henry King Stanford proved 40 years ago (See University Journal, King of the U). Best wishes for a “new and improved” year ahead!

—Robin Shear, Editor

Address letters to:
Robin Shear
Miami magazine
P.O. Box 248105
Coral Gables, FL 33124
E-mail: rshear@miami.edu