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ith her mother watching from the front
row, and the governor of Florida and her last two predecessors
seated on stage as members of her procession, Donna E. Shalala
was inaugurated as the University’s fifth president in a ceremony
filled with all the pomp and circumstance of a formal investiture
and the spirited atmosphere of a college pep rally.
A standing-room only crowd of more than
3,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and invited guests witnessed
the inauguration, held in a tent on the University Green on the
Coral Gables campus. Several months in the planning stages, the
ceremony was the highlight of the University’s ongoing 75th Anniversary
celebration.
Outgoing Board of Trustees Chairman
Carlos M. de la Cruz, Sr., presided over the ceremony, which was
attended by several high-ranking local, state, and federal officials,
and academic delegates and professionals from colleges and universities
from around the world. Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who marched
in the President’s Procession, called Shalala “a true leader.
She is someone who has enthusiasm, a zest for life, an understanding
that student-centered education is what this University should
be all about,” said the governor, dressed in full academic regalia
as he addressed the audience.
Offering salutations to the president
were Alumni Association President Gino Torretta, Student Government
President Jose Diaz, and Chair of the Faculty Senate Steven Green.
Green credited Shalala with using her energetic enthusiasm, vision,
style, and dedication to draw the University community together.
“Dr. Shalala has assumed the leadership of this great University
at a critical moment,” he said. “We are well-positioned to forge
ahead to the next level of excellence. She has the personal warmth
and skills, the academic sense, and the sheer energy to lead us
there.”
Shalala herself displayed true Hurricanes
spirit, wearing orange academic regalia with green trim and exiting
the stage after her inaugural address with UM’s mascot, Sebastian
the Ibis, in tow, as the School of Music’s marching band, The
Band of the Hour, performed.
A campus-wide celebration at Stanford
Circle followed the ceremony. Some 4,500 to 5,000 people watched
jugglers and stilt walkers, listened to musical performances,
danced in the street, and ate a variety of international foods.
“It was one of those rare moments when
the entire University community came together to witness a milestone
in our history,” said Paula Musto, vice president of University
Relations, who, with Aileen Ugalde, assistant to the president,
cochaired the Inaugural Steering Committee that was composed of
faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni.
For full inauguration coverage
follow the following link:Inaugural
Celebration.
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hysician-entrepreneur Phillip Frost has assumed
chairmanship of the University of Miami Board of Trustees, succeeding
Carlos M. de la Cruz, Sr., chairman of Eagle Brands Inc., who
had chaired the board since 1999.
Frost is chairman of the board and chief executive
officer of IVAX Corporation, a Miami-based generic pharmaceutical
firm. He and his wife, Patricia, are longtime patrons of the South
Florida arts community. Last year, the Frosts donated $1 million
to support the Band of the Hour, the University’s marching band,
and have endowed a number of student scholarships along with supporting
the commission of new works at the School of the Music.
A member of the UM Board of Trustees for the
past 18 years, Frost holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University
of Pennsylvania and a medical degree from Albert Einstein College
of Medicine. He was chairman of the Department of Dermatology
at Mount Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami, in Miami Beach,
Florida, from 1972 to 1990.
He is nationally recognized for his business
acumen and creative enterprise. He invented a disposable skin
biopsy device, sold it to a pharmaceutical firm, and with the
proceeds, opened a medical device business, which he later merged
with another company.
Frost has served as chairman of the board of
directors and chief executive officer of IVAX Corporation since
1987. IVAX is a holding company with subsidiaries engaged in the
research, development, manufacture, and marketing of branded and
brand-equivalent pharmaceuticals in the United States and international
markets. The company also has subsidiaries specializing in veterinary
products, diagnostic products, and nutraceuticals.
Frost has served as president of the Lowe Museum
Friends of Art, CEO of the Board of Advisors for the School of
Business Administration of the University of Southern California,
and as a trustee for the Miami Jewish Home for the Aged. He also
has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2001 National
Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the annual
Wharton Business School’s Business Statesman Award. He and his
wife reside in Miami Beach.
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