Allan and Patricia Herbert
give $8 million to Wellness Center

llan and Patricia “Patti” Herbert, who met and fell in love on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus more than half a century ago, know what it’s like to overcome a life-threatening illness. Allan suffered a heart attack in 1993, and Patricia is an 18-year cancer survivor.

“But the reason we’re alive is because we’ve always been fit,” Allan says. “We believe in fitness. We think exercise is important, and we think diet is important. When I had my heart attack, one of the reasons I was able to survive with no damage was because Patti and I both participated in a wellness program.”

But during the 1950s, when they were students at the University of Miami, “the word ‘wellness’ hadn’t even been invented,” Allan says. “We had no gym and no organized physical improvement activities.”

That’s why the Herberts have a love affair with UM’s state-of-the-art Wellness Center, a 120,000-square-foot facility that features not only a spacious cardio and weight room but several fitness and health education programs.

“I think that they got this place right the first time, and to me that’s always amazing,” says Patti, who takes classes at the center with her husband. “There’s just so much thought put into everything.”

Now the Herberts have parlayed their love of fitness and ongoing desire to give back to their alma mater into an $8 million gift to support and enhance programming at the facility and name it the Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center.

The Herberts’ support has been “integral to the success of the center, and we’re lucky to have their backing and involvement,” says Wellness Center director Norm Parsons, who says the couple’s gift will keep the facility on the cutting-edge of wellness programs, activities, and services.

“Patti and Allan have a truly special connection to the University and a love story to match,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala.

They met in 1954 on campus. “I saw this cute little freshman, with very short hair that she still wears, and I think it was love at first sight,” Allan says.

Allan didn’t have any particularly good pickup lines, Patti recalls. “As a matter of fact, when he asked me out, I said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ There were like ten men for every woman at the University. Girls were really very selective and you had to make a very good offer.”

Allan persisted, inviting Patti to a function at then-UM President Jay F. W. Pearson’s house, where Allan was being installed as president-elect of the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society.

Patti accepted, and the function marked the couple’s first date, which they will always remember for the gaffe President Pearson committed. During the dinner, he introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Herbert. “Everyone knew this was our first date,” Patti recalls, laughing. Then, after Pearson’s wife quietly pointed out her husband’s error, Pearson made another by referring to Patti as Allan’s fiancée.

It turns out Pearson’s timing was only slightly off. The couple married four years later. This year, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

During the course of their union, they built successful careers, Patti as a real estate broker and Allan as an executive at a Fortune 500 company, and raised two sons. Throughout the decades, even the early years when they weren’t as financially stable, their life has been one of continuous service and support for the University where their destiny was sealed.

For years, the Herberts have been funding student scholarships at the School of Business Administration, where they both earned undergraduate degrees—Allan in 1955 and Patti in 1957. Allan went on to get his M.B.A. at UM in 1958. They are both members of UM’s Iron Arrow honor society and the President’s Circle.

In 2004, to commemorate their relationship with each other and the University, they established an endowment for the “Love Bridge” outside the Wellness Center. To date, some 180 bricks engraved with proclamations of love adorn the foot of the bridge, and more are available for alumni or friends of the University with a minimum donation of $500.

Proceeds from the sale of these personalized bricks support the ’Canes Health Assessment and Motivation Program, or CHAMP, which provides a comprehensive fitness assessment to students and members of the Wellness Center and Coral Gables community.

Today, the Herberts split their time between Beverly Hills, California, and Miami Beach, where they own and operate the Richmond Hotel. When in town, they often work out at the Wellness Center and have come to know many of the students employed there.

UM remains special to both of them. “It is where we got our education, made lifelong friendships, gained leadership skills, and met our life partners,” Allan says. “Every successful alumnus owes it to their university to repay them in some way for the education and opportunities they received while in school. We owe it all to the University of Miami.”