FIU Magazine - Fall 2011 - Bragging Rights & Basic Truths

Anthony Leone ’91 Proves Fast Food Doesn’t Have to Be “Fat Food”

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FIU Blue Man Reveals His Irresistible Superpower

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Why the World Is Paying Attention to Professor Rich Olson’s Scary Message

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One Sun Belt Championship Just Isn’t Enough for T.Y. Hilton

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II | SPRING 2011

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ON THE COVER: Bragging Rights

& Basic Truths A national survey gives us a look at the lives and educational experiences of FIU students like Donna Duggins, shown on the cover. Like many students, Duggins balances a full-time job and a full course load.

28 The Minds of Children FIU is leading the way in child mental health treatment and research.

36 2011 Football Preview Knowing every team will be looking to knock them down, the Panthers are ready to defend their Sun Belt Championship.

Cheer for SoBe! FIU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management students Ding Yuan, Ngoc Quach, Vanessa Santos, Sihan Liu, Shachi Shah, Maria Leonova and Wang Ye were among the 929 Panthers who took part in the 2011 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. The students helped educate SoBe’s 53,000 guests on the festival’s increased commitment to sustainability. In its 10th year, the festival raised more than $2 million for the school and its Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center. To date, more than $12.5 million has been raised for student scholarships, program development and faculty and facility enhancements. Photo by Dale Gomez SPRING 2011 | 1

from the Editor Who We Are Today FIU is proud of the ways that we are different than other universities. Our multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual campus looks like a university of the future as minority populations grow in the United States. A recent survey of FIU students and students nationwide reveals that we are, indeed, a unique place.

While the National Survey for Student Engagement (see story page 9) delivered a few pleasant surprises, it also showed us the reality of our students’ lives. The typical FIU student works longer hours, has greater family responsibilities and spends more time commuting than other college students.

If you went to school here, none of this is surprising. But it does matter, especially as FIU works to build a community of support around the institution. We know that students who get involved get more out of their education and generally have more fun in college. Those students also remain involved as alumni.

Yet, if students have little time to engage in campus life, how, then, will they develop a love for the institution that lasts? Look around at any top university in the country and one of its defining features is a strong, active and vibrant alumni base.

The staff of FIU’s Division of Student Affairs, led by Vice President Rosa Jones, thinks about these questions continually. They are always innovating to draw more and more students into the life of the university through student programming. Another way students build affinity for the university is through their relationships with faculty.

And there, the survey shows, FIU is doing well.

I’d like to hear from you, the alumni, about these questions. Did you get involved as a student? How did that involvement affect your experience at FIU? If you were too busy, what kind of demands did you face? What could FIU have done to help you get

FIU Magazine Editorial Advisory Board Fred Blevens Professor and Honors College Fellow School of Journalism and Mass Communication Luis Casas Director of Marketing, Communications & Recruiting College of Business Administration Dr. Gisela Casines Associate Dean College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Carol Damian Professor of Art History Director and Chief Curator, Frost Art Museum Bill Draughon Associate Vice President Alumni Relations Dr. Stephen Fain Professor Emeritus College of Education Paul Dodson Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Dr. Larry Lunsford Associate Vice President for Student Affairs University Ombudsman Rafael Paz, Esq. Associate General Counsel Florida International University Nilda Pedrosa Assistant Dean of Development & External Affairs College of Law Heather Radi-Bermudez Marketing coordinator School of Journalism and Mass Communication Dania Rivero Senior Director Annual Giving and Donor Relations Mary Sudasassi Director of Public Relations, College of Nursing and Health Sciences Jody Vining Director of Marketing College of Architecture + The Arts

FIU MAGAZINE Division of External Relations

Sandra B. Gonzalez-Levy Senior Vice President External Relations

Terry Witherell Vice President External Relations

Karen Cochrane Director News and Communications

Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 Editor, FIU Magazine

Martin Haro ’05 Associate Editor

Aileen Solá-Trautmann Art Director Designers

Mariel De Moya Oscar Negret Writers Sissi Aguila ’99, MA ’08 Bryan Gilmer Martin Haro ’05 JoAnn Adkins Pete Pelegrin ’96 Photographers Steve Floethe Samuel Lewis Charles Ludeke Gloria O’Connell Josh Ritchie Ivan Santiago ’00 Roldan Torres ’85 Angel Valentin Nick Vera

FIU Board of Trustees Michael M. Adler Sukrit Agrawal Cesar L. Alvarez Jose J. Armas Jorge L. Arrizurieta Thomas A. Breslin Joseph L. Caruncho ’81 Marcelo Claure Mayi de la Vega ’81 Albert Maury ’96, ’02 Patrick O’Keefe Claudia Puig

involved? Write to me at oneild@fiu.edu.

Right around the corner is the biggest event of the year when it comes to getting involved – Homecoming. With a parade, plenty of fun for kids and a matchup against Duke University, this year’s Homecoming Day will be a blast. If you haven’t been back to campus since you graduated, come back on Oct. 1 and you may just be surprised.

See you at the stadium,

Deborah O’Neil MA ’09

Copyright 2011, Florida International University. FIU Magazine is published by the Florida International University Division of External Relations and distributed free of charge to alumni, faculty and friends of the university. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. To reach us call: 305-348-7235.

Alumni Office: Write to Office of Alumni Relations at MMC MARC 510, Miami, FL 33199 or call 305-348-3334 or toll free at 800-FIU-ALUM. Visit fiualumni.com.

Change of Address: Please send updated address information to FIU Office of Alumni Relations, MARC 510, Miami, FL, 33199 or by email to alumni@fiu.edu.

WRGP Radiate FM: FIU Student Radio is broadcast north of Kendall on 95.3 FM, south of Kendall on 88.1 FM and 96.9 FM in North Miami and South Broward.

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Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/FIUmagazine

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FROM our READERS Enjoying FIU news Just wanted to write and give you and

Aileen Solá-Trautmann kudos for the new look and feel of the FIU Magazine.

You clearly achieved your stated goals of updating the look, making it more ‘fun,’ incorporating reader preferences and ensuring sustainability.

While I live on the opposite end of the country (Seattle), I loved my time at FIU and always enjoy getting FIU news. Keep up the great work!

Cheers!

Tom Griffith ’80 First-rate publication

I recently received my FIU Magazine Spring 2011 issue and I had to send my congratulations to you and your staff. First of all, I loved the cover! But as I opened it and kept reading – it just got better – the artwork, the styling, the look, the feel, and especially, the information – it is all reflective of a firstrate university publication. But my favorite part is the article “High Touch Leadership” – so well written, it evokes positive feelings about Dr. Rosenberg and FIU. How will you top this?

Denise Goldson Rau Alumni Association Lifetime Member Eye-catching cover

I really like the updated magazine.

Although I have been receiving the magazine for 10-15 years, I usually just quickly thumb through it, but this time the cover kept catching my eye. Finally I sat down and

actually read various articles. So interesting.

Good human interest, even in topics I didn’t think I would like. Way to go!

I graduated in 2002 at 58 years old with a Ph.D. in sociology, with a dissertation on “Middle-Class Immigrant Identities: Dominican-Americans in South Florida.” Since I attended classes in the evenings after work, I did not gain a real sense of being a part of the FIU community.

Your magazine helps me understand what it means to other students and faculty.

I have been applying my sociology studies to my job as founding director of the Arts at St Johns, a visual and performing arts organization in Miami Beach. Our mission is to encourage the arts as a medium for social dialogue, building community, and transformation. We present local artists, with a special emphasis on the diverse traditions of our South Florida communities.

Carol Hoffman-Guzman, Ph.D. ’02 FROM FACEBOOK FRIENDS Our friends on Facebook had lots to say about the new Spring 2011 redesign of FIU Magazine.

Alberto Padron: Best. Issue. Ever.

Stephanie Cruz: I really enjoyed the

success. Overall, I look forward to reading the next issue!

Eric M. Feldman: I love the issue! It captivated me from cover to cover! I am proud of FIU every day but this issue made me more proud than usual! Keep up the great work!

Facebook fans liked the article last spring about The Four Horsemen, alumni and football fans Frank Peña ’99; Eddie Hondal ’88, MS ’00; Alberto Padron ’98, MBA ’09; and Michael Maher ’97.

Silvana Massolo: What a great article, FIU Magazine. I got so emotional reading it, I cried. I LOVE FIU Florida International University!!! Proud to say I am friends with one of these men, Frank Peña. See you at the next game!

Robby Perez: Awesome story! Best fans a team can ask for.

magazine. I learned about new ideas in the works for FIU’s future, I especially liked the article on President Rosenberg. Morever, I really enjoyed reading about different alumni and their successes, in addition to reading about how FIU paved the way for their

They also liked our profile on alumnus Michael Baiamonte ’86.

Miriam Fernandez Diaz: Love him! He is a

class act!

Valerie L. Patterson:

Iconic and the best at what he does!!!!!!!!!!!

Letters to the Editor: FIU Magazine welcomes letters to the editor regarding magazine content. Send your letters via email to alumni@fiu.edu, by fax to 305-348-3247 or mail to FIU Magazine, Division of External Relations, MMC PC 515, Miami, FL, 33199. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. All letters should include the writer’s full name and daytime phone number. Alumni, please include your degree and year of graduation.

Give Back. Connect. Enjoy.

Build something larger than yourself. Give back and increase the value of your degree while having a great time. Be a part of a community that educates, participates and engages with your fellow alumni and current students. Create connections everywhere. This is what it means to be a member of the FIU Alumni Association.

Sam Jackson MPA ’90 Lifetime member Sharon Fine ’99 Lifetime member

Eric Feldman FIU student ambassador.

Student member Marly Quincoces ’06, MS ’08 Lifetime member

fiualumni.com/join • 305-FIU-ALUM

Frank Peña ’99 Lifetime member

FALL 2011 | 3

President’s Corner Mark B. Rosenberg

At FIU, we are proud of the engaged global citizens we have educated over the past four decades. Our alumni are Worlds Ahead in taking the tools of their education and using them to compete, to succeed and to make a difference.

Some shining examples of this are the many FIU graduates who hold elected office at the state and national level.

For the first time in history, two U.S. representatives have FIU degrees – Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and David Rivera. We are proud of Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen ’75, MS ’87, who has served in the House since 1989 and chairs the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs. By ascending to this position, she follows in the footsteps of President John Quincy Adams and founding father Benjamin Franklin. In this role Rep. Ros-Lehtinen is continuing her passionate advocacy for human rights and a free Cuba for which she is well known in our community.

However, as chair of the full 45-member committee, she now has a pivotal leadership role in the U.S. Congress on all matters regarding U.S. international relations.

Congressman Rivera ’86, MPA ’94 was elected to his first term in the House last fall and continues to be a strong advocate of FIU just as he was during his years in U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen showed off her FIU Pride during a recent visit with President Mark B. Rosenberg at her Washington office. Photo courtesy of the congresswoman’s Washington, D.C. staff.

the state Legislature, where he was instrumental in the development and funding of the FIU medical and law schools.

Currently in the Florida Legislature, we are happy to count six other FIU alumni: State Sen. Anitere Flores ’97; State Sen. Rene García ’99; State Rep. Ana Rivas Logan ’88; State Rep. Jeanette Núñez ’94, MPA ’98; State Rep. Mark Pafford ’88 and State Rep. Trudi Williams ’81. Steve Bovo ’87, a seventh FIU alum in the Legislature, resigned to run for an open Miami-Dade County Commission seat.

These alumni helped us kick off this year’s legislative session with an energy-packed FIU Day in Tallahassee during which the state House and Senate passed resolutions honoring our football team for its Sun Belt championship and Little Caesars Pizza Bowl win. Throughout the session, these legislators recognized the importance of higher education – and an FIU education in particular – as vital to economic recovery in Florida. They were critical to our success and were supported by an important cadre of FIU students and recent alumni who served during the session as legislative aides or interns who confidently helped carry the FIU banner. Everywhere you turn, you now find FIU alums in Tallahassee who, during the legislative session, organized a new FIU alumni chapter.

The FIU alumni who have been elected to office demonstrate the value of an FIU degree. Through their leadership and commitment to public service, they are illustrating how individuals can bring about change. Their accomplishments demonstrate how far an FIU education can take you and serve as an example to all FIU students that with their education they, too, can make a difference.

We are proud of all of our alumni who have answered the call to public office. We congratulate them on their successes and look forward to their many future Worlds Ahead endeavors.

Be WorldsAhead 4 | FALL 2011

On The Prowl FPL and FIU open on-campus customer care center Creating a talent pipeline for the future and providing employment opportunities for college students, Florida Power & Light Company and FIU have launched the utility’s first on-campus customer care center to answer calls from FPL customers in need of assistance. This oneof-a-kind operation will provide students with valuable work experience with a first-class customer service team that has won a record seven consecutive ServiceOne awards for excellence.

FPL and its parent company, NextEra Energy, currently employ more than 670 FIU alumni, making FIU its top supplier of graduates. The 21 participating FIU student employees, ranging from freshmen to seniors, had to undergo a rigorous application process, interview with FPL hiring managers and complete two and a half months of FPL customer care training before taking their first calls.

Maury and Adler to lead Board of Trustees President and CEO of León Medical Centers Health Plans Albert Maury ’96, ‘02

Cake wins BBC’s Perfect Paw Dessert Challenge

T

has been elected chair of the FIU Board of Trustees. The new vice chair is Michael M.

he Student Alumni Association at BBC recently held a contest

Adler, CEO of Adler Group, Inc., one of South

asking the FIU family to submit ideas for new traditions that

Florida’s largest and most successful real

they would like to see happen at BBC. The winning idea by

estate companies. Both men began their

Undergraduate Education Assistant Dean Valerie Morgan was to create

two-year terms as chair and co-chair

a “panther dessert.”

in March.

The first Perfect Paw Dessert Challenge took place in April, organized by

“We have an unbeatable combination. Both Mr. Maury and

the SAA Executive Board at BBC and the School of Hospitality and Tourism

Mr. Adler are proven business and community leaders and

Management, which provided the ingredients and facility for the dessert

they are deeply admired by our university community,” said

preparation. Students were asked to sign up in pairs for the challenge. They

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg.

were judged on taste, presentation, and, most importantly, FIU spirit.

The winning dessert was created by Jordan Acosta and Kathryn Lopez.

Maury, who holds bachelor’s degrees in business administration and accounting from FIU, was appointed as

They received a $200 scholarship for their delicious three-tiered vanilla bean

an FIU trustee in 2007. He recently received a medallion from

cake covered in blue, gold and white fondant with the FIU seal and logo.

FIU for being a staunch advocate for children and for his

The judges were: BBC Director of Campus Life Craig Cunningham; BBC Vice Provost Steven Moll, Assistant Dean Valerie Morgan, Miss FIU Ana

leadership and work in the community.

Adler is a vice chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish

Perez, SGA Representative Emilio Collyer and Alumni Association intern and

Federations of North America and was president of the

hospitality student, Christiane Carter.

Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

FALL 2011 | 5

On The Prowl

First Generation Scholarship recipients Emilio Collyer and Claudia Crego.

Alumni and students raise money for scholarships

TRAVELS: Norway

Photo by Bill Draughon

A group of alumni, staff, and faculty traveled to northern Europe this summer as part of the Alumni Association’s lifelong learning travel program. In Stavanger, Norway the FIU travelers were welcomed with true Panther hospitality by Lifetime Members Nelson Mendez ’81 and his wife Luz Marina Mendez. The couple had a blue-and-gold bus waiting to take the group on a tour and prepared a picnic in Stavanger’s historic Old Town. Nelson is a senior engineer for Aker Solutions, a global oil services company with 30,000 employees. In the above picture, the group gathered in front of the famous Swords in the Rock monument which commemorates the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872, after which King Harald Harfagre united Norway. The swords are around 10 meters tall with Harald’s having the largest handle. They represent peace and unification, as they are mounted in solid rock and cannot be moved.

From left are alumnus Alan Thorn ’75; Lifetime Member Dr. Angela Martinez; Glen Hamilton; Dale Draughon; Graham Center Executive Director and Lifetime Member Ruth Hamilton; Lifetime Member Nelson Mendez ’81; biology professor Phillip Stafford; Janet Lester ’93; Vannak Stoddard; Lifetime Member and President’s Council Member Richard Strait MBA ’75; Lifetime Member Marcia Strait MS ’77; architecture professor Gray Read; Lifetime Member Luz Marina Mendez; and Lifetime Member Raul Chavez ’80.

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With tuition increases and scholarship cuts looming, the FIU community came together this spring and raised more than $61,000 to help students earn a college degree. The dollars will be matched 100 percent by the State’s First Generation Scholarship Fund for a total impact of more than $122,000.

The March 31 fundraising event was organized by FIU’s Student Government Association and hosted

by President Mark B. Rosenberg and his wife Rosalie.

More than 75 students, faculty, staff, alumni and university and community leaders attended.

The Rosenbergs set the tone for the evening, with the president announcing a $5,000 donation to the fund. That was followed by a $5,000 gift from Board of Trustees member Joseph Caruncho ’81, who said this cause is close to his heart.

“I moved here from Cuba with my family when I was 5 years old. My brother and I were first-generation kids,” said Caruncho. “FIU has been the access point to everything that I’ve achieved in my life, and I know that it can become the single most important access point for thousands of other students who are at FIU today.”

Alumni Association Board member Stewart Appelrouth MBA ’80 also pledged $5,000. He’s not a first-generation college graduate – his father graduated from college on the GI Bill. Nonetheless, he has vivid memories of his parents putting aside $5 a week in a jar for his and his sister’s college educations.

In addition, the university’s President’s Council has committed to raising $100,000 for the First Generation Scholarship Fund.

Approximately 40 percent of FIU students will be the first generation in their family to attain a college degree, and most are eligible for a First Gen Scholarship.

However, there are more students in need than there are dollars. During the 2010-11 academic year, some 9,000 First Generation-eligible students did not receive scholarship support.

Chronicle of Higher Ed spotlights growth of FIU research The Chronicle of Higher Education, the leading publication in academia, featured FIU in May as an example of a university with a research growth strategy that has succeeded where many others have not. The Chronicle discovered that FIU’s efforts over the past decade to invest in growing federally funded scientific and engineering research have yielded excellent results.

According to the Chronicle, in 1999 FIU was ranked 161 among reporting institutions. In 2009, FIU had risen to 140th on that list.

Photos by Nick Vera

Earth-friendly graduation gowns take center stage FIU graduates became the first in the state last spring to wear commencement caps and gowns made completely out of recycled plastic bottles. The regalia, made by Virginia-based Oak Hall Cap & Gown, is called GreenWeaver and made from a fabric spun from molten plastic pellets. Each gown is made from an average of 23 plastic bottles and looks and feels like traditional fabric.

It’s not just the actual fabric that’s environmentally friendly.

The plastic bags they come in are made from recycled plastic, also. And the size labels on the back of the gowns? Ink derived from soy.

The manufacturer agreed to deviate from their standard black gown and produce blue regalia — the traditional color for graduating undergrads as well as FIU’s spirit color.

TREASURES: Tikkun Tikkun, a 5,000-pound chiseled glass sculpture

by American master Henry

10 Questions for FIU Blue Man If you’ve been to an FIU football game, you’ve probably seen FIU’s Blue Man. The secondyear architecture student is positively blue with FIU pride. FIU Magazine caught up with him recently to learn about his blue-hue beauty secrets and plans for the football season.

1. Were you “Born This Way?” Funny story, Roary was always on my chest so I knew I was headed to FIU from the beginning. The blue kicked in around 6 years old. Talk about throwing off the doctors.

2. What’s your take on Roary?

I have a Roary sticker on my laptop, a giant magnet on my fridge, a customized Google Chrome skin of Roary and pictures of him throughout my room. Roary is my idol!

3. What’s the secret to your glowing blue complexion?

Cocoa butter. A little in the morning and before bed keeps me looking young and blue!

4. What’s one thing everyone should know about Blue Man? I ABSOLUTELY HATE when people leave games early! Have pride in our teams. Stand by them even if they lose a game. There is no better support than a packed stadium!

5. How welcoming would you say FIU has been to you as a person of unusual color?

FIU is such a great, diverse university and everyone has been very welcoming and encouraging. The Student Programming Council even took me in as one of their own.

6. What’s your plan to take on the Blue Devil when Duke comes to town Oct. 1 for Homecoming?

I need everyone’s help with this. My plan is to overwhelm him with a super-excited, jampacked crowd at the stadium. We’ll be so loud and proud, he won’t be able to resist chanting the Blue & Gold too. Imagine what that will look like on ESPN3!

Richardson is currently on display outside the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum.

The name “Tikkun” means “healing the world,” and was inspired by the Hebrew phrase “Tikkun Olam,” which has come to connote social action and the pursuit of social justice. It is on

7. You’re not related to him, are you?

OH NO! I’m one of a kind, just like FIU. 8. What super powers do you have?

My superpower is my awe-inspiring school FIU spirit. I’ve been known to bring an entire crowd to its feet. No one can resist the Blue Man spirit.

9. Which FIU cheer is your favorite?

You can never have enough cheers, which is why I’m trying to start a new one: “GOLD GOLD! BLUE BLUE! GOLDEN PANTHERS FIU!” I challenge every student to come up with a new tradition to leave their mark in FIU history.

special loan to the university from the AJ Japour Gallery through January 2012.

10. Why isn’t there an FIU Gold Girl?

Well, actually, FIU Gold Girl should be coming this fall to a stadium near you.

FALL 2011 | 7

FIU in The Arts ART

Through Aug.12, 2012:

Through Aug.14: “Art for All: British

“MetalCraft: Selection of Architectural Elements from the Wolfsonian Collection” at The Wolfsonian-FIU focuses on a selection of fine metalwork from the late 19th-early 20th century period and features the work of craftsmen such as Oscar Bruno Bach, Christopher Dresser and Cass Gilbert.

The exhibit examines the various stages of the design process, from sketches and presentation drawings to documentary photographs of finished architectural projects.

Posters for Transport” at The WolfsonianFIU explores the evolution of transport posters in 20th century Britain and features outstanding examples executed for both the London Underground and the British railways.

Through Aug. 14: “Rise of an Empire: Scenes of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-’95” at the Frost features 20 woodblock print triptychs depicting the first major conflict of Imperial Japan after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the country’s rapid westernization.

Through Aug. 14:

“Tribute to Japanese Splendor: The Art of the Temari” at the Frost showcases artist Sharon Thieman’s original “temari,” balls made of traditional, intricate weavings of fibers.

Through Aug. 21: The South Florida Cultural Consortium Exhibition at the Frost features the works of the recipients of the consortium’s 2010 Visual and Media Artists Fellowships.

Through Sept. 11:

“EAST/WEST: Visually Speaking” at the Frost features the work of 13 Chinese artists – many of whom were born or came of age during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) – whose work merge Eastern and Western visual languages.

Through Sept. 18: David and Hin-Jin Hodge’s “Who’s Counting” and “Temporal State of Being” at the Frost is a multimedia exhibit consisting of two works that look at modern life and explore the idea that 21st century life is lived, to a surprising degree, in a context of boxes of our making. The shows ask if we have lost a sense of the boundlessness and seamlessness of space and time.

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THEATER

Sept. 23-Oct. 2: Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock. This FIU Theatre production is directed by Wayne E. Robinson Jr. Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Herbert & Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center at MMC. For tickets and more information, visit carta.fiu.edu/events.

Music

Sept. 8:

Faculty Recital Series: A Brahms Celebration. Contralto Lissette Jiménez, viola player Michael Klotz and pianist José López perform songs, chamber music and solo piano selections

by Johannes Brahms. 7:30 p.m. Herbert & Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center (WPAC) at MMC. For tickets visit carta.fiu. edu/events.

Sept. 21: Faculty Convocation Concert: Música Iberoamericana.

School of Music faculty artists and student ensembles perform works by some of Spain and Latin America’s finest composers. 5 p.m.

WPAC at MMC. For tickets visit carta.fiu. edu/events.

Sept. 22: Vocal Arts Series: Canciones Cultas de América Latina (Art Songs from Latin America). Faculty artists performing include Mark Aliapoulios, Rebekah Diaz,

Robert B. Dundas, Lissette Jiménez, Jennifer Renee Snyder and Kathleen Wilson.

7:30 p.m. WPAC at MMC. For tickets visit carta.fiu.edu/events.

Sept. 24: Orchestral Masterworks Series: Homecoming Celebration. The FIU Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of maestro Grzegorz Nowak, presents a concert featuring distinguished soloists Robert Davidovici on violin and Luis Gomez on contrabass. The program also will include one of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies. 7:30 p.m.

WPAC at MMC. For tickets visit carta.fiu. edu/events.

Architecture

Through Sept. 15: “Recent Student Design Work 2009-2011” and “Recent Faculty Work 2009-2011.” These two exhibits are on view at the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture, in the BEA Gallery and the building atrium, respectively. For more information, contact Adam Drisin, chair, or FIU Architecture, at 305-348-7077.

Sept. 15-Nov. 18: “Small Scale: Creative Solutions for Better City Living” at the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture’s BEA Gallery presents 50 projects ranging from the conceptual to the fully realized.

Designed by established and up-and-coming architects and artists, the projects reflect the promise of new ideas, new materials and new technologies. For more information, call assistant professor Roberto Rovira at 305348-6026.

Oct. 27: FIU Landscape Architecture presents a lecture with David Fletcher, the founding principal of Fletcher Studio, an innovative and award-winning practice based in California specializing in landscape architecture, urban design and environmental planning. 5 p.m. PCA 135 at MMC.

tin

Photos by Angel Valen

By Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 Sophomore Donna Duggins scans her planner for an opening as she

the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). This was the third

settles in for a one-hour commute to Biscayne Bay Campus on the Golden

time FIU took part in the survey, with 1,485 freshmen and 1,865 seniors

Panther Express. The well-worn pages of her appointment book are

participating. Their responses are compared to those of more than 300,000

crowded with notes:

students at 564 universities around the country.

Monday: Test 10 a.m.

“We have so many myths about our students, things that might have

Tuesday: Work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m

been true 30 years ago,” said Vice Provost Irma Becerra-Fernandez, who

Wednesday: Chapters on media and the justice system

analyzed the results. “We really wanted to know, ‘Who are our students?’”

Thursday: Work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

They look a lot like Donna Duggins. Young, full-time students who live

Friday: Meet classmates at BBC to work on group project

at home and have worked harder than they thought they could in order

The Honors College public relations major took 18 credits in the spring

to succeed in college. The survey revealed that FIU is more of a typical

while working full time at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Somewhere in her schedule

college campus than commonly believed, with most students under age 24

she needs to carve out 10 hours for community service required by the

and most attending full time.

Honors College. Every time a professor mentions an assignment, test, anything, she pulls out her planner. Sometimes, she goes to her boss with planner in hand to figure out her schedule.

It’s a balancing act Duggins has down to a science, and one that

That’s a change from FIU’s origins. Becerra-Fernandez, who earned her Ph.D. at FIU in 1994, remembers when FIU served an older population.

“To me it is a palpable difference between the institution that I started with and the one it is now,” she said. “Upper classmen back then were

represents the experiences of many FIU students. Long hours of

already working and were going to FIU part time. But because we started

commuting. Tough academic demands. Full-time job. Lack of free time.

that way, people think we are still that way.”

Last year, FIU’s academic leaders set out to learn more about the lives of FIU students and their educational experience by participating in

The results give FIU plenty of reasons to be proud, while also shedding light on areas where FIU falls below the national average.

FALL 2011 | 9

Continues next page

Continued

The good news is that 85 percent of the students said their entire educational experience at FIU is excellent or good. Three-

writing assignments before they are turned in to the professor.

“The writing fellows work with the faculty

high in diversity.”

Some 65 percent of seniors said they often have serious conversations with

quarters of seniors reported that they would

so they know the goal of the paper,” Gillespie

students of different races or ethnicities. By

attend FIU again. FIU faculty get high marks

said. “They are helping students not only to

comparison, 55 percent of seniors nationally

for being available, helpful and sympathetic.

write better papers, but helping them to

do so. The results are similar for freshmen

master material.”

who were asked how often they have serious

Information like this amounts to a treasure trove for academic administrators. It informs

In recent years, FIU has been investing in its

conversations with students who have very

the creation of academic policy and helps the

academic advising services. In the survey, only

different religious beliefs, political opinions

university prioritize needs.

20 percent of FIU seniors rated their academic

or personal values. Sixty-four percent of FIU

advising as excellent, well below the national

freshmen said very often or often compared

average of 32 percent.

with 55 percent of freshmen nationally.

“We are looking carefully at the areas where we need to improve and we are taking action,” Becerra-Fernandez said.

A major initiative is expected to improve

“The university strives to create

advising. All students will be required to

opportunities for dialogue about diversity and

Improving writing and advising

declare a major upon admission starting in Fall

opportunities to state that as a very clear code

Two areas that FIU is assessing are writing

2012, a change that will place students in an

of expectations,” Vice President of Student

and academic advising. The survey shows that

academic home earlier. Students will work with

Affairs Rosa Jones said. “The message

students were below the national average on

advisors in their major from day one to stay

is clearly articulated that the university

preparing two or more drafts of a paper before

on track, said Undergraduate Education Dean

celebrates diversity. It’s not something that

turning it in. In addition, FIU students write

Douglas Robertson.

happens by osmosis.”

fewer papers overall.

The results aren’t a surprise given class sizes at FIU, said Paula Gillespie, director of FIU’s Center for Excellence in Writing.

Currently, students must declare a major

Incoming freshmen get the message at

once they reach 60 credits, typically at the end

Panther Camp, a three-day Student Affairs

of their second year.

orientation program that challenges students

“Data show that if you find an academic

to examine their values and consider new

Bigger classes generally mean fewer writing

home that coincides with your vision of what

assignments and more multiple-choice exams.

you want to do or where you want to go, and

Through the Global Learning initiative,

This summer, the university began hiring more

FIU provides a clear path along the way, you

all undergraduates are taking courses that

instructors who can teach writing within each

tend to get there,” Robertson said. “Students

help them develop global awareness, a

academic discipline, said Becerra-Fernandez.

will feel a sense of being informed and directed

global perspective, and an attitude of global

and supported all the time.”

engagement. The courses are complemented

Beyond that, she said, FIU needs to explore

perspectives.

with co-curricular activities such as Diversity

technology and peer-review programs that can assist faculty and students. The university has

Understanding diverse perspectives

Week, which this year had programs on

formed a task force that is preparing a report

FIU students stood out against the national

immigration, religion, gender issues, racial

on how FIU can improve writing outcomes.

“We are going to be very creative,” she said.

average when it comes to diversity. The

justice and disabilities.

responses reveal that meaningful diversity

“Our students need to be able to learn how

experiences are embedded into the entire

Building campus life

to effectively put their thoughts into written

educational experience at FIU, from social

With only 13 percent of students living on

communication.”

encounters to classroom assignments.

The Writing Center is initiating a new Writing

“Diversity here is not only about ethnicity,

campus, FIU remains a commuter school.

That’s typical for an urban university in a major

Fellows program that trains undergraduates

but socio-economic diversity and diversity

city. However, FIU students spend more hours

to be writing tutors. Those tutors are assigned

in terms of perspective,” said Becerra-

on the road than students around the country.

to classes where they work with students on

Fernandez. “It’s wonderful that we rank

They also work more and spend more time

10 | FALL 2011

project FIU students Michael Finch, Donna Duggins and Jamaal Ephriam work on a group for their spring class, Visual Design for Media. (Right) Honors College public relations major Donna Duggins takes the FIU bus back and forth between MMC and BBC.

persistent and graduate,” she said. “We also

our students start arriving at 8 or 9 p.m. and

know that by being engaged they have a greater

are here until midnight. So many of them are

students in campus life. Nearly 85 percent of

likelihood of being involved in things that will

working, but they can come after work.”

FIU freshmen and seniors surveyed spend less

make them a more holistic person – music, art,

than five hours a week participating in co-

athletics – things they discover here.”

taking care of family.

All of this makes it difficult to engage

curricular activities.

One solution is to offer more student housing.

Offering more on-campus jobs provides still more opportunities to help students. FIU is making strides in on-campus employment.

Consider the schedule Donna Duggins kept

FIU will be doubling the number of on-campus

Last spring, FIU and Florida Power & Light

all spring. On Mondays and Wednesdays, the

residences in the next 10 years to 6,000 beds.

opened an on-campus call center that employs

South Miami resident drove her 1997 Nissan

Even then, less than 20 percent of students will

FIU students.

Sentra to MMC, attended one class, and then

live on campus.

hopped on the shuttle to BBC for two more

Jones says the university has to be innovative

“One of the best things is working on campus, unlike other jobs where you have to

classes. Hours clocked in traffic: 3. Hours in

about providing nearby off-campus housing.

sacrifice your school schedule in order to go to

class: 4.5.

“In many urban institutions, there are no

work,” said FIU student Manuel Niño, an FPL

boundaries,” she said. “The question this raises

customer care center representative.

On Fridays, Duggins spent more time commuting than in class. Tuesdays, Thursdays,

is what other kinds of partnerships do we

Saturdays and Sundays were spent working.

develop in terms of housing?”

“I really like FIU,” said Duggins, “I just wish

Other solutions come through creative

Duggins works to pay her bills – car insurance, phone, clothing. She doesn’t want to ask her parents for money. Even with her full-

I had more time for campus life because I’m

programming. For instance, says Jones,

time job, she has maintained a 3.78 GPA. She

proud to be a Panther.”

Students Affairs is decentralizing programs so

keeps her eye on her goal – graduating – as she

that activities can take place in the academic

sticks to the hour-by-hour plans she has spelled

rounded college experience is a continual

buildings where students take classes. They

out in her pink and green planner with the word

challenge, said Jones.

have also modified the hours of student

“DREAM” drawn across it.

Helping students like Duggins have a well-

“We want to have the students engaged because we know the data shows the students who are engaged tend to be much more

activities.

“A lot of programs are in the evenings,” she said. “If you come in on a Thursday evening

Sissi Aguila ’99, MA ’08, and Martin Haro ’05 contributed to this story.

FALL 2011 | 11

12 | FALL 2011

FALL 2011 | 13

By Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 Most people don’t like what Professor Richard Olson has to say.

Spend a little time talking to him about disasters and you’ll leave with a real sense of foreboding. However, when you contemplate the wreckage that remains from the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the political, economic and public health fallout of Japan’s 2011 triple disaster, it’s easy to conclude that he’s right. Governments around the world need to get serious about reducing vulnerability to disasters, or we all will suffer.

Olson is chair of the Department of Politics and International Relations in the School of International and Public Affairs and an internationally recognized disaster expert who has witnessed the aftermath of more than a dozen major disasters. Lately, world events have been keeping him really busy. After the Haiti and Chile disasters of 2010, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington asked him to keynote their March 2011 “Disasters Roundtable” on the lessons from those two events – to which he added the still ongoing earthquake disaster in Christchurch, New Zealand. This estimable invitation was followed by a United Nations invitation to attend their Global Assessment on Risk in June.

14 | FALL 2011

At FIU, Olson leads a $4.5 million USAID project called Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas that’s working with communities, groups, universities and governments in Chile, Peru, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean. The project, which is housed in FIU’s Latin American and Caribbean Center, involves more than a dozen FIU researchers and facilities. The aim is to get ahead of what Olson fears is coming – disasters of an impact not seen in modern times – through smarter land use planning, building standards and alert-warning systems.

Recent events would suggest that disaster risk reduction can’t happen fast enough, particularly in vulnerable cities around the world. FIU Magazine sat down with Olson recently to talk disaster and learn about his work in Latin America.

What’s your assessment of the Japan disaster?

This was a monster earthquake.

A 9.0 event is pretty much beyond what most scientists and engineers would say you have to plan against, even in Japan. It was a compound or cascading disaster, with an earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear/ radiologic event. Still, 98 percent of the population in the principal impact areas survived. Given the vulnerability and the 9-point earthquake that initiated all this, it could have been so much worse. And worse is coming.

We have to start, and start now, being more honest about what we’re facing.

What do you mean worse is coming?

Well, we had a global population of about 2 billion in 1900, and they were mostly rural. We’ve now put 7 billion people on the planet, the majority now in cities, some of them very exposed. And the 21st century is when we are going to pay the bills

may sound cold, but I would work on

true safety for everyone, but in the real world

for the 20th century’s population explosion,

building standards for new construction,

the best we can aim for is limited loss.

stupid land use, shoddy construction, and

strengthening existing structures and

generally unsafe urban growth. My own

revisiting land use so that no more than

What kind of response do you get from

personal nightmare scenario is for a highly

1 percent of a city’s population is killed in

people in South and Central America when

vulnerable city with more than 10 million

a disaster. Of course, that would still be

you make these suggestions?

people where we could end up having a

100,000 killed in a city of 10 million, but

million killed and seriously injured.

The experts, our colleagues, know. The

it sure beats a million killed and seriously

problem is with political and economic

injured, don’t you think?

elites who by and large can’t see beyond a few years, a decade or two at most,

Come on, one million casualties?

What is your project doing to help minimize

which is nothing in nature’s clock. There are

Port-au-Prince’s population killed. That’s

the vulnerabilities in Latin America and the

exceptions, but they are too few, too few.

obscene, but if you think that was bad, just

Caribbean?

Look at Haiti, that was 8 to 10 percent of

wait. I worry every day about Lima-Callao

It all starts with risk awareness, followed

Other than California’s earthquakes and

with its 10-plus million people and Istanbul

by more rigorous and risk-sensitive land

South Florida’s hurricanes, isn’t the United

with 12-plus million.

use and building standards. We are

States pretty safe from disaster?

working with our partners in Latin America

Not so much. Look at the recent floods and

This sounds like a lost cause. Can cities

and the Caribbean on those very issues,

the worst tornadoes in half a century across

with millions of people ever prepare for

along with improved alert and evacuation

the heartland, and we are at the 200th

these disasters?

systems. Again it may sound cold, but the

anniversary of the greatest earthquake in

Yes, but we have to get real about the

whole idea is to take potential losses down

North American history – with the epicenter

vulnerabilities and have the political and

from the catastrophic to more manageable,

in Missouri of all places. The New Madrid

economic courage to reduce them. It

emergency-type levels. We will never get to

earthquakes of 1811-1812 there rang Continues next page

FALL 2011 | 15

A woman and her daughter search through the devastation for their belongings following the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Japan. Associated Press photo.

Continued

church bells in Philadelphia and were felt in New Orleans. It caused the Mississippi River to run upstream. Oh yes, and let’s not forget the Pacific Northwest, which has a major earthquake fault offshore in Seattle-Tacoma much like the one in Sendai, Japan. And you know that beautiful mountain to the east that frames the skyline of Seattle so nicely? It’s a volcano.

I’m afraid to ask you about Miami’s vulnerabilities.

Hurricanes are obviously our biggest hazard, with wind, storm surge, rain, and flooding.

But look at what we have put in the path of a potential Category 5 hurricane: billions of dollars of real estate on barrier islands. Think about that the next time you’re in South Beach. How dumb is that? And don’t forget terrorist attacks in South Florida. Many of the terrorists for 9-11 had Florida drivers’ licenses. What if they had chosen a more local set of targets?

Are you being a bit alarmist?

I am way past alarm. I really don’t like the idea of my grandchildren going through some mega-disasters and then saying, ‘Gee, we thought grandpa and his generation were supposed to be smart, what were they 16 | FALL 2011

thinking back then?’ If we don’t make a major concerted effort to reduce vulnerabilities, we’re going to get shellacked. That’s what we have not gotten through our heads.

Haiti’s National Palace was almost completely destroyed after the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

Now I’ve got that REM song “It’s the End of the World” playing in my head. But I don’t feel fine.

I was once a normal political scientist, but that ended with the 1972 Managua earthquake, the 1976 great earthquake in Guatemala, and the volcanic eruption that wiped out Armero, Colombia, in 1985. You never see things the same after those kinds of field experiences.

What should the United States be learning from these disasters?

We have to see our vulnerabilities. We need to look very carefully at long-term threats and think in terms of 200 to 500 years with major U.S. cities including Memphis, St. Louis, Boston and New York, not just the usual Los Angeles and San Francisco. My fear is that we are not going to wake up. We are going to keep thinking of them as one-off events, but in the larger picture they are not. Some time in the next 300 years could be this afternoon, in a lot of places.

Is there any good news here?

Some, not a lot. We do build better, and we have much better warning systems for tropical storms, floods and even famine. Globally, lives lost to disaster have gone down, but property damage has gone up. My worry is that without systematic vulnerability reduction, the lives lost globally will start ticking upwards again. More broadly, disaster reconstruction is often an economic opportunity for some, and nature seems intent on giving us a chance to redo a lot of our cities. Sorry, that’s cynical and dark, isn’t it?

FALL 2011 | 17

Photos by Charles Ludeke

A WINNING RECIPE FIU alumnus Anthony Leone’s healthy fast-food restaurant is poised to become a household name

By Sissi Aguila ’99, MA ’08

We’ve all read the restaurant horror stories. You think you’re

The first Energy Kitchen opened in 2003. Today, it is poised

eating healthy and it turns out that chicken wrap has more fat

to become a household name. Leone has more than 70 in

than a Big Mac.

development across the country. Fellow FIU alumnus Justo Luis

One day, after watching a New York City diner cook drench his egg white omelet in oil, Anthony Leone ’91 said no more. He realized it was reasonable to expect seemingly healthy food – like

Pozo III has purchased six franchises for South Florida. The first opens in Pinecrest this year.

“I’m an innate entrepreneur,” says Leone. “I like to think

a chicken wrap – to be, well, healthy. He wanted to know what

outside the box. There was nothing out there at the time like what

was in his food, too. If that egg white omelet had been cooked

we’re doing.”

behind closed doors, he’d never have known how much saturated fat and calories were secretly being packed into his meal.

The FIU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management graduate came up with a concept for a new restaurant – one that seems almost a contradiction – healthy fast food. It would operate

Leone believes “fast food” doesn’t have to be “fat food.”

Everything on the menu is grilled, baked or steamed and never fried. And the kitchen is wide open so patrons can see how their meals are prepared.

You can’t make “bad” choices at Energy Kitchen. Right there on

with total transparency and everything on the menu, from burgers

the menu, customers can see how many calories are in their bison

to fries, would be less than 500 calories.

cheesesteak wrap and the complete nutritional information.

18 | FALL 2011

432 cal

Thai Chicken Wrap With a Supreme Sirloin Burger even Ronald McDonald would enjoy, taste has

voted on Energy Kitchen.

Recently Leone partnered with Mike

465 cal Supreme Sirloin Burger strength. My strength is managing people.”

Energy Kitchen office manager Veleniss

not been sacrificed. The “healthy casual

Repole, the co-founder and former

Inoa says Leone’s passion is contagious.

dining” restaurant has gained a cult

president of Glacéau VitaminWater. Repole,

“He has a great heart. He’s a firm

following among New Yorkers, including

a longtime customer, told Leone he wanted

believer in the brand and he’s made us all

celebrities Hugh Jackman, Uma Thurman

to be a part of the next billion-dollar brand:

believers.”

and Nicole Kidman.

Energy Kitchen.

Using his culinary background from FIU,

Repole, who now owns a slight majority

Leone developed most of the items on the

of the company, has helped make it more

Longtime customer Dave Gise says if he could eat at Energy Kitchen seven days a week, he would. The personal trainer adds,

menu in his kitchen by trial

“This is how I instruct my clients

and error. But the industrious

to eat!”

Leone is quick to point out that his success is a product of adjusting course when necessary and listening to the right people.

When the Queens, N.Y.,

“At FIU I learned management.

My strength is managing people.”

Pozo, the owner of the Pinecrest Energy Kitchen, is exploring five other South Florida locations in Aventura, Bal Harbour, Coral Gables, Midtown and South Miami. He learned about Energy Kitchen

native first started his

while he was looking to start

business, the focus was on smoothies. As winter approached, he

trendy and brought in a marketing firm to

a business in the healthy-eating market.

realized no one would buy smoothies in a

re-energize the brand. The walls of the chic

Pozo immediately flew up to New York to

foot of snow. So he made food the focus.

franchises are peppered with mottos like:

meet the founder not knowing he was an

The restaurant was first named Liquid

All calories are not created equal; Better

FIU grad as well.

Lab. Everyone thought it was a juice bar

burgers no longer a fat chance.

or a liquor store, says Leone. So he did a

Leone says success is about surrounding

Pozo knew right away he wanted to be a part of Leone’s vision for healthy fast food.

college branding exercise and offered free

yourself with the right people. “At FIU, I

For Leone, Energy Kitchen is more than a

lunch for a month to the customer who

learned management. Did I take cooking

business. It’s a mission: “I want to change

came up with a name. Loyal customers

courses? Absolutely. But it’s not my

the eating habits of America.”

FALL 2011 | 19

Angela K. Salmon was featured in FIU’s Worlds Ahead ad series in The Miami Herald in May. To see the whole series, visit go.fiu.edu/facultyads

20 | FALL 2011

Photo by Angel Valentin

Angela K. Salmon Professor of Early Childhood Education College of Education

MY THINKING COMMUNITY A good teacher is always engaging children in thinking, fostering their curiosity and valuing their right to play. Big discoveries, big inventions come from people who were able to play. We need to teach children for a globally competitive world. That demands a lot of creativity, good communication,

thinking skills, and problem solving. If teachers have high expectations with young children, they will provide high-level thinking activities. I started Visible Thinking about eight years ago at FIU in my classes. After two years, the students who took this course came back and wanted to continue learning. We started a learning community with three students, and now we have 50 students and teachers. The first part of making thinking visible is to

unleash

children’s thinking. We capture evidence of their thinking with notes,

photos or video and then discuss how thinking is taking place in that activity.

This is the teacher-researcher perspective. Because young children are concrete learners and thinking is invisible, the teachers have to be creative.

For example, using a metaphor like a thinking key to tell the children:

unlock your thinking,”

“Let me

creates the disposition for thinking in a child. They

then become aware of their thinking and learn how to learn. We have found that by engaging children in high-level thinking they are learning to think globally. We use

children’s literature to awaken children’s desire to understand the world around them. They end up discussing peace and they make connections to their lives. They say, “People are fighting because they don’t know how to use their words.” What makes me proud is that we are building a thinking community. Students don’t graduate and say goodbye. That’s teaching – a lifelong learning experience.

Be WorldsAhead FALL 2011 | 21

Top row, from left: FIU President FIU Mark B. Rosenberg welcomes the audience gathered at the J.W. Marriott Marquis for the 10th Annual Torch Awards Gala. FIU Alumni Association Executive Director Bill Draughon (left) and Alumni Association President Jack González ’97 recognize Torch sponsor Kathryn Dinkin, former regional president, Southeast Florida, Wachovia, now Wells Fargo, for the company’s support of the event. Senior Vice President of FIU External Relations Sandra Gonzalez-Levy admires the art on auction. President Rosenberg, Gonzalez and Draughon present the FIU Service Award to Albert E. Dotson Sr. Bottom row: More than 500 people attended the Torch Awards, which opened with a cocktail reception.

Latin Grammy Award-winning flutist Nestor Torres provided the evening’s entertainment. Torch Committee Chair Lillian Chiu ’00 greets guests Roberto Smith and Torch Award recipient Anabella Smith ’81.Torch emcee Pamela Silva ’03 and Sylvia Pozo.

22 | FALL 2011

“The Torch Awards have always been great, but this year we outdid ourselves.”

Photos by Roldan Torres ’85 and Josh Ritchie

Alumni Association celebrates 10th Torch Awards in grand style

By Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 and Martin Haro ’05

F

or the past decade, the FIU Alumni

receiving this award? I’m really honored,” said

memorabilia. The awards ceremony was

Association has hosted the university’s

Monique Hamaty-Simmonds ’96, president

hosted by Univision Primer Impacto co-anchor

signature event of the year, bringing

and CEO of Tortuga Imports and recipient of

Pamela Silva ’03, a Lifetime Member of the

together outstanding alumni, faculty, staff

the Charles E. Perry Young Alumni Visionary

Alumni Association and Emmy Award-winning

and university leaders for an unforgettable

Award. “It’s so nice to be here with family.

graduate of the School of Journalism and

celebration.

I’ve seen a few friends that I graduated with.

Mass Communication.

To mark the 10-year anniversary of the Torch Awards Gala this year, the Alumni Association went downtown and all out,

People I don’t know have been congratulating me as well. I’m really humbled by it.”

“It’s a great feeling,” said honoree Alfredo

bringing the event to Brickell

Latin Grammy Award-winning flutist Nestor Torres, who recently joined the FIU School of Music, performed along with his new Charanga Music Ensemble.

Avenue and infusing the

“The evening is great,” said

evening with plenty of Miami

Community Service Award

glamour. With 550 guests,

winner Stan Hills ’86, chief of

it was the biggest Torch

Marine Services for Miami-Dade

Awards ever.

Fire Rescue. “I love Nestor Torres

“The Torch Awards have

and it was a highlight to see him

always been great but this

playing. I didn’t realize he was in

year we outdid ourselves,”

the School of Music.”

said FIU Alumni Association

Hills recalled FIU’s early days

President Jack González

when there were only a few

’97. “This is a blast – a

buildings on campus and there

sophisticated, big-deal

was always plenty of parking.

event.”

“It’s amazing how much FIU has

The Torch-winning alumni,

changed and grown,” he said.

of course, are the real stars

“FIU’s best days are still ahead

of the evening. More than 150 Panthers have

Cepero ’88, MAcc. ’90, an audit partner at

of it. The kids at FIU now are going to make a

been recognized since the first ceremony in

BDO. “I’m honored and humbled. There are

big difference in the future. It will be like UCLA

2000.

so many deserving alumni every year, so I’m

is to Los Angeles.”

This year’s 18 alumni hailed from South Florida, New York City, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Alabama and Jamaica.

very happy to receive this award. I’m thrilled to be here.”

Joyce Elam, executive dean of the College

Since the seventh annual gala – when FIU’s first First Lady Betty Perry ’74 surprised the crowd by pledging $10,000 toward the

Among them: the CEO of Sandals Resorts

of Business Administration, noted that Torch

Alumni Center and prompted a flurry matching

International, a scholar who has been called

alumni like Cepero are leaders who take the

donations – Torch has served as a fundraiser

the world’s most important female economist

time to support their university.

for the new FIU Alumni Center. This year, the

and the senior vice president of TeleFutura.

“Alfredo symbolizes what we want our

Alumni Association introduced the latest in

graduates to become,” she said. “He’s very

interactive fundraising by inviting everyone to

an opportunity to be recognized for their

supportive of the School of Accounting and

donate $10 by texting “ALUMNI” to 27722. In

achievements and to reconnect with the

has been very willing to give back to us.”

total, the 2011 Torch Awards raised $70,000

For the honorees, the Torch Awards are

university.

“Who would’ve thought I would be here 24 | FALL 2011

The evening began with a pre-ceremony silent auction of fine arts and sports

for the Alumni Center.

The Torch Awards and the FIU Alumni

2011

TORCH AWARDS Gala

Photo by Roldan Torres ’85

Center both provide opportunities for alumni to network and

emails from alumni like Justo Pozo ’80, congratulating organizers on

reconnect, said Lillian Chiu ’00, chair of the Torch Committee.

the “best ever.” Pozo was among the evening’s gold sponsors through

“Our goal is that our global alumni will continue to return to FIU and

his Preferred Care Partners. The Presenting Sponsor was Wachovia,

interact with students, develop new partnerships and do business

now Wells Fargo. Esserman International, Northwestern Mutual,

among themselves, all within the FIU Alumni Center,” said Chiu, who

GEICO and The Miami Herald also sponsored the 2011

will lead the 2012 Torch Committee with co-chair Elizabeth Cross.

Torch Awards.

“This year’s Torch Awards put us one step closer to that goal.”

In the days following the Torch Awards, Bill Draughon, the executive director of the FIU Alumni Association, said his inbox was flooded with

“There is no doubt in my mind this was the best one,” Draughon said. “I had a lot of people tell me it felt like the Academy Awards.

The question is, how are we going to beat this next year?”

FALL FALL 2011 | 25

2011 Torch Award winners: (Front row) Dr. Carmen M. Reinhart ’78; Adam Mark Stewart ’03; Cristine E. O’Hara ’99, MS ’04; Monique Hamaty-Simmonds ’96; Anabella Smith ’81; Javier Rodríguez, P.E. ’90 and Krista Casazza R.D., Ph.D. ’06. (Standing) Professor Steve Oberbauer; Stan Hills ’86; David Cohen, Esq. ’86; Alfredo N. Cepero ’88, MAcc. ’90; Capt. Jacinto J. Garrido ’86, MSN ’94; Tony E. Crapp Jr. ’95; Allan Phipps MS ’00; FIU President Mark Rosenberg; Rainier Gonzalez, Esq. ’95; Cesar A. Gonzalez, Esq. ’97; Dr. Alfredo J. Hernandez ’96; Albert E. Dotson Sr. and E.R. Bert Medina ’84.

2011 Torch

CHARLES E. PERRY YOUNG ALUMNI VISIONARY AWARD

Monique Hamaty-Simmonds ’96 President and CEO Tortuga Imports, Inc. COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD Tony E. Crapp Jr. ’95 GrayRobinson, PA Governmental consultant Former Miami city manager Stan Hills ’86 Chief of Marine Services Miami-Dade Fire Rescue

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Dr. Carmen M. Reinhart ’78 Dennis Weatherstone senior fellow The Peterson Institute for International Economics

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS College of Arts & Sciences Allan Phipps MS ’00 Teacher at South Plantation High School

FIU SERVICE AWARD Albert E. Dotson Sr. Chair, FIU Board of Trustees September 2009 – March 2011 Board of Trustees member July 2001 – March 2011 FIU Foundation Board 1983 - 2001

College of Architecture + The Arts Anabella Smith ’81 Principal and director of interior design, Zyscovich Architects

Athletics David Cohen, Esq. ’86 Executive VP and general counsel, The New York Mets College of Business Administration Alfredo N. Cepero ’88, MAcc. ’90 Assurance partner, BDO College of Education Cristine E. O’Hara ’99, MS ’04 Teacher at Palmetto Middle School

Awardees

Photo by Roldan Torres ’85

College of Engineering and Computing Javier Rodríguez, P.E. ’90 Executive director Miami-Dade Expressway Authority The Honors College Cesar A. Gonzalez, Esq. ’97 Chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart Outstanding Faculty Award Professor Steve Oberbauer Department of Biological Sciences

Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work Krista Casazza R.D., Ph.D. ’06 Assistant professor University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Journalism and Mass Communication E.R. Bert Medina ’84 Senior vice president and operations manager, TeleFutura

College of Law Rainier Gonzalez, Esq. ’95 Chairman and CEO The Pacer Corporation College of Nursing and Health Sciences Capt. Jacinto J. Garrido ’86, MSN ’94 Chief of Special Operations Department of Homeland Security- Health Services

Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Dr. Alfredo J. Hernandez ’96 FIU professor of gastroenterology and senior partner, Pedro J. Greer Jr. MD and Associates School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Adam Mark Stewart ’03 CEO of Sandals Resorts International

SPRING 2011winner. | 27 Scan these codes with your smart phone to watch a video interview with each Torch

FIU is fast building one of the country’s top programs for treating children’s anxiety and phobias, depression, behavior disorders, ADHD and more “Adam is a mild case and as soon as we put him on a low dose

By JoAnn Adkins To his parents, Adam Hanson was a normal, happy kid. Fun-loving and easygoing. But two years ago, his first-grade teacher expressed concern. Adam would fidget. He didn’t always focus. One time, in class, he removed his shoe. And then spent several minutes fussing with it to put it back on. He could be impulsive.

The teacher suggested to his parents that Adam might have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

“We were surprised, because he never exhibited these types of symptoms at home,” said Lori Hanson, Adam’s mother and a licensed psychologist. “But when he’s at home, we don’t ask him to sit at a desk for hours at a time and concentrate.”

of the medication, the teacher was very happy,” Lori said. “We did the behavioral stuff at the time, but there weren’t a lot of programs in South Florida that work directly with the kids. They’re mostly for the parents. But the medication seemed to take care of most of his symptoms, so the teachers were happy. But we just felt like Adam wasn’t himself.”

Just a few miles away During that same time and just a few miles away, Florida International University clinical psychologist Wendy Silverman was exploring the next phase of her career.

Specializing in anxiety and

Lori, along with her husband,

phobias in children, Silverman

chose to be responsive and had Adam evaluated by a local psychologist in Miami. Adam was diagnosed with ADHD. The psychologist made several recommendations to help Adam, including medication and a reward system called a

“The idea is to make FIU the best place in the world to treat ADHD and other child mental health disorders.”

has achieved many milestones in her 30-year career (including 20 with FIU) developing proven methods for helping children cope with fear.

Silverman’s work has been published in top psychology

Daily Report Card. It’s a method

journals, and she even served as

developed by psychologist

editor of the Journal of Clinical

William E. Pelham Jr., who was a

Child and Adolescent Psychology.

faculty member at the State University of New York in Buffalo (SUNY)

She has written four books and more than 150 scientific papers. She

at the time.

is past president of the American Psychological Association’s Society

Lori went online to learn more about the center in Buffalo, including

of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Through it all, she has

its internationally renowned Summer Treatment Program. The

guided the careers of countless students who have gone on to also

intensive 8-week program helps children with ADHD learn how to

treat anxieties and phobias in children. Simply put, Silverman is a

thrive, teaching them how to communicate, concentrate and socialize

driving force in clinical child psychology.

in everyday situations. Lori thought about spending two months in

“Children are so vulnerable and so many are helpless in the

Buffalo so Adam could go through the program. But the logistics of it

circumstances they find themselves in,” Silverman said. “The idea that

quickly put that idea out of her mind.

I’ve been able to help children and that it has had long-term effects is Continues next page

FALL 2011 | 29

Continued

the goal of anyone in this field.”

But her many accomplishments weren’t enough to satisfy Silverman. She believed a

place in the world to treat ADHD and other

to be enrolled in Pelham’s Summer Treatment

child mental health disorders.”

Program when it officially launched in South

To create the program Silverman, Pelham,

Florida last year. His mother said the program

comprehensive clinical science program in

Levitt and Furton envisioned meant hiring

had a profound effect on Adam, and he no

child mental health and development — one

a cluster of experts, including seasoned

longer requires ADHD medication. While the

that treats anxiety and phobias, depression,

psychologists and psychiatrists as well as

STP is only an eight-week program, Adam

behavior disorders, ADHD and more — was

contemporary up-and-comers, and housing

continued to receive services provided

the obvious next step for FIU. Mary Levitt,

them in one comprehensive, interdisciplinary

by the Center for Children and Families

chair of the Department of Psychology,

center. Several ADHD experts were hired from

on weekends and during the school year,

agreed. So did College of Arts & Sciences

Pelham’s center in Buffalo. This includes

including in-school consultations with his parents, his teacher and an FIU psychologist.

Dean Kenneth Furton.

“As a trained psychologist, what really

“FIU has always had an excellent psychology program, but what was really

appealed to me is that the work being done at

missing was a Ph.D. program in clinical

FIU is evidence-based,” Lori said. “In ADHD,

science,” Furton said. “Expanding our clinical

Pelham’s work is actually what makes up a lot

and research programs in child psychology

the evidence in the field.”

In addition to Pelham’s Summer Treatment

really was the next step.”

However, such a venture requires more

Program and Silverman’s Child Anxiety and

than vision and leadership — it also requires

Phobia Program, numerous research studies

timing. Fortunately for Silverman and young

and educational outreach initiatives are under way, as well as clinical services for children

Adam Hanson, the timing was right.

James Waxmonsky, M.D., who conducts

with mental health and behavior problems.

William Pelham. Silverman and Pelham have

research in adolescent and pediatric

In the past year, FIU made offers to eight

long been friends and colleagues. Both

psychiatry, joining FIU through the Herbert

prospective graduate students to join the

are top experts in their fields, with Pelham

Wertheim College of Medicine’s Department

program. All eight accepted.

dedicating his work to researching and

of Psychiatry. Additional psychologists,

Silverman’s first inquiry was to SUNY’s

treating ADHD. Like Silverman, Pelham is a past president of the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. He also is a recipient of its 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Getting to work

“You expect anywhere between 50 to 70

specializing in depression, other behavior

percent will accept,” Silverman said. “This

disorders and preventative treatments, were

group had other offers, good offers. But

added from elsewhere.

people see what we’re doing here and know

By summer 2010, the FIU Center for

this is the place to be if you want to study

Children and Families (CCF) was taking

evidence-based practices in child mental

shape. On board were nine Ph.D.-level

health.”

faculty, two M.D.-level faculty, 15 graduate

Equally impressive to Silverman is the

trainees, five postdoctoral fellows and 10

speed and efficiency with which the program

research centers for ADHD in Tallahassee,

full-time research associates and numerous

was built out at FIU.

Pittsburgh and Buffalo, N.Y. He has studied

undergraduate trainees.

Pelham has founded evidence-based

“From the time we first started seriously talking about it until the time we were all

many aspects of the condition including

By the time CCF was up and running in

peer relationships, pharmacological and

2010, young Adam Hanson was in second

actually here working together was about

psychosocial treatments, motivation, family

grade.

two years,” she said. “In such a short time,

factors such as parental alcohol problems, and more. But the idea of a fully functional psychology clinic, one that treats more than

we have great colleagues collaborating, Having an impact “It’s a small-world phenomenon,” Lori

conducting research and developing treatments that will help kids. Almost

just ADHD, appealed to him. Pelham was

Hanson said. “I work at the Children’s Trust

overnight, we’ve become a national leader in

on board.

and [Pelham] was at one of our early learning

treating child mental health.”

To learn more about FIU’s Center for Children and Families, including services, current research studies recruiting for participants and educational opportunities, visit ccf.fiu.edu.

“It’s exciting to go some place and start

coalition meetings. He said he would be

a new program,” Pelham said. “FIU is the

moving to Miami. I thought, ‘Wow! I need to

perfect place to bring this program and make

talk to you about my son.’”

it bigger. The idea is to make FIU the best 30 | FALL SPRING 2011 2011

Adam Hanson was one of the first children

Practice Safe News

FIU’s news literacy courses featured in a new book about The New York Times and the future of journalism

By Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 On the morning of April 13, 2011, this post showed up in my Facebook feed.

In the FIU News & Communications office, my colleagues had figured out the post wasn’t “real.” More precisely, they figured out it wasn’t “true.” Judging from the tweets, reposts and calls to the university, the message was real enough for a whole lot of people. And that, it turns out, was precisely the point.

The Facebook post was an experiment by professor Fred Blevens’ Honors College news literacy class to test how much people believe what they read in social media and online.

Blevens is part of the national news literacy movement taking shape in universities around the country. His FIU news literacy courses are highlighted in a new, high-profile book about the future of journalism.

News literacy aims to give people in the digital age the critical thinking skills to distinguish between verifiable news, spin, advertising, entertainment, propaganda and raw information.

“It goes to the core of the consumer being overwhelmed and overpowered by the amount of information they consume every day,” Blevens said. “Social media is a bigger and bigger part of it as time goes on.”

The Honors College and the Global Learning courses Blevens designed are featured in the June 2011 book Page One: Inside The New York Times and the Future of Journalism, edited

by NPR reporter David Folkenflik. The book is the companion to the 2011 documentary Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times.

Folkenflik invited Blevens to contribute an essay about FIU’s news literacy efforts. The essay highlights “How We Know What We Know,” the information literacy course Blevens teaches as part of the Global Learning program.

It also describes how last year’s Honors College class initiated a news literacy program in Sweetwater.

“People need to have critical capacity to assess the news coverage they are being provided, and to say, ‘What is the validity and credibility of the information?’” Folkenflik said. “What Fred was doing is saying students can play a useful role in helping people understand this.”

The 15 students in Honors News Literacy weren’t sure what would happen after they simultaneously blasted the Obama link on Facebook on April 12. They sat in class that night and waited.

Within 20 minutes people were asking for commencement tickets.

There were more than 700 tweets on Twitter like this one, “Obama is speaking at FIU graduation babyyyy!!! Pow!” People rang the

President’s Office and the Provost’s Office asking questions. A Miami Herald editor called FIU Media Relations.

“Someone in Tampa texted me and said he was driving down,” said international relations major Julio Menache.

The students were sure that everyone would catch on if they clicked on the Obama link. It went to a website the students had created with several fake stories about FIU, including one that promised a $120 million water park on campus. The site resembled the FIU student media website but it read: Warning Proceed with Caution!

The attention grabber announced Obama had decided to speak at FIU’s commencement instead of Miami-Dade College’s. The comic story, written by a student, had some fun with Worlds Ahead.

“Had I known that FIU was worlds ahead, I wouldn’t have made such a commitment to Miami-Dade College,” the story quoted Obama as saying. “I can relate to their slogan because I am president of the United States today because I was worlds ahead of Clinton, McCain and Palin.”

The site got 5,600 hits in the 15 hours it was up. One friend of Blevens wrote on his Facebook page: “I must say, pretty crafty! The website looks real. I actually visited MDC’s and FIU’s websites to make sure if it was legit (after I posted it on my wall, LOL).”

Honors College Dean Lesley A. Northup said the class demonstrates how Honors seminars engage students in hands-on learning. “The website project combines the creative pedagogy, student-generated ideas, and pragmatic applicability of our courses,” she said. “It’s a showcase class that students love and that we’re very proud of.”

The experiment capped a year spent learning about news literacy.

“I didn’t know anything about this at all,” said international relations major Humberto Solano-Costa. “It’s made me wiser. I have a different perspective about what I read.”

News literacy was pioneered at Stony Brook University and is now being taught at about 20 universities around the country. A key concept is “actionable information,” or information you can act on. An example would be a forecast from the Weather Channel. The courses encourage students to verify information and teach them how to do so.

“Go check out the link. Don’t just pass it along or act on it,” Blevens said. “Don’t just take someone’s word for it, especially in social media and online media.”

The students in professor Fred Blevens’ (front, center) Honors News Literacy class: (Back row from left) Santiago Alonso, Georgia Cooling-Mallard, Arnedith Adarmes, Nelson Hernandez, Bryon Gaskin, Diana Moanga.

(Kneeling from left) Aldo Enderica, Humberto Solano-Costa, Adriana Gamboa, Ana Silva, Loretta Malik, Julio Menache.

FALL 2011 | 31

FIU President Mark Rosenberg was a guest at an FIU reunion this spring hosted by retired faculty member Judy Blucker (seated) and her partner Annette Gathright.

Founding faculty member

Judy Blucker helped build FIU and its women’s athletics programs. Now, she’s leaving a gift for future generations of female athletes.

32 | FALL 2011

Photo by Steve Floethe

The Team Builder in its administration. She gained a reputation

would never say, ‘You have to be there.’ She

as an executive who could step into

would say, ‘Barbara, does this interest you?’

launched in 1972 – the same year Congress

quagmires or conflicts and foster consensus

The person who would empty the wastepaper

enacted Title IX requiring equal opportunities

and enthusiasm. She could wield power

basket would say, ‘Dr. Blucker,’ and she’d

for college women to play sports – FIU

and project authority in a way that elevated

say, ‘Please, call me Judy.’”

athletics started with a handful of men’s

rather than diminished those who worked

intercollegiate squads and none for women.

for her. She was known as self-assured,

provost for academic affairs, executive vice

straightforward. Open to everyone’s opinion,

provost for academic administration, and

but decisive.

the university’s chief negotiator for collective

By Bryan Gilmer Though Florida International University

Judy Blucker, an assistant professor in the College of Education, wondered why not.

She played on a national champion Miami

“She took a lot of jobs nobody wanted,”

Blucker later served as executive vice

bargaining. She served as acting dean at

recreation softball team. As a Memphis State

said Honors College Fellow Steve Fain, like

different times of both the College of Health

undergrad, club volleyball and basketball

Blucker a founding faculty member. “She

and College of Education, tough assignments

had given her leadership and teamwork skills

was part of orchestrating the university.

with competing interests and factions.

she still uses daily. Men-only varsity sports

She’s a team player. She calls it a ball or a

seemed contrary to the progressive, inclusive

strike before she has a chance to think about

and do things,” says Rosa Jones, FIU’s vice

culture she loved at Miami’s upstart university,

whether she likes the pitcher.”

president of Student Affairs. “In new roles,

where the faculty played coed Friday-

In 1978, when she was the only woman

“All around, she has been willing to step in

she was able to learn because she’s a great

afternoon pickup volleyball on an asphalt

in the School of Education’s 17-man

listener. I think everyone feels she’s fair, but

parking lot on the west side of campus.

Department of Subject Specialization,

she has some high expectations. She’s been

a majority of Blucker’s colleagues

very good at helping to build the careers

Programs Office and “told the woman

recommended her to the dean to become

of both men and women, but especially

working there, ‘With Title IX coming on,

chair.

women.”

So she went to the FIU Equal Opportunity

we need to be offering women’s sports,’ ”

“When the dean told me that, I was quite

As interim dean of the College of Health

Blucker recalls. “She asked me what Title IX

surprised,” Blucker remembers. “I just kind

from 1994 to 1997 – a subject area only

was.” The incredulity still comes through in

of employed some of the skills I’d learned in

tangential to her own academic experience

Blucker’s voice.

coaching: Involve people. Share information.

– Blucker remembers that faculty responded

Have a collaborative experience instead of

to her willingness to listen and her openness

and soon, she was working with the athletic

just sending out memos demanding this

with information.

director to launch women’s varsity sports at

and that.”

Blucker went straight to the administration,

FIU, coaching volleyball and softball herself.

Success positioned her to become

Her masterstroke was to distribute to all faculty the details of the college’s budget, a

And very quickly, women’s golf gave FIU its

assistant dean for academic affairs in the

document already available at the library as

first famous pro athlete.

college and then acting vice president

a public record but which was perceived as a

of Student Affairs, working directly for

secret tool of power.

“Every time they would mention her on

“They had plenty of expertise in the latest

television, they would say, ‘Pat Bradley,

FIU President Gregory Wolfe. Soon after

graduate of Florida International University,’”

Modesto Maidique succeeded Wolfe, Blucker

health trends,” she says. “They needed

Blucker says. “And nobody knew what school

earned a promotion to vice provost with the

someone to help them reunite around the

that was.”

assignment to launch a new FIU campus in

common goals of the College of Health.”

And if you know the now retired Judy

Broward County.

In 2007, Blucker retired for the second

“I think she’s very empowering,” says

time (after the first, she returned as the chief

probably for something besides women’s

Barbara Bader, who worked with Blucker

negotiator for collective bargaining and then

sports.

on the initiative. “We started as colleagues,

acting education dean).

Blucker from her 35-year career at FIU, it’s

By 1980, she’d turned over all her coaching

and she got a promotion and I reported to

With time to golf and relax, she and her

duties to others to focus on what was to be

her for 14 years. If she wanted me to go to

partner, Annette Gathright, began planning

a legendary career on FIU’s faculty and then

an external meeting in the community, she

their estate. Gathright is a career educator Continues next page

FALL 2011 | 33

Continued who was an adjunct in FIU’s College of Education in those early years,

such a strong way after over three decades of commitment to FIU.

teaching elementary physical education and supervising student

What a reaffirmation of their journey.”

teachers.

They decided to leave a $1 million gift to FIU by establishing a dual

Giving back to FIU feels good, said Blucker. “The faculty who came to the new university in 1972 and stayed to build the university were

life insurance policy with FIU as the beneficiary. The gift will qualify for

provided with opportunities not available to them at more established

a state match, bringing the total to $2 million. The life insurance policy,

universities. There are a lot of us, 30 or 40 faculty, who have been at

which was created in cooperation with FIU’s Planned Giving Office in

FIU since the beginning, and I would hope they, too, would consider

the Division of University Advancement, allows Blucker and Gathright

giving back to the university.”

to spend their annuities and IRAs during their lifetimes while still providing a substantial gift to FIU. As much as FIU has grown since it and Judy Blucker started out together in 1972, such a bequest is the first for FIU faculty, a new marker of FIU’s progress.

And four decades later, the bequest is designated to keep open the very first opportunity Judy Blucker helped create at FIU. The gift will endow scholarships for female athletes.

For more information on how you can make a planned gift to FIU, visit go.fiu.edu/plannedgiving.

“This is a significant gift by any standard and is a high water benchmark for faculty generosity toward FIU,” says FIU President

Bryan Gilmer is a Durham, N.C., writer, author of the thriller novel Felonious Jazz

Mark Rosenberg. “My reaction was one of gratitude and thanksgiving,

and the forthcoming Book of Faces.

that Judy and Annette were willing to give back to the institution in 34 | FALL 2011

Location, Location, Location FIU is expanding across South Florida with new programs in business, international affairs, the arts and medicine. The high-profile locations on Brickell Avenue, South Beach and West Kendall add up to greater opportunities for students and the community.

South Beach 420 Lincoln Road

West Kendall FIU and West Kendall Baptist Hospital

South Beach will be home to studio and gallery space for music, art and

FIU’s partner in medicine and community health is the newly opened West Kendall Baptist Hospital, located in Miami Dade

Downtown 1101 Brickell Avenue

County’s growing Kendall suburb.

FIU will double the number of students

The FIU Herbert Wertheim College of

it serves downtown to more than 1,000

Medicine and West Kendall Baptist

with the opening of the new Brickell

have established an accredited family

Avenue facility. Those who work and

practice medical residency program that

live downtown can earn professional

combines Baptist’s medical experts with

graduate degrees from the College

technology and methods that can only

of Business Administration and the

be found in an academic atmosphere.

School of International and Public

The 133-bed hospital at 9555 S.W. 162

Affairs. Visit downtown.fiu.edu to see

Ave. is a teaching hospital with surgical,

the degree programs. With this move,

emergency, maternity and diagnostic

FIU is expanding its visibility – not

units. More than 100 Baptist Health

only locally, but globally. As the hub

physicians and administrators have

of Miami’s international business

accepted key positions within FIU’s

community, Brickell Avenue is bustling

medical school, including five department

with executives from around the world

chairs and two associate deans.

and FIU will be right there with them.

architecture students, as the FIU College of Architecture + The Arts Miami Beach Urban Studios takes up residence at 420 Lincoln Road. The 1940 Art Deco icon is just blocks from the New World Symphony, WolfsonianFIU and the Bass Art Museum. The new facility will house a design studio; a public art gallery; rehearsal and studio space; and an ensemble room that will enhance collaboration with the New World Symphony. The building is owned by former U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Paul L. Cejas, whose name graces the College’s School of Architecture building.

FALL 2011 | 35

Ready for more: #97 Tourek Williams, #71 Caylin Hauptmann, #28 Darriet Perry, #7 Jonathan Cyprien, #4 T.Y. Hilton, #13 Wesley Carroll, #27 Jose Cheeseborough

Out of the Shadows

FIU’s football team got everyone’s attention last season with its first championship and bowl win.

Now they are hungry for more.

Story by Pete Pelegrin ’96 and photos by Josh Ritchie

36 | FALL 2011

Walk into the FIU football offices and you are greeted by the sparkling gold 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Champions trophy and the 2010 Sun Belt Champion trophy. That’s the only taste of glory you’re going to get at FIU Stadium these days.

Head downstairs to Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium for a Panthers off-season workout and there are no reminders of the historic 2010 FIU football season. Instead, there’s sweat. On this early, humid, sweltering summer morning, the 2010 Sun Belt Champions are mercilessly running 110-yard sprints. That’s followed by team drills run by junior and senior players.

Working even harder – that’s how a team that’s just emerged into the spotlight takes it to the next level. All eyes will be on FIU this season as it looks to solidify its place at the top. The team faces a challenging non-conference schedule and knows every Sun Belt team will be looking to knock them down. The players say they are ready to defend their title starting Sept. 1 with the season and home-opening kickoff against North Texas.

Continues next page

FALL 2011 | 37

Continued

“We demand so much more of ourselves

against Central Florida (Sept. 17) and Duke (Oct.

has been phenomenal for recruiting. Prospects

because we know what we’re capable of,” senior

1). ESPN will televise the Panthers’ first road

all over the country no longer have to worry

quarterback Wesley Carroll said. “You have to

game of 2011 when FIU plays at Louisville on

about their families being able to watch them

set the bar higher. The standards here at FIU are

Sept. 9. And like the Pizza Bowl last Dec. 26, the

play, for they will be on national television on

higher than they ever have been.”

games on Oct. 18 (at Arkansas State) and Oct.

multiple occasions.”

Although the 2010 season will always be

25 (vs. Troy) will be the only football games being

Selected as one of the premier adidas schools

special for FIU, the Panthers are only looking

played on those respective nights. Both those

in the nation, the Panthers will don new seamless

forward.

Tuesday night games will be carried by ESPN2.

uniforms made by adidas this season. FIU will

“It’s the first time that FIU football has

still wear two sets of jerseys and pants: one

achieved true success. It has made us

midnight blue and the other white.

hungrier,” said Head Coach Mario Cristobal.

While the uniforms will be new, the

“We continually demand more of ourselves.

Panthers will field a veteran team in 2011.

The 2010 season is in the history books.

FIU has 14 seniors and 27 juniors on this

We are completely focused on being an

year’s roster. The majority of those 41

improved football team in 2011. We will

players have played all 25 games the last

maintain the attitude of being the ‘hunter.’”

two seasons.

Since they joined the Sun Belt Conference

The offense will feature senior starters

in 2005, the Panthers have had their target

at the skill positions with Carroll, Perry,

set on perennial conference powers Troy

receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jonathan

and Middle Tennessee. FIU had been

Faucher. The offensive line, which anchored

chasing a Sun Belt title the last five years

FIU’s most prolific rushing season in

until the Panthers went into Troy’s home

2010 with 2,438 yards, returns most of its

stadium and knocked the crown off the

core. Ceedrick Davis replaces Brad Serini

2009 champion Trojans last fall.

at center. Both Cedric Mack and Serini

Still, last season’s 7-6 record leaves plenty

graduated.

of room for improvement. Among the team’s

On defense, the Panthers will be led by

goals is to become a more balanced and

new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando,

explosive offense and to improve its record

who replaces Geoff Collins. He inherits a

in and out of conference.

burgeoning defensive line led by Tourek

“We’re going to build off of last year,”

Williams and Josh Forney. FIU will need to

senior running back Darriet Perry said. “This

replace Toronto Smith at linebacker and

year has to be better.”

Anthony Gaitor at cornerback, both of

Finishing atop the Sun Belt and playing an

whom graduated. Gaitor was also drafted

exciting brand of athletic, explosive football

by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

that was on full display in the rousing

Cristobal has told his team to adopt the

34-32 Pizza Bowl win, the Panthers caught the

The six national TV games mean a lot for the

mantra of being “1-0” every day in practice and

attention of national television networks for this

university, Cristobal said. The exposure opens

in every game. In other words, win each practice

coming season. FIU will have six of its first eight

doors to a new set of recruiting grounds.

and win each game.

games on national TV, starting with the season opener against North Texas.

The other six FIU games could be picked up by

“A successful football program becomes

“Every victory gets exponentially harder

the window to the university,” he said. “Being

because now you have been recognized as a

selected to play on national television is a

team that has won a championship,” Cristobal

other networks, including the Sun Belt Network,

tremendous honor. It validates our growth as

said. “We started our warm-ups four years ago

which televised five FIU games in 2010.

a program and increases our momentum as

with 10 ‘Champions’ [jumping jacks]. That now

ESPN3 will carry the Thursday, Sept. 1 game

people all over the country will be exposed to a

means something. It has been validated and you

against the Mean Green along with home games

new brand of football. The increased exposure

must uphold that.”

38 | FALL 2011

Home field named after alumnus David F. Alfonso family Alumnus David F. Alfonso ’96 has a prediction for FIU graduates who have never been to an FIU football game: “Come to the first game on Sept. 1, and you will come to all the rest.”

When you do, you’ll be watching FIU’s champion football team play on the newly named Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium. Alfonso and the FIU Athletic Department announced the five-year naming rights for the home field last spring.

“Although this is incredibly fulfilling for our family, this is solely about FIU and the path our athletic program is on to becoming national contenders,” said Alfonso, the chairman and chief executive officer of Empire Investment Holdings. “Support from alumni and friends keeps the university moving forward. Our support further inspires student-athletes, coaches and staff who work so hard to represent FIU with distinction and to engender a great sense of pride and excitement.”

Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment Pete Garcia praised the support the Alfonso family has shown to Athletics. In addition to the naming gift for the field, Alfonso is a donor to the Living Scholar program, which helps support scholarships for student-athletes.

“This is a perfect example of the commitment needed to build a winning program,” Garcia said. “David’s vision is on par with what we are looking to accomplish here at FIU. It only seems fitting that his name be associated with the athletic program. Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium continues to be the crown jewel of FIU Athletics.”

Alfonso is a Lifetime Member of the Alumni Association and a member of the FIU Foundation Board of Directors. During the spring 2011 College of Business Administration commencement, President Mark B. Rosenberg awarded Alfonso the FIU Medallion honoring him as “one of South Florida’s leading businessmen, proud and generous FIU alumnus and exemplary role model for our community.”

In accepting the FIU Medallion, Alfonso told the graduates to “never forget how much this university did for you.” He worked full-time while he finished his degree in international relations and more than a decade passed before he returned to campus in 2008. The university he saw “truly provoked a feeling that you get when you visit any other nationally respected university that carries strong traditions and a loyal following.”

“We all share the same responsibility – that is, to recognize how important our role is to provide ongoing support through time and treasury,” he told the graduates.

Athletics, Alfonso said, are a key ingredient in maintaining that connection between graduates and the university. Alfonso brings his whole family – wife Linda and two daughters Madison and Victoria – to FIU football games.

“They love coming to the games,” he said. “It really is a family environment and a lot of fun.

I encourage our alumni and friends to come out and see it for themselves. There is no reason why this stadium can’t be filled completely considering most of my fellow alumni reside right here in South Florida.”

Tailgating: The Alumni Association Panther Pit Tailgates start two hours before kickoff at every home game. The Tailgate Village, which debuted last season, is back with music, food, activities for kids, games, prizes, bounce houses and the iconic Panther Arch in Lot 6 next to the stadium. Everyone is welcome.

Sept. 17 vs. Central Florida, 6 p.m., ESPN3. This will be the first of four scheduled games between the intrastate rivals with two games in Miami and two in Orlando in the next four years. FIU and UCF tend to compete for the same recruits, so the winner of this game could gain an upper hand in the recruiting battle. The Panthers and the Knights never played before on the gridiron.

Here’s the lineup of home games:

Sept. 24 vs. Louisiana, time and TV are TBA. After losing the first six games against the Ragin’ Cajuns, the Panthers won the last two contests. The last time this Sun Belt rival visited FIU Stadium, FIU won 20-17 in overtime in 2009.

The Cajuns come to Miami with a new coach, Mark Hudspeth, after long-time coach Ricky Bustle was let go last season. FIU won in the Lafayette, 38-17, in 2010.

Sept. 1 vs. North Texas, 7 p.m., ESPN3. The Panthers open their 10th season of football against a familiar foe in the Mean Green. FIU has won the last four meetings with UNT, including a 34-10 win last season in Denton, Texas. There have been some memorable games in the series with the teams playing the longest game in college football history in 2006, a seven-overtime, 25-22, Mean Green win. FIU defeated UNT 38-19 in 2007 in the final college football game in the Orange Bowl.

Oct. 1 vs. Duke, 6 p.m., ESPN3. It’s Homecoming at FIU Stadium and the Duke Blue Devils are the opponent. The Blue Devils are coming off a 3-9 season and have one of the best

offenses in the ACC. FIU and Duke have never met in any of the three major sports (football, baseball, basketball).

Oct. 25 vs. Troy, 8 p.m., ESPN2. It’s a rematch of the two best teams in the Sun Belt Conference. FIU knocked out Troy 52-35 and took the Sun Belt Championship last season from the Trojans in Alabama. The spotlight will shine on FIU Stadium for this Tuesday night as it will be the only game played in America on this day. It will also be the second consecutive Tuesday night that the Panthers are on national TV as FIU plays at Arkansas State the week before.

Nov. 12 vs. Florida Atlantic, time and TV are TBA. The 10th annual Don Shula Bowl brings the Panthers’ most bitter rival to FIU Stadium. The Owls took care of the Panthers 21-9 last season at Lockhart Stadium and led the Shula Bowl series, 8-1. FIU’s lone win came in 2005, a 52-6 dismantling of FAU where FIU tied an NCAA record with four interceptions returned for touchdowns.

For the full football schedule visit go.fiu.edu/ football2011 SPRING 2011 | 39

40 | FALL 2011

If you were looking for T.Y. Hilton this offseason as he prepared for his upcoming senior season you were likely to find him on the beach or with his parents and son.

Hilton, one of the top players in college football and a possible Heisman Trophy candidate, wasn’t taking it easy. Rather, he was doing his own kind of training.

“I would hit the track with my mom [Cora, a softball player] and we would condition,” Hilton said. “I practiced with my father [T.Y., Sr., a former high school receiver] and with some of my friends from my optimist football days. I pushed myself more than ever this off-season.”

The family training even included T.Y.’s son, who plays pee-wee football, and plenty of time running on the beach.

Hilton has had many memorable moments in his first three years at FIU. He delivered on his promise of scoring a touchdown the first time he touched the ball in college football. He did so against Kansas in 2008. He twice defeated Arkansas State with last minute touchdowns – the second score clinched the 2010 Sun Belt Championship for FIU. At the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, Hilton told a teammate that he would return a kickoff for a touchdown. Hilton did so and fueled an FIU comeback that led to a 34-32 win over Toledo in the Panthers first-ever bowl game.

Hilton has accomplished more in three years than most college players do in four years, yet he’s not satisfied.

“I want to come back and help my teammates

and this great coaching staff try and win another championship and another bowl game,” he said.

The Panthers are elated to have Hilton back as they try to repeat as Sun Belt Champions and win another bowl game.

“You are fortunate if you can coach a guy like that in your lifetime,” FIU Head Coach Mario Cristobal said. “His DNA is to compete and find ways to win at the highest level against all odds.”

There is more to Hilton that has made him the face of FIU football. His involvement in the football team’s community services projects is “second to none,” Cristobal said.

“His mother, Cora, and father, T.Y. Sr., have instilled tremendous core values and principles in him and he really exemplifies that in the way he lives and carries himself,” the coach said.

“He has become the face of FIU football and a tremendous role model for our community.”

When you have as much success as Hilton, you become a target, Cristobal said.

“He understands that and he feeds off the challenge,” he said. “I think the perception out there is that because he has become a great player, he’s always wearing a bull’s eye on his jersey. I think it’s more important to point out that T.Y. is the type of player that is always on the attack.”

That voracious appetite had Hilton seek out FIU quarterback Wesley Carroll this off-season. The receiver and the quarterback began preparing for the 2011 season shortly after the Panthers returned from Detroit, Michigan, after winning the Pizza Bowl.

Most quarterbacks and receivers usually just throw the ball around in the off-season, but Hilton and Carroll spoke every day, watched enough game film to start their own film festival and, of course, threw the football.

Besides being one of the most athletic and electric players in college football, Hilton is a student of the game. He is as quick to break down a defense and as he is to outrun a defense with his 4.2 speed.

“He’s one of those receivers, which you love as quarterback, where he will come to you and he just won’t tell you he is open,” Carroll said.

“He will tell you what he sees in the defense and say something specific about the coverage and tell you what he is going to specifically do on his route. And he’s a guy you listen to because he knows what he is talking about.”

Already the owner of many FIU receiving records and the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year, Hilton is being mentioned as a possible candidate for the Heisman Trophy, which is the most prestigious award in college football.

“He is one of the best players in college football.

One of the main reasons is because he is unselfish. He will do whatever it takes for our team to win,” Cristobal said. “He understands that the rewards that come with the team’s success are far greater than any individual achievement. I believe he has a great shot at winning the Heisman trophy, and the fact that we have a Heisman candidate in our young program adds to the already tremendous amount of excitement surrounding the 2011 season.”

FALL 2011 | 41

Calendars, tickets and travel info:

Homecoming Reunionsse reunions For details on the visit hc.fiu.edu

11 a.m. Silver Pride Reunion and will honor the Class of 1986 The FIU Alumni Association at FIU Stadium. past classes. Stadium Club

ekend Parent and Family We Peer Advisor Reunion SGA BBC Reunion r Reunion Student Ambassado union Re ch Tor Order of the Greek Alumni Reunion SGA MMC Reunion Young Alumni Reunion Weekend Black Alumni Reunion

e 2 p.m. Homecoming Parad ilding to FIU Stadium.

From the Ryder Business Bu on 3 p.m. FIU Retirees Recepti ff. Frost Art Museum.

Open to retired faculty and sta Panther Pit Tailgate 3 p.m. Alumni Association ers , giveaways, Roary, the Dazzl Activities for children, music Lot 6 and the FIU Marching Band,

ll Game 6 p.m. Homecoming Footba Devils, FIU Stadium e lu B e uk D e th . vs rs he nt FIU Pa ...And much more!

Sunday, Sept. 25 Live Concert Doors open at 6 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m. at FIU Stadium. Open to FIU students, limited general-admission tickets available for alumni. For more information, contact FIU Campus Life at 42 | FALL 2011 305-348-2139.

Monday, Sept. 26 Pep Rally Join the official Homecoming 2011 kickoff at noon on the GC Lawn, MMC; Panther Square, BBC

Tuesday Sept. 27 National Pan Hellenic Council Step Show Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Panther Prowl FIU’s comedy show will feature the Wayans Brothers. Doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. U.S. Century Bank Arena. Limited tickets available for alumni.

Wednesday, Sept. 28 BBC Variety Show Doors open at 7 p.m, show at 8 p.m., Wolfe University Center.

Thursday, Sept. 29 Homecoming Dance 8 p.m., Wolfe University Center, BBC Friday, Sept. 30 Lip Sync FIU students and faculty/staff perform their own songs/dances/cheers in front of a panel of judges 8 p.m. location TBA.

2011-’12 Alumni Association Board

The 2011 Alumni Association Board of Directors: (Standing) Enrique Piñeiro ’03; Anastasia Garcia ’89; Franklin Gentle McCune ’05, MS ’08; Jaime N. Machado ’01, MBA ’10; Alumni Association Executive Director Bill Draughon; Stewart L. Appelrouth MBA ’80; University Advancement Senior Vice President Howard R. Lipman; FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg; Alumni Association President Jack F. González ’97; Michael P. Maher ’97; Ana L. Martínez, CPA MAcc. ’92; Ricardo C. Cabrera ’94; Isabel C. Díaz, Esq. ’01;

José M. Pérez de Corcho ’93; Eduardo Hondal ’88, MA ’00; and Michael A. Hernández ’04. Sitting: Ralph Rosado ’96, MA ’03; Gabriel Albelo ’93; Jorge F. Hernández ’95; Cynthia J. Dienstag, Esq. ’83; Gonzalo Acevedo ’91, MBA ’10; Elizabeth Cross ’89; Sharon Fine ’99; Samuel C. Jackson MPA ’90; Ariana Fajardo, Esq. ’93; Gus Alfonso ’02; and Frank Javier Peña ’99.

ALUMNI CELEBRATE NEW GIFT TO THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

By Martin Haro ’05

It’s OK to tell our story and give back.”

Sharon Fine ’99 is looking forward to working

Health sciences alumnus Raul Chavez ’80

The evening also gave board members

with the new board members. “We’ve grown

returned to FIU for the first time in more than

an opportunity to reflect on their goals for

so much, and I’m looking forward to hearing

20 years in 2005 for his Silver Pride Reunion.

2011-’12. Chief among them is continuing

everyone’s ideas and to continuing our

The retired paramedic was taken aback by

to grow the Alumni Association, which

association’s growth.”

the many changes on his old campus. Still,

currently has the second-largest due-paying

he could not help but notice something was

membership program in the state. For five

Ariana Fajardo, Esq. ’93 has served on the board since 2008. Like Cabrera, she wants to

missing: an alumni center to

see continued growth – in membership

welcome returning Panthers.

and in alumni participation on campus.

At the 2011 Alumni Association

“There’s strength in numbers,” she said.

Annual Meeting, Executive Director

“I also want to see larger crowds at our

Bill Draughon announced that

tailgates before games – I want alumni to

Chavez and his wife, Dr. Angela

come back to campus and be excited.

Martinez, are donating $650,000

Last year we hosted a reunion for Belén

to the Alumni Association. The gift

and Columbus alumni who are also FIU

will be used to support the future

alumni that was very successful. I want

FIU Alumni Center. The couple

to see more of that happening here so

– both Lifetime Members of the

we can recruit more members. And, of

Alumni Association – are making

course, I want to see us start to make a

the gift as part of their planned

push for the alumni center, which we need

giving to the university. The gift

sooner rather than later.”

announcement was greeted with

Rosenberg conducted the swearing

enthusiastic applause by more than 150 FIU

consecutive years, it has been among the

in for the board’s new officers: Ricardo C.

alumni, administrators, friends and family

Top 10 associations in the Council of Alumni

Cabrera ’94; Michael A. Hernandez ’04; Jaime

gathered at the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential

Association Executives for annual growth.

N. Machado ’01, MBA ’10; Franklin Gentle

House at Modesto A. Maidique Campus for

“I want to keep working on increasing our

McCune ’05, MS ’08; and returning board

the annual meeting.

membership,” said Ricardo Cabrera, who was

member Elizabeth Cross ’89. The meeting

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg thanked

re-introduced to blue-and-gold life by fellow

also served as a send-off for departing officers

the Alumni Association and urged them to

Panther Jorge Hernández ’95. “My heart never

Raymond del Rey ’97; Jose Manuel Díaz ’86;

have swagger.

left FIU. The university has come a long way

Dr. Jason Scott Hamilton ’89, MS ’93; Carlos

“I want you to step up,” he said, “because if

since my time here and it still has a long way

Hernández ’97; Justo Luis Pozo ’80; and Dr.

you don’t do it, who will? It’s OK to be proud.

to go. I want to see it get better and better.”

Susan Webster ’87.

FALL 2011 | 43

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXPANDS SERVICES TO HELP GRADUATES FIND JOBS now. You never know what doors may

By Martin Haro ’05

open up that way.”

Shawna McNair MS ’07 has a message

Throughout the summer, McNair has

for FIU alumni looking for a job: I’m here to

continued reaching out to alumni to share

help.

different resources at their disposal. This

She is the new associate director of Career Services for Alumni Relations, the

fall, she will participate in the first two

first person to hold the position in this

of four career fairs scheduled for the

new service for FIU graduates. A career

new academic year at the Modesto A.

counseling and development professional,

Maidique and Biscayne Bay campuses.

McNair can be found in GC 230 at

she earned a master’s in higher education

MMC and reached at 305-348-2423 or

administration at FIU.

Shawna.McNair@fiu.edu.

Thanks to a two-year, $160,000 Knight Foundation grant pledged to FIU last fall, Career Services now is able to narrowcast services to alumni. The grant will support two additional programs for alumni,

Sept. 23: 3-7 p.m., U.S. Century

the Knight Foundation’s FIU Golden

Bank Arena, MMC

Panther Mentoring Circle and the Knight

Oct. 5: 10 a.m-3 p.m., Wolfe University Center, BBC

Foundation’s FIU Internship Experience.

“I’m excited to enhance the services that we can offer FIU alumni through the Career Services office,” she said. “We want alumni to stay in touch with us because we can assist them with their career development, especially in these challenging times.”

The new career services for alumni comes at a critical time as the nation faces 9 percent unemployment nationally and 13 percent unemployment in Miami-Dade County. The program fulfills a need FIU alumni have shared with the Alumni Association through surveys and communications. McNair can help alumni with a variety of job-preparation services, ranging from résumé critiques to interview coaching to networking.

“This is something that we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Duane Wiles, associate executive director of Alumni Relations. “We are thrilled to have Shawna working with our staff to lead us in this area. Our alumni are the future of our community, so we want to ensure they are well prepared to navigate this very difficult job market. I know Shawna’s

Last May, McNair took about 60 Panthers on day trip to Orlando to attend the Florida Statewide Job Fair organized by the

Building Tips

Florida Career Centers, a group of career

1. Have a career-management

services directors from all of Florida’s public

plan: Outline your goals and design a

universities. At the fair, FIU alumni met with

strategy to meet those goals.

more than 100 employers and recruiters and

2. Keep an updated, effective

networked with more than 1,000 alumni and

résumé: Look at the buzz words in the

students who, like them, are seeking full-time,

job description and use them to your

professional positions.

advantage.

College of Business Administration graduate Jorge Longueira ’09 was among the Panthers who took advantage of this opportunity, offered free to FIU alumni. He had recently been laid off from an insurance firm and one of his first

3. Show you have transferrable skills: Let employers know that your skills and experience can align with other industries.

calls was to FIU Career Services. At the fair,

4. Network: Be open to any and all

Longueira met with several potential employers

opportunities that come your way.

in Orlando. On the ride back to Miami, he

5. Stay connected to your FIU

received a call from a recruiter for a major

family: Our alumni are leaders in many

cruise line to set up an appointment.

industries and they are some of the

“Going to the job fair was a good idea,”

enthusiasm and expertise will prove to be the

Longueira said. “It’s very important to keep in

perfect fit for this task.”

touch with the school you went to, especially

44 | FALL 2011

5 Career

best contacts you can have.

Fun Under the Sun The annual FIU Fishing Tournament brings out the fun for the scholarships

G 2011 FISHIN T N E M TOURNA WERE: S WINNER

Team Ekman & Co. included Sergio V. Benitez, Jorge Castillo, Jr., Javier Castillo and Sergio P. Benitez

The 2011 Student Scholarship winners include (first row) Fabiana Ferrer, Jessica Martinez, Wen-Ju Chien, Ferran Coleman, and Stephanie Cruz. (Bottom Row) President Mark B. Rosenberg, Michael Aquino, Jesse Pienado, Eric Feldman, Alessa Torres, Amanda Almirall, and Natalie Diaz.

in gate Dolph Most Aggre b lu Beach C Weight: Team and an 2,500 prize ($ ns Productio by local d te na do ece original art pi Martinez) artist Jorge Beach phin: Team D Largest ol d an 0 00 1, ions ($ Club Product plaque) Dolphin: ch Largest Ladies Cat and 0 n Lines ($50 Team No Ta plaque) FIU n Fish: Team Largest Fu ue ) aq pl t ($250 and Advancemen phin: ol D t es Larg Junior Catch 100 gift ltar Private ($ Team Gibra ters and Dave & Bus certificate to plaque) te ost Aggrega 2nd Place M ltar ra ib G am ght: Te Dolphin Wei 0) Private ($50 in: rgest Dolph 2nd Place La 0) 25 & Co. ($ Team Ekman Hitex Junior: Team ce la P 2nd & e ificate to Dav ($50 gift cert Busters)

Team Solo Printing takes a break with Roary. The team included Carlos Medina, Jose Riesgo, Luis Leal Jr., Luis Leal and Carlos Miranda.

By Martin Haro ’05 More than 180 FIU alumni, students, staff, family and friends made the 9th Annual FIU Scholarship Fishing Tournament the most exciting one yet. The tournament, presented by TotalBank, is one of the FIU Alumni Association’s most fun traditions.

Twenty-seven boats went out early the morning of June 18. Later, back at Monty’s Miami Beach, the fun got started once the boats came back to the marina. Everyone celebrated a day’s worth of fun for a good cause. The crowd enjoyed barbecue chicken, ribs and cornbread, drinks and music by a live band and from a DJ, and participated in a raffle for prizes and FIU gear.

The highlight of the day’s program was the check presentation to 15 students selected for Legacy ($1,000), Panther Pride ($750) and the first CREW Real Estate Scholarship ($750) scholarships. An additional $2,000 will be dispersed through FIU’s First Generation Scholarship

Fund in the next academic year.

The tournament raised $16,000 to be awarded in 2012. That amount includes the 2011 winnings that teams No Tan Lines and FIU Advancement donated back to the university.

“I’m very happy I got this scholarship,” said Panther Pride Scholarship recipient Eric Feldman ’10, who is pursuing a master’s in higher education administration. “It will help me out a lot.”

“I’m so proud of my daughter Jessica,” said Zoila Martinez ’91.

“She’s so involved with the university as a student ambassador and in her sorority. This scholarship is going to help with anything she needs for school and it’s a nice recognition. She’s a very dedicated student.

I’m a proud FIU mom.”

The annual event has raised more than $65,000 for scholarships FALL 2011 | 45 since its inception.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ATLANTA CHAPTER More than 100 alumni, family and friends of the Atlanta Alumni

the Year Mario Cristobal were on hand at the cocktail reception. Each

Chapter gathered in April to catch up with one another at the award-

encouraged attendees to have pride in their alma mater and to “come

winning Atlanta Fish Market. The restaurant was founded by the

home” and visit our campuses as soon as possible.

Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s Ignatius Pano Karatassos Sr., whose

A few lucky ones walked away winners after a raffle, while others

children – Ignatius Pano Karatassos Jr. ’93, Nicholas Karatassos ’98 and

received fun blue-and-gold giveaways. Better yet, everyone left the get-

Ann Symbas ’92 – graduated from the School of Hospitality and Tourism

together pumped and full of FIU Pride, looking ahead at the university’s

Management.

future and the upcoming football season.

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg, Alumni Association Executive Director Bill Draughon and Head Football Coach and Sun Belt Coach of

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg asked Tiffny Canon MPH ’08 and her husband Victor to “come home” and visit campus.

Head Football Coach and Sun Belt Coach of the Year Mario Cristobal invited guests, including Trevin Perez MBA ’06 and his wife Marie-Anne, to the 2011 football season.

46 | FALL 2011

For more information on Alumni Association chapters, contact Anthony Rionda ’09 at 305-348-1613 or arionda@fiu.edu.

FIU Alumni Executive Director Bill Draughon encouraged alumni such as Keisha Charles ’04 to stay connected to their alma mater.

Paul Breslin ’83 and Cher Breslin ’83 mingled with Senior Vice President of Advancement Howard Lipman at the Atlanta Fish Market.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHINA CHAPTER

Two hundred alumni gathered in Beijing for the first Alumni Association reunion of the newly chartered China Alumni Chapter. Held at Beijing’s JW Marriott, the reunion coincided with the spring graduation ceremony of FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism program in Tianjin.

From left, Lin Gao ’08, Chapter President Dr. Yechang “Alec” Fang MS ’07, Ph.D. ’10 and Derek Capó ’06 (right) were instrumental in helping Executive Director Bill Draughon organize, promote and execute the event.

Tianjin campus hospitality graduates Hui Li ‘09 and Cherry Wang ’09 were among 200 alumni who showed off their Panther Pride at the first alumni reunion in Beijing.

FALL 2011 | 47

Class Notes 1970s

1990s David Dukes ’75 is the

founder and director of the Johnson-Brinson Project, Inc., which, through the JohnsonBrinson Center, provides children ages 10-17 in Madison County, Fla., with a place to study, play and learn in a safe, educational atmosphere. Dukes recently published his second book, A Journey Back Home: The Story of the Johnson-Brinson Project & Break Away. Together with his son, Joash J. Dukes ’81, he is planning to join this year’s Silver Pride class.

Stephen J. Tello ’79, a media executive with more than 30 years of experience in television management, recently was named senior vice president and general manager of Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports. He now oversees all aspects of both networks statewide, including production, programming, advertising sales, marketing, public relations and team relations.

1980s Phyllis Sdoia-Satz ’83, a professional classical pianist, composer and educator, runs the Sdoia-Satz Music Institute, a private school in Miami where she offers expert music instruction for children and adults of all ages. She recently added author to her résumé with the publication of Practicing Sucks, But It Doesn’t Have To!, a new, nononsense but humorous system of learning that teaches students, their families and their instructors how to derive the most benefit from instruction, two to four times faster, with more success and less frustration.

Denice Rothman Hinden Ph.D. ’87, is the president of the Maryland-based firm Managance Consulting & Coaching. She recently co-authored The Nonprofit Organizational Culture Guide: Revealing the Hidden Truths that Impact Performance, published by Jossey-Bass Publishers last December.

Alumni Association Member

48 | FALL 2011

Beatriz Azcuy-Diaz ’91, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, was named a Top Dealmaker by the Daily Business Review in May in recognition of her work on the $2.7 billion Beacon Capital Partners restructuring deal, one of the largest commercial real estate loans ever securitized.

Rita Ferro ’92, MIB ’03 recently was promoted to executive vice president of sales and marketing at Disney Media. In her new role, she oversees Disney Media ad sales and marketing in the United States, as well as global sales for Disney Channels Worldwide.

Neal Finkelstein MS ’92 recently published his first book, If I Only Knew They Had Chocolate Chip Cookies in Heaven, which he describes as “a refreshing look at all the aspects that each of us has to

struggle with on a daily basis.” Finkelstein discusses his five pillars to leading a healthy lifestyle: Self-control, motivation/maintenance, information, lifestyle change and exercise. For more information about Finkelstein’s book, visit createspace.com/3488854.

Diana Manent Calero ’92, a mission manager at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, graduated from the space agency’s inaugural 16-month Mid-Level Leader Program in January. During her rotational assignment, she worked for NASA headquarters’ Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Mick DiMaria ’93, is the creative director of the Los Angeles-based advertising firm 72andSunny. Among his most famous commercials is the spot that featured Paris Hilton washing a Bentley while eating a Carl’s Jr. burger.

Barbara Levenson ’78 received the John F. Cosgrove Founder’s Award in April. Chosen by the Miami-Dade County Days 2011 Awards Committee, Levenson was honored at a luncheon in Tallahassee.

“This award is especially meaningful to me,” the retired Dade County judge said, “since I knew John Cosgrove and was privileged to observe his spirit of innovation. I have loved Miami and Dade County from the first day I came here, and still find it the best place to live and work.”

Established in honor of the late Florida legislator, the John F. Cosgrove Founder’s Award celebrates individuals who have made a tremendous impact in the community. A longtime Miamian, Levenson first served as a prosecutor and ran her own law practice focused on criminal defense and civil rights litigation.

She was instrumental in obtaining federal funding for the downtown metro mover and co-chaired the policy council along with former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré that was awarded the funds following a nationwide competition.

As a judge, she founded the Jobs Program that served as an employment bureau for offenders on probation.

She also established training programs for women inmates at the Women’s Detention Center.

A celebrated mystery/suspense novelist, she is the author of Fatal February and Justice in June.

Brian D. Abramson, Esq. ’96, recently began a clerkship

with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

He is the first FIU College of Law graduate to hold a federal appellate clerkship.

Danny Pino ’96, has been cast as a series regular on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Torch Award-winning alumnus and former Cold Case star was among five actors in line to replace SVU’s longtime male lead, Christopher Meloni. Pino will join the show – now entering its 13th season – as a new detective on the beat alongside fellow newcomer Kelli Giddish.

Maritza Erb ’97, is the

owner of North Miami Beach’s Senior Helpers, a national leader in professional in-home assistance services. She previously worked in lending and investments for a decade and for Broward County for seven years. Erb decided to pursue her dream of becoming a business owner about a year ago.

Lori-Ann Cox ’97, MBA ’02, FIU’s director of community relations, recently invited the FIU Magazine staff to take the Spring 2011 issue “Off the Pages” during a President’s Council meeting at the Frost Art Museum. Editor Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 and associate editor Martin Haro ’05 co-hosted the evening. Alumnae Sissi Aguila ’99, MA ’08, and Melissa Puente ’02, attended, along with special guests Eddie Hondal ’88, MS ’00, and Michael Maher ’97, two of FIU’s Four Horsemen. The evening featured presentations by the faculty and alumni featured in the magazine.

The Spring 2011 cover girl, “Miami Generation” artist María Brito ’77, was on hand for the evening.

Together with art history professor Juan Martínez she took guests on a guided tour of her exhibit “As of 24/03/07,” later sharing what inspired her evocative artwork. Biology professor Rebecca Vega Thurber and engineering professor Arvind Agarwal, the winner of the 2010 FIU President’s Council Outstanding Faculty Award, also discussed their research with the council.

Among the alumni President’s Council members who attended were Richard Alfonso Sr. ’90, Abraham Anzardo ’98, Andreina Dielingen Figueroa ’03, FIU Alumni Association President Jack González ’97, Michael Hernández ’04, Angela Puentes-León, Esq. ’98, Manuel Rodríguez, PE ’80, Richard Strait ’76, Melissa Tapanes Llahues ’00, Israel Velasco ’88 and Tina Vidal-Smith ’02.

FALL 2011 | 49

Jeanette Said-Jinete ’96 recently was appointed and confirmed, with a historic 3-2 vote, as the first female police chief of the town of Medley, Fla. Outgoing Chief Tom Hughes recommended Capt.

Said-Jinete as his replacement to oversee the 37-officer department. The 26-year Medley veteran is one of 10 female police chiefs in the state, according to the Florida Police Chiefs Association.

Jorge Azcuy ’98, MBA ’03 was promoted to director of Technical Services by Compuquip Technologies, Inc., one of the largest IT services providers in South Florida.

2000s Phoebe Moll ’00 has been promoted to senior vice president and Global Group account director at BBDO Düsseldorf, Germany, where she leads the Procter & Gamble Braun Beauty holistic marketing team.

Melissa Tapanes Llahues ’00 recently was promoted to partner at Bercow Radell & Fernandez, P.A., a Miami zoning and land use firm. An Up-and-Comer member of the 2010 edition of Florida Legal Elite, Florida Trend magazine’s annual peer-led ranking of the top attorneys statewide, she represents property owners, developers, corporate and institutional clients in federal, state, regional, county and municipal forums on an array of growth management, land use, zoning, subdivision, site planning, permitting, code enforcement, environmental, historic preservation, archaeological and aviation matters.

Alyn Higgins ’01, MS ’04 recently joined Sen. Marco Rubio’s staff as regional director of South Florida. In this capacity, she represents constituents on behalf of the Rubio in the areas of Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.

Lorri (Camueiras) Lores ’01 recently launched her first iPad app, an illustrated short story for children of all ages. Jay Bean and the Dreamers’ Circus tells the story of a little boy with many peculiar traits who is on adventurous quest to find others like him. The app is available for purchase through iTunes.

For more information, visit: jaybean.com.

Manlio Valdes MBA ’01 is president of EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) Climate Solutions for Ingersoll Rand, a $13 billion global diversified industrial company.

Richard A. Pollack, CPA MSF ’02,

director in charge of forensic and business valuation services with Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant, LLP, in Miami, recently received the coveted certification of Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor from the nationwide Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors.

Max-Laine ’03 (pictured here) and Melanie Bent ’01

are the authors of the recently published Are You a “Crazy” Baby Mama? A Handbook for Single Moms, a book they wrote with the goal to inspire single moms and teens to “break the cycle.”

Max-Laine is an author, screenwriter and producer. Bent is a software business analyst.

For more information about their book, visit: crazybabymamas.com.

Paul McCall ’08, MS ’10 and Natalie Rubinstein originally considered FIU as the location for their April 29, 2011 wedding. When they couldn’t make it work, the former FIU football quarterback and his bride-to-be decided to have their engagement photos done at FIU, some of them right on the football field. “It was a natural choice because of how much FIU has meant to me,” said McCall. “I figured the FIU family is getting another member.”

McCall is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at FIU and his wife is a trainer at LA fitness earning a master’s degree in Christian education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Hialeah. They met while they were still in diapers and attended the same daycare program. They also attended the same elementary and middle schools but parted ways in high school. “The only time I saw her was when my high school, Hollywood Hills, would beat South Broward in football games,” McCall said. Natalie went to the University of Kentucky on a gymnastics scholarship and McCall came to FIU. Ten years passed before they saw each other again at a dinner party. They talked long after the party ended.

On Nov. 11, 2010, the couple went to Hollywood Beach and walked down the boardwalk. McCall got down on one knee and presented Natalie with a diamond ring. “I might have said yes 5,000 times and hugged him so tight that both of us can’t remember what was said at that very moment,” Natalie said.

McCall then insisted that they show the ring to their parents. “Little did I know that Paul already had an entire party waiting for us at the house to celebrate our engagement!”

The couple, who share a love for country music and athletics, were married at Jacaranda Country Club in Plantation. “We put this relationship truly in God’s hands,” McCall wrote on their wedding website. “Needless to say, He has provided in every way.”

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Justin Pane ’02, a contracting officer at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., graduated from the space agency’s inaugural 16-month Mid-Level Leader Program in January. The 29-member class, which represented every NASA center and agency headquarters, was drawn in competition from among 140 applicants of engineering, science, and administrative professionals.The achievement, he says, is a far cry from the future he once saw his life taking.

“I was headed down a detrimental path until I ultimately found myself in jail,” he said. “I was given an ultimatum: Do more time or complete a three-week wilderness survival program followed by a one-year transitional program.”

Pane describes the decision as “painfully straightforward” but life-changing. He credits it with the personal growth he made and with the eventual completion of his degree in management information systems at FIU. “NASA offered me a job during my senior year,” he said. “Soon after graduation, I moved to Mountain View to start my career at the Ames Research Center where I’ve been for the last seven years, with stints at Cape Canaveral and the U.S. Department of Defense - Navy at Port Hueneme, Calif., in between.”

Pane’s work with the space agency has taken him to most NASA centers across the country, allowed him to work on the International Space Station program and taken him as far as Moscow and Tsukuba, Japan.

“My ultimate dream is to work in a team environment,” said Pane, who is engaged and set to marry on top of Aoraki/Mount Cook in New Zealand in July. “I want to work on unique programs and projects that challenge me and push the envelope of today’s technology.”

Diego Cisneros ’03, a center manager for a commercial real estate company and junior college football basketball coach, was named Hot Husband for the month of March

by Redbook magazine. He has been married to his wife, Angela (who he met in the library at FIU), for three years. They have a son together, Diego, who is almost 2.

Lourdes Cristina Cortizo ’07 recently graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and soon will relocate to Washington, D.C.

Patricia Engel MFA ’07 was among the five finalists selected for the New York Public Library’s 11th annual Young Lions Fiction Award, which recognized the FIU Creative Writing Program alumna for her debut collection, Vida.

Luis Peter Fernandez ’07, a sergeant with the U.S. Marine Corps, returned from his first deployment in the spring and is awaiting his next assignment. He is the recipient of the Joint Special Operations Task Force Award and the winner of the Tagalog Language Book Award from the Defense Language Institute.

Providence Okoye ’07 recently secured two judicial clerkships for the next two terms.

The Nigeria native will clerk for Chief Judge James R. Spencer of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in 2011-12 and for Judge Roger L. Gregory of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 2012-13.

Valerie Crawford ’08 received the 2011 Entrepreneur Award from the Metropolitan Dade County Section of the National Council of Negro Women in April. Last year, Success South Florida magazine selected her as one of the 50 Most Powerful Blacks in South Florida.

Kenneth Henry ’08 recently was elected as the first and only U.S.-based member to serve on the board of directors for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the global body of professional accountants.

Jorge E. Murillo-Zuluaga MBA ’08 recently launched Blue Water Journeys, a small-cruise company that specializes in real-travel adventures and expeditions.

Among the ships in his fleet is the 66-passenger Sea Voyager, which sails from Cartagena, Colombia, to destinations including the San Blas Islands and Colon in Panama and the San Bernardo Archipelago in Colombia.

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Alexander Arias ’09 is currently in his second year of law school at the University of Miami. He intends to pursue a career centered around real estate development and transactions and is spending the summer as an intern at The Related Group, the nation’s leading builder of luxury condominiums.

Martin Benzaquen, P.E. MS ’09 has joined Gannett Fleming, an international planning, design and construction management firm, as a senior project engineer.

He is responsible for providing construction engineering and inspection services for roadway and civil projects at the company’s Miami office.

Jamilla Espinosa ’09 was accepted into one of only 52 spots in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at FIU from a pool of some 800 applicants for the Class of 2013. She is a pianist certified by the National Guild of Piano Teachers and currently teaches 13 young students, sometimes free of charge to those who cannot afford lessons.

Crystal-Lee Naomi ’09

played Kaitlyn, the lead in The Magic Ribbon, a Sprite Refreshing Films & Dreaming Tree Films production that debuted last spring at sprite. com/refreshingfilms.

Andy Leavine ’10 was the last man standing on USA Networks’ Tough Enough, Monday Night, earning a professional wrestling contract. The former FIU offensive lineman defeated Luke Robinson on the reality show to become the newest member of the WWE. As many as 20,000 people auditioned for Tough Enough.

During the season, competitors, nine males and five females, learned skills from some of the best in the business, including Booker T, Trish Stratus, Bill DeMott, John Cena, Bret Hart, Big Show, The Bella Twins, Stacy Keibler and The Rock. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin chose Leavine as the winner in front of a live audience at Monday Night Raw. For his initiation into the WWE, the Panther took a slap to the face from Mr. McMahon, and a stunner from Stone Cold himself.

Anthony Gaitor ’11 was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Gaitor became the third Panther drafted by the NFL following former FIU linebacker Antwan Barnes (2007 – Baltimore Ravens) and receiver Chandler Williams (2007 – Minnesota Vikings).

Just two days later, Gaitor achieved another life-long goal when he walked across the stage at U.S. Century Bank Arena with a degree in sports management. The graduation capped off a stellar four years at FIU for Gaitor, who leaves the Panthers football program as the all-time leader in pass breakups with 25 and most interceptions (3) returned for touchdowns.

Gaitor also finished second in career interceptions with 11 to former FIU safety Nick Turnbull, who had 16.

FIU sportswriter Pete Pelegrin ’96 caught up with Gaitor right after the draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer and FIU graduate. Have you come down or are you still walking on air? I’m still walking on air. Everything, graduation and getting drafted, has kind of hit me, but at the same time it hasn’t really hit me yet. It’s been great. God is good.

Well, let’s start with school. How’s it feel to get your degree? It’s a dream come true to graduate from college. I’m very proud to earn my degree and thankful for my time here at FIU. My family is very happy too.

What were your emotions like as rounds 4 through 7 of the NFL Draft went on and you didn’t see your name? All day and night on Friday I was so eager to find out where I would be drafted, that I just couldn’t get any sleep or eat anything.

What were you thinking when you saw defensive backs rated lower than you get picked before you did? I wasn’t worried about those guys. I know what I can do on the football field. But around the fifth or sixth round I was ready to stop watching the draft and go out and do something to take my mind off of it, but my mom wouldn’t let me go. She said we started watching this draft and we’re going to finish watching this draft. God bless her.

What was the conversation like with Bucs Head Coach Raheem Morris? A big relief. Coach Morris called me and said are you ready to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer and congratulated me. He said to me, “I told you we were going to draft you. I said to you to stay patient with us.”

You are now the third player from FIU football to be drafted by the NFL. What do you think of that? It’s an honor to be able to represent FIU in the NFL. FIU gave me a chance to succeed and I took advantage of it. I’m very proud of the accomplishment of being the third player from FIU to be drafted to the NFL. But I’m just as proud of walking on stage and getting my diploma from FIU. Photo by Tony Barreau for AVD Photography

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VIP:

Very Important Panther

David Alfonso ’96 I am the founder, chairman and CEO of Empire Investment Holdings, which focuses on corporate buyouts.

From FIU, I received a bachelor’s in international relations. I currently serve as a board member of the FIU Foundation, in the Finance & Audit Committee, and I am a Lifetime Member of the FIU Alumni Association. At this year’s commencement, I was honored to receive the FIU Medallion.

Q. What is your fondest memory of FIU? A. As a student, it has to be my graduation since it took me six years to work through college because I was working full time and had to go to school on nights and weekends.

As an alumnus, it would have to be last year when the Panthers clinched the football conference championship in the fourth quarter against Arkansas State and when they went on to win their first bowl game against Toledo.

Q. How did FIU make a difference in your life?

A. It taught me the value of preparation. I was always an average student at best, not that I’m proud of that, but it’s a fact. Leading into my senior year, I realized that preparation and discipline was key and that I needed to insert more of that into my studies. Like in all aspects of life, it demonstrated that nothing will ever come easy.

Q. What advice would you offer your fellow Panthers?

A. You deserve what you earn, not what you think you are entitled to.

Q. Tell us about your decision to make a naming gift to the field at FIU Stadium.

A. Our primary focus is on athletics. Athletics play an integral role in assuring a long-term connection with alumni and friends. Building awareness is critical and as coach Cristobal would say, “We’re on the rise.” Like other nationally respected programs with strong traditions and a loyal following, FIU has established the foundation that is forging that connection. We are well on our way to earning the respect of the nation. This moment in FIU’s history will never come again. What a special gift to be able to be a small part of it now and witness our traditions take form.

Q. What is your proudest accomplishment?

A. Actually, I generally overlook and discount, in my mind, accomplishments. I am always working on multiple fronts and therefore, am always looking ahead to the next set of objectives. However, what I am most proud of is my family: my wife and two daughters.

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