UM's achievements in 2006-2007 included:

• U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 “America’s Best Colleges” rankings place UM No. 54 in the nation, 12 spots up from No. 66 just four years ago.

• Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami reached $1.31 billion by the end of FY 2006. The campaign surpassed its $1 billion goal in January 2006, 18 months ahead of schedule, and the goal was raised by an additional $250 million to be raised through June 2007. A record $180.4 million was raised in FY 2007.

• Research and sponsored program expenditures totaled more than $274 million (FY 2007).

• In the 2007 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” the University’s Department of Physical Therapy was ranked No. 10, the doctoral program in clinical psychology was ranked No. 26, and the School of Law’s tax law program was ranked No. 6.

• For the fourth year in a row the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute was ranked the No. 1 hospital in the country for ophthalmology in the 18th annual survey of "America's Best Hospitals" published in the July 17, 2006 edition of U.S. News & World Report. Three other specialties at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center were also ranked as among the nation's best.

• Approximately 19,000 applicants competed for 2,000 openings in the fall 2007 freshman class. It is the most selective class in University history, with the highest class rankings, grade point averages, and SAT scores. Fourty-four percent of the new freshmen graduated in the top 5 percent of their high school class, and more than two-thirds graduated in the top 10 percent.

• The University is engaged in the largest construction program in its history, with more than $1.9 billion in projects currently in the planning, design, and construction phases on all three campuses.

• The University received a $1.9 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for its Undergraduate Science Education Program, which supports research opportunities for economically disadvantaged and minority students through a partnership with Miami-Dade College. The grant broadens the undergraduate student experience with new programs, faculty development, and outreach programs.

• The University of Miami and Imperial College London, United Kingdom signed a strategic alliance aimed at achieving world-class joint research projects in both engineering and information technology.

• The University of Miami became one of four sites to conduct the largest long-term epidemiological study of health and disease in Hispanic populations living in the country. The federally funded $61 million Hispanic Community Health Study is following 16,000 participants of Hispanic/Latino origin who will undergo physical examinations and interviews to help identify the prevalence of and risk factors for diseases and conditions.

• The first multicenter trial to treat diabetes with islet transplantation using a single protocol showed that the technique can restore long-term insulin production and glucose stability in people with type 1 diabetes, UM researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine. The nine centers that participated worldwide, including the Diabetes Research Institute, used a protocol developed at the University.

• Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. is the inaugural guest of the University Lecture Series. Roberts discusses topics ranging from his judicial philosophy and his college days at Harvard to how the high court decides cases. The next day, the chief justice also spoke to law, history, and communication classes.

• The University completed the most successful United Way campaign in its history, raising $1,047,872 during a comprehensive institution-wide fundraising drive. It is also one of the largest university or college United Way campaigns in the nation.

• University researchers reported findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine that taking daily selenium supplements may suppress the progression of HIV.

• The University dedicated the M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies. The $19.4 million, 53,000-square-foot facility includes high-tech classrooms, computer labs, and the International Academy for Clinical Simulation and Research, one of the first facilities in the nation to utilize the vast potential of simulation technology.

• Former Vice President Al Gore took center stage at the BankUnited Center, presenting “An Inconvenient Truth,” a multimedia version of his bestselling book and Academy Award-winning documentary. A distinguished guest for the University Lecture Series, Gore speaks to thousands of students, faculty, staff, and invited guests.

• The new $10 million Knight Center for International Media was created at the School of Communication and funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Journalism Initiatives. The center will use innovative news techniques and practices to help solve some of the world’s most challenging and inadequately reported problems.

• The University’s Ethics Society Debate Team won the National Championship Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Cincinnati, emerging victorious over 32 undergraduate teams from around the nation.

• As a guest of the University’s Spring Convocation, former President Bill Clinton addressed a standing-room-only audience at the BankUnited Center, outlining many innovative solutions of his Clinton Global Initiative. After his address, Clinton was joined by UM President Donna E. Shalala, his former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, who moderated questions submitted by students.

• University President Donna E. Shalala and former U.S. Senator Bob Dole were named by President Bush to lead a bipartisan commission to examine problems at U.S. military and veterans hospitals across the country. The review comes in the wake of revelations and Congressional hearings about inadequate treatment of soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• University of Miami students continued their dominance at one of the world’s most prestigious competitions, winning five major awards at the 2007 National Model United Nations Conference in New York.

• President Donna E. Shalala signed two of the most important documents committing the University to campus sustainability. The Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future is a ten-point action plan committing institutions to sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching and practice, while the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment provides a framework and support for institutions to become climate neutral.

• Junior Audra Cohen wins the 2007 NCAA Singles Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus to become the first player in UM women’s tennis history to capture the national title. She finishes her season with a 42-2 overall singles record.