LEARN MORE WITH THE UMAA NATIONAL LECTURE TOUR

In Your Neighborhood

rom environmental issues to political conundrums, medical breakthroughs, and more, the University of Miami has an array of faculty experts who can provide insight and information on the current events that affect us all. Starting this fall, alumni, parents, and friends nationwide can augment their knowledge by tapping into the University’s educators and scholars who are blazing trails in these fields.

“The goal of the Learn More campaign,” says Donna Arbide, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations, “is to provide life-long learning to University of Miami alumni and to showcase the prestigious and unique programs offered at the University.”

The Alumni Association’s Learn More Lecture Tour features presentations in various cities from the distinguished faculty members and administrators who are spearheading the University’s growth through acclaimed research and innovative educational programs. Initial speakers on the roster include Mary Doyle, professor and former dean of the School of Law, and Sam Roberts, the Francis L. Wolfson Chair in Communications Studies and a former reporter, producer, and executive for CBS News. Doyle, speaking about the University’s Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, provides an overview of the Everglades Restoration Project and a glimpse of the arduous task of preserving and protecting a natural ecosystem. Roberts discusses what it takes to be a news correspondent or cameraman broadcasting in times of terrorism.

A question-and-answer session rounds out the full interactive classroom experience. Attendees also are privy to an overview of the University’s new mission, direction, and academic priorities. A cocktail reception following the educational component is the perfect setting for guests to network with fellow alumni, parents, and friends who live in their area. Currently scheduled tour cities include New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Naples, Orlando, Houston, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.

Part of the UMAA National Lecture Tour, Learn More continues a long tradition of events designed to keep alumni in various regions nationwide connected to the University and to each other. Last year the Lecture Tour commemorated the University’s 75th anniversary and the introduction of President Donna E. Shalala. Feedback from participants, such as Pat (B.Ed. ’58, M.Ed. ’59) and Harold Toppel, hosts of the anniversary party in Boca Raton last year, was remarkably supportive.

“We left the reception with a great sense of pride and respect for what our University and fellow alumni have accomplished in just 75 years,” Pat Toppel said.

Whether a chance to reunite with a long-lost acquaintance or to forge new business relationships or friendships, Learn More is designed to reconnect alumni to the University of Miami.

Unity Is at the Core of Alumni Leadership

ore than just an academic institution, the University of Miami is a community of intelligent, inquisitive people united by a sense of pride and common drive to succeed. The mission of the Alumni Association Board of Directors is to extend the positive energy and team spirit beyond campus boundaries, ensuring that students, parents, and alumni alike contribute to the strength of the University. The Alumni Association is proud of the group charged with this task for the 2002-2003 academic year, led by the executive committee officers.

President of the UMAA Board of Directors is Hunting F. Deutsch (M.B.A. ’82), who recently returned to Miami after several years as CEO of SunTrust Banks of Florida, Inc., headquartered in Orlando. Deutsch participates in the Mentor Program at the School of Business Administration, where he shares his corporate knowledge with students. A model for volunteerism, he is the 2001 recipient of the UMAA William R. Butler Community Service Award.

Immediate past president, Gino L. Torretta (B.B.A. ’91), knows the power of teamwork. The former Heisman Trophy winner, who led the Hurricanes to two national championship games in the early 1990s, has spent the last year implementing innovative UMAA programs. Following a four-season run in the NFL, Torretta joined Prudential Securities, where he is a financial advisor.

Board vice presidents are five prominent business and civic role models: John E. Calles (A.B. ’89, J.D. ’92), Gregory M. Cesarano (J.D. ’76), Ernesto D’Escoubet (B.S.E.E. ’65, M.S.E.E. ’70), Denise Mincey-Mills (B.B.A. ’80), and Jacqueline Nespral (A.B. ’89).

Calles is manager of the Miami agency of Union Central, one of the largest mutual insurance companies in the country.

Cesarano is a shareholder in the Miami office of Carlton Fields, a firm of 200 lawyers and offices throughout Florida. He specializes in civil trials and business litigation.

D’Escoubet is senior vice president and chief technology officer of Fairchild Semiconductor, a global, publicly traded company in Portland, Maine, that manufactures semiconductors for use in various industries.

Mincey-Mills is vice president of community affairs in Florida for Turner Construction Company, contractor for the Wellness Center and the new Convocation Center at the University of Miami, among a nationwide project portfolio worth $6 billion a year. Recipient of the 2001 President’s Award of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Miami, she helps educate and find opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses in the construction industry.

Nespral is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and news anchor. Selected in 1991 to host NBC’s Weekend Today show and as a fill-in for Katie Couric on the weekday slot, Nespral became the first Hispanic network news anchor. Now at NBC6 in Miami, she anchors the 5:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts.

The focus for the UMAA executive committee this year, says Deutsch, is on “building connections to our alma mater, increasing participation in the annual fund, and providing value-added services and benefits.”

Pitching in with Pride

here’s a heartwarming phenomenon sweeping the nation: groups of University of Miami alumni, parents, and friends are donating their time to perform acts of kindness within their communities. It is part of a new initiative called PRIDE, launched by the Office of Alumni Relations last fall.

An acronym for Professionalism and social networking, Recruiting students and scholarship fundraising, Ibis—sports-related programs, Devotion to community, and Education for alumni, PRIDE aims to help alumni clubs and groups in various cities organize and offer an array of local programming with the standards of quality established by the UMAA.

On May 18, alumni volunteers united for the inaugural ’Canes Care, a day reserved for community service nationwide. Events ranged from park cleanups to clothing drives to charitable fundraisers. Benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the Miami alumni contingent sponsored a cookout just prior to the face-off between the ’Canes and Jacksonville Dolphins baseball teams. The Office of Alumni Relations spent the day restoring habitat at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park by replanting native species that were destroyed during Hurricane Andrew.

To show gratitude to all the helping hands, the UMAA is hosting International Volunteers Day in conjunction with its annual Holiday Party in December. For more details on the celebration or on how to become an alumni volunteer, contact Lana T. Monchek (M.Ed. ’69, J.D. ’81) in the Office of Alumni Relations at 305-284-2872, or visit the UMAA Web site at www.miami.edu/alumni.

Exemplary Alumni Receive Top Awards

or remarkable achievements, service to the University, commitment to community and more, the University of Miami Alumni Association each year honors outstanding alumni. This spring, President Donna E. Shalala hosted the 2002 Alumni Recognition and Awards Reception at her home, where she was conferred the status of honorary alumna to commemorate her proactive vision for excellence.

“In the time that Donna E. Shalala has been president of the University of Miami, she has demonstrated through word and deed that she is a Miami Hurricane,” noted Donna Arbide, assistant vice president for Alumni Relations.

The Edward T. Foote II Alumnus of Distinction Award, renamed last year in homage to the former University president, was presented to Arva Moore Parks (M.A. ’71). She has played a principal role in the preservation and restoration of historic Florida’s most notable landmarks.

Edward A. Dauer (B.S.E.E. ’72, M.D. ’75, M.S.B.E. ’01) received the Henry King Stanford Alumnus of the Year Award for his ongoing dedication to the University. In addition to serving on the University’s President’s Council and the Board of Trustees, his philanthropy continues a Dauer family tradition that has funded new facilities, scholarships, and research at the University. The first UM undergraduate to study biomedical engineering, Dauer has had a distinguished career in diagnostic radiology and now is a research associate professor in the College of Engineering.

For unparalleled commitment to volunteerism, the University presented the William R. Butler Community Service Award to Audrey Rothenberg Finkelstein (A.B. ’38), who strives to uphold the Girl Scout law: “I will do my best to make the world a better place.” Since the 1950s, she has held leadership positions in such organizations as the Girl Scouts, Dade County Community Relations Board, the fair housing group HOPE, United Way, Urban League, and American Jewish Committee.

Paul T. Dee (M.S.Ed. ’73, J.D. ’77), director of intercollegiate athletics, received the Inside Out Award, presented to an administrator, faculty member, or staff member “who is working on the inside helping to bring those who used to be inside but are now outside back inside.” By fostering improvements in gender equity and athletics facilities, he has helped create and maintain a loyal base of Hurricane fans.

Steven E. Chavoustie (B.S. ’78, M.D. ’81) received the Orange: Outstanding Service Award for his unwavering dedication to the Medical Alumni Association. Carmine Parente (B.S. ’86) received the Green: Outstanding Fund-Raiser Award for hard work in garnering support for the Band of the Hour Club. The 2002 Black Reunion Weekend Committee received the White: Outstanding Affiliate Group Award for its widespread recruitment of new alumni volunteers and its interactive efforts to create bonds with students.

Despite being in the throes of a move from Florida to California, M. Heather K. Warren (A.B. ’96, M.B.A. ’98) served as cochair of the fifth-year reunion for the Class of ’96. Recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumna Award, she also served as San Diego Game Watch Coordinator for Fall 2001 and chaired the Zeta Tau Alpha UM chapter tenth-year reunion during Alumni Weekend.