Rising to Greater Heights

The first Green School building (left) and the new building (right)

We are grateful for the generous investment from Ambassador Steven J. Green, Dorothea Green, Dr. Kimberly Green, and the Green Family Foundation to make a second building—the new ‘west wing’ of the Green School—a reality. By bringing together most of our eight departments and 17 centers, institutes, and programs under one roof, it will nurture more collaboration among students and faculty and advance learning, research, and scholarship. Over the years, the Greens’ transformational support has enabled our School to join the ranks of the foremost schools of its type around the world.

—Dr. Shlomi Dinar, Dean, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. In 2015, the Green Family Foundation made a gift naming the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. Their investment funded construction of a second Green School building, which opened in spring 2023. The remaining funds provided endowment support to the Kimberly Green Latin American & Caribbean Center, student scholarships, and the Dorothea Green Lecture Series. This transformational investment played a role in the Green School’s becoming a full member of the distinguished Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) in 2021, one of only 38 schools in the world (along with Stanford, Princeton, and Georgetown, among others) and the only one in Florida.

The Green Family. Top, left to right: Dr. Kimberly Green, Steven Jarrell, Olivia Jarrell, and Andrea Green Jarrell. Seated, from left: Dorothea and Steven Green.

The Green Family Foundation’s investments in FIU are helping to create a more just, peaceful, and prosperous world. The new building at the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs will provide training for future leaders to help unite our hemisphere, create interdisciplinary collaboration with global impact through the Kimberly Green Latin American & Caribbean Center's initiatives, and foster community engagement through the Dorothea Green Lecture Series events. Through its work, the Green School is forming deep local and global relationships essential to ensuring a better world for all. If someone really wants to see the impact of investing in a university, FIU is certainly the place to do it.

—Kimberly Green, DPS ’11, President, Green Family Foundation.

Elevating Computer Science

Senior IT students explain the inner workings of a laptop computer to other undergraduate students in the Hardware Lab at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences.

Since the Knight Foundation’s investment in computer science in 2021, 24 new faculty have joined the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, augmenting subject matter expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, deep learning, big data, high-performance computing, and cybersecurity. These experts and the fresh teaching methods they bring are enhancing the high-quality engineering curriculum FIU offers and elevating its already renowned research profile. Investments like the Knight Foundation’s ensure our graduates are strongly positioned to contribute and thrive when they enter the workforce upon graduation.

—John L. Volakis, PhD, Dean, College of Engineering & Computing. A naming gift from the Knight Foundation in 2021 has bolstered FIU’s computer science programs and research and branded the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences. Funding supports hiring 20 new tenure-track faculty experts and 20 new teaching faculty and reimagining the computer science curriculum. This gift raises FIU’s profile as a tech-sector partner and talent pipeline for the region and the nation.

EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION

For 20+ years, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF®) has benefitted Chaplin School students, faculty, and facilities.

Alumnus John McKibbon ’75 (right) and his wife, Letitia (left), with Chaplin School Associate Dean Rocco Angelo (center) celebrating Angelo’s 90th birthday in 2021. At the celebration, the McKibbons announced a gift to the Chaplin School to create the McKibbon ’75 Alumni Experience, enhance alumni outreach through the McKibbon ’75 Alumni Center, fund scholarships and fellowships, and establish the McKibbon ’75 Professorship in Hospitality Tech/Innovation and Fellowships.

The generosity of our donors such as Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, John and Letitia McKibbon, Marriott Foundation, Bacardi USA, Badía Spices, Carnival Foundation, Wine Spectator, Café Bustelo, and Burt Cabañas during the campaign has been truly transformative for the Chaplin School. Their gifts have enabled us to achieve bold and ambitious goals, from expanding our facilities and programs to attracting world-class faculty and students. But more than that, these gifts have brought together a community of supporters who share our vision for hospitality excellence and innovation. Together, we are creating one-of-a-kind programs, advancing big ideas, and shaping the future of the hospitality industry.

—Michael Cheng, PhD, CHE, Dean, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AT THE WOLFSONIAN

With Knight Foundation funding, The Wolfsonian created an interactive rotary payphone to share profound snippets from recorded interviews with founder Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson, Jr. Just Dial M for Micky.

With the Knight Foundation’s Museum of Ideas funding, The Wolfsonian–FIU has achieved a digital transformation, expanding content, access, and awareness of our vast collections. As we look to the future, Knight Foundation funding will drive interactives and other uses of the digital assets and experiences we have created. Two Knight Digital Lab and Resource Centers will serve as spaces in the Museum building for exploration and experimentation, production hubs for digital content, and portals for students and the public to gain deeper access to the Museum collections.

—Casey Steadman, Director, The Wolfsonian–FIU. Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson, Jr., donated his 100,000-piece collection and The Wolfsonian museum to FIU in 1997. The collection currently contains more than 200,000 objects.

GIFTS TO THE ARTS ENRICH LIVES

A 2022 exhibition at the Frost Art Museum, Lalla Essaydi: Image and Text, made possible by a gift of photography from Steven E. and Phyllis Gross and Simon and Bonnie Levin. Photograph by Michael R. Lopez.

As the Director of the Frost Art Museum, I have seen firsthand how philanthropy has changed our institution and impacted the broader community. With the support of generous donors, we have offered a wide array of exhibitions, educational programs, and events. Philanthropy gives us the means to expand our collection, maintain our facilities, and engage with audiences from all backgrounds. By giving back to the Frost, our donors have helped enrich the lives of students, faculty, and community members through the arts and humanities.

—Jordana Pomeroy, PhD, Director, Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. During the Campaign for FIU, which closed in 2001, generous giving by Patricia and Phillip Frost, MD, ScD ’93, helped fund the Museum’s current building. The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum was named in recognition of their giving.

SHARING JEWISH HERITAGE WITH FUTURE GENERATIONS

The Jewish Museum of Florida–FIU, like FIU’s other museums, relies on the generosity of the community to continue to thrive. The support of our donors has been instrumental in ensuring we provide quality, insightful, and powerful programming for our visitors, grow our expansive collection of objects, and modernize our Museum with new technology to benefit all attendees. Gifts from our passionate and tight-knit community, like one this year from Elliot Stone, a third-generation Jewish Miami Beach resident whose grandfather built the Blackstone Hotel and whose father was one of only two Jewish U.S. senators from Florida, and his wife Bonnie Sockel-Stone have helped us make transformative changes and fill in the gaps in our core exhibition. Their gift is created in honor of Elliot’s parents and is dedicated to his children, so that they and their peers may enjoy our Museum for generations to come. We are grateful to Elliot and Bonnie—and all of our donors over the years—for the continued support of our mission to advance the understanding and appreciation of Jewish culture and preserve and share the history and stories of Jewish life in Florida.

—Susan Gladstone Pasternack, Executive Director, Jewish Museum of Florida–FIU. As president of the Jewish Museum of Florida, Inc., Elliot Stone was instrumental in donating the Museum facilities and its collections to FIU in 2012. Elliot Stone and Bonnie Sockel-Stone have since made gifts to support a reimagining of the Museum’s core exhibit. During the campaign, Elliot Stone established the Senator Richard B. Stone Public Policy Scholarship Endowment, named in honor of his late father, who served Florida as a U.S. senator and the nation as an ambassador, and also made a gift in support of the Opa-Locka Partners for the Future Scholarship Endowment. In 2022, Stone funded a buoy for the FIU Institute of Environment’s Biscayne Bay and Florida Bay monitoring system. Named in recognition of his gift, the Royal Castle Companies & Singer Management LLC Buoy collects, analyzes, and transmits real-time data on water conditions back to FIU as part of FIU’s efforts to protect and preserve these waters.

PANTHER PHILANTHROPISTS’ SUCCESS STARTED AT FIU

Carlos and I credit our success to our origins at FIU and are committed to ensuring future generations of students are afforded the opportunity of an incredible education and life-changing experience.

—Tina Vidal-Duart ’02, MIB ’04, CEO, CDR Health, Inc., Executive Vice President, CDR Maguire, Inc. Tina Vidal-Duart and her husband, Carlos Duart ’94, MST ’99, established two scholarship endowments at the FIU Honors College, Vidal-Duart’s alma mater, and contributed to the Chip Cassidy Distinguished Professorship in the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management’s wine studies program, among other giving to FIU. Highly engaged Panthers, the couple has served in various leadership roles at FIU. Tina Vidal-Duart is now an FIU Foundation board member, and Carlos Duart helps lead FIU’s Board of Trustees as vice-chair.

ROI IN A LAW DEGREE

I believe that any donor that is considering donating to FIU’s programs double down on that because the return on that is priceless.

—Desmond Meade, JD ’14, President and Executive Director, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. In 2023, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, led by alumnus Meade, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its role in restoring voting rights to more than 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions. Meade is a graduate of the FIU College of Law.

The Fiu Roadmap For Impactful Student Success

FIU recertified with “Seal of Excelencia” for its success in serving Hispanic and Latino students (2022)

We take a comprehensive approach to student success and use evidence-based strategies proven to help our students succeed. FIU intentionally develops and adapts best practices in higher education, including targeted scholarships, robust advising, and support for innovation in teaching and learning, to achieve our goals. Campaign investment in these programs has magnified our impact. As an anchor institution, we are acutely aware that student success directly influences the success of the graduate, determines the success of the university, and contributes to the economic growth of our greater community. And if we get it right, future universities will succeed as well, because FIU will provide the roadmap for impactful student success.

—Dr. Elizabeth M. Béjar, Provost, Executive Vice President, and Chief Operating Officer, Florida International University.

THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

22,404 students awarded scholarships (since FY 2018)

It’s important to see that the gift of giving and education . . . multiplies over the years. It’s not just the one or two dollars that you give but how the gift becomes a multiplier in someone’s life, and that’s a real big impact on our community.

—Chad Moss ’94, Executive Vice President, Moss, and Chief Executive Officer, Moss Family Office Worldwide. In 2016, alumnus Chad Moss ’94 made a gift through Moss Foundation, Inc., naming the Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability at FIU, supporting scholarships for FIU students and other initiatives, and endowing a chair in construction management.

PROFESSOR GIVES BACK TO SUPPORT FIRST-GENERATION SCHOLARSHIPS, FOSTERING PANTHER PRIDE

Excerpts from the SOAR campaign story published on givenews.fiu.edu

In 2020, Professor Rosa Chang won the FIU Faculty Award for Teaching.

As a Panther, a professor of criminology, and a life-long learner, Rosa Chang ’99, ’21 believes in the transformational power of education so much that she’s making it a part of her legacy.

By giving a part of her estate—a significant gift for FIU—Chang ensures that first-generation scholarships and Fostering Panther Pride, a vital college access program for former foster youth and students experiencing homelessness, will keep going strong.

Chang’s motivation to give back stems from her time as an undergraduate student at FIU when she was admitted to the university as a Golden Scholar, an access program designed to prepare first-generation students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Golden Scholars provided Chang not just with help improving her English skills but also connected her with faculty and university services.

Chang hopes that her gift will allow first-generation students like herself to build both knowledge and resiliency so they’re prepared to face challenges both inside and outside of the academy.

“By helping these students directly,” Chang says, “FIU motivates me to give back because I want to see these programs continue and become self-sustaining so they can help even more students.”

ALUMNUS COMES FULL CIRCLE—THE ROSADO FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP

Left to right: Tulio Rosado, College of Business Dean William Hardin, and Susy Rosado at an event honoring the Rosado Family Scholarship Fund.

When Tulio Rosado ’99 immigrated to the United States, like so many other newcomers to our nation, he had the desire and determination to seize all the newfound opportunities around him. He realized the key to this was higher education, but that takes time and money, luxuries often lacking for those starting a new life.

“I’ve been able to attain many of the goals I set back when I started at FIU in 1995 because I received the economic assistance necessary to attend,” says Rosado, an economics graduate and current financial advisor. “Forming the Rosado Family Scholarship Fund came from the desire to give back and reciprocate the help that I received early in my life.”

The fund was started in 2022 and has attracted contributions from other donors, including a corporate match from his employer. The scholarships support first-generation finance students at the College of Business. The Rosado Family’s goal is to make as much impact as possible with their gift, and because the funds are earmarked for first-generation students, they are eligible for a 2:1 state match. Additionally, since Rosado is an alumnus, his investment is eligible for FIU’s Alumni Challenge, whereby alumni donations qualify to be matched by an anonymous donor’s gift.

“I encourage fellow FIU alumni to pay it forward. Brick by brick, FIU has become an outstanding school, and with our help we can contribute to FIU’s pursuit of becoming a top-50 university.”

GIFTS THAT IMPACT GRADUATION OUTCOMES

Thanks to generous funding from the Braman Family Foundation and the Helios Education Foundation supporting completion scholarships, 2,062 students within 30 credits of graduating received a need-based completion scholarship (averaging $1,008 each), financial wellness coaching, and other supports. Of these students, 5 percent are still in school or have applied for graduation, and 94 percent have graduated.

Retention and completion grants make a difference in the lives of our students, allowing them to work fewer hours, address emergency expenses that would cause them to stop-out, or afford necessary expenses for their courses. Without the generous gifts from our donors, we would not have been able to support as many students as we have. Students who receive grants find value in the many supports that we offer them, including financial wellness coaching. This type of philanthropy is powerful, as the impact on the student is immediate and contributes to their ability to graduate.

—Dr. Bridgette Cram, Interim Vice President for Innovative Education and Student Success and Co-Executive Director, FIU Center for Community Impact and Public Purpose. Donors have contributed over $2.5 million toward completion scholarships during the Next Horizon campaign, with grants to more than 2,250 students and more to come.

FUEL FOR THE LAST MILE

It was an honor to be chosen for the Helios Last Mile Scholarship at FIU. I recently earned my bachelor’s degree, majoring in sports management. This scholarship allowed me to focus on my studies and was a stepping stone that helped me earn my bachelor’s degree.

—Elyzer Saint Hilaire ’22. A gift from the Helios Education Foundation in 2020 created the Helios Last Mile Scholarship to help students close to graduation complete the last mile. Among other giving to FIU, the Helios Education Foundation funded summer completion scholarships in 2020 through a partnership with the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities to help FIU students and those at two other public universities in Florida with expenses not covered by the federally funded CARES Act or traditional financial aid during COVID-19.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS AND VETERANS

I applied for the scholarship because of the financial hardships that my mother, father, and I are facing. The funds paid for my tuition, so I was able to allocate other funds to aid my parents.

—Benjamin Wilson, Recipient of the George & Bernice Cooke Scholarship for Military and Veteran Students and Assistant Dedicated Crew Chief at the 482d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Homestead Air Reserve Base. Wilson is also an active member of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. The George & Bernice Cooke Foundation for Women made a gift to FIU in 2021 to endow scholarships for nontraditional and veteran/military students. During the campaign, FIU has garnered national distinctions for being a military-friendly university.

NEXT GEN DOCTOR

Esta Orovitz, medical student Melissa Fernandez ’21, Dr. James Loewenherz (left to right)

This scholarship not only removed an unimaginable financial burden from my family and me, but it also gifted me two irreplaceable people: Dr. James Loewenherz and his wife, Esta Orovitz.

—Melissa Fernandez ’21, Class of 2026, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Fernandez is the first medical student to receive the James W. Loewenherz, MD, and Family Scholarship, created with a gift from Dr. James W. Loewenherz and his wife, Esta Orovitz, to the College of Medicine in 2022.

TOMORROW’S NURSE ANESTHETIST

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Nurse Anesthesia Program is very strenuous and requires a full-time commitment. This scholarship helps to relieve some of the financial stress of being unable to work while in FIU’s intense program, and it gives me more time to focus on my studies. After graduating from the DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program, I envision working at a high-acuity tertiary hospital, where I can use the tools and the education I gained at FIU to care for my patients safely.

—Gylany Crossman, Graduate student, Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nurse Anesthesia Program, Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Crossman was awarded the Diane Ramy Faulconer ’74, MSM ’74 Graduate Nursing Scholarship in spring 2023. Faulconer has made generous annual gifts to the College to support graduate nursing and health sciences scholarships, among other generous campaign giving.

COFFEE TRADER AND IMPORTER

From my first day at FIU as a Carnival Gold Scholar until my last day as a postgraduate researcher studying customer coffee perceptions at hotels with Professor Howook Chang, my trip through the Chaplin School was packed! I had opportunities to gain hands-on industry experience, travel via study abroad, and take courses that toured all aspects of hospitality. This was all thanks to the generous four-year full scholarship I received from the Carnival Foundation. It covered everything, including dorms, giving me the time and funding to explore the world of events and the hospitality industry abroad. And it was at a Carnival Gold Scholars dinner with faculty that Professor Chang and I discovered our shared passion for coffee. I’m now a coffee trader and importer who understands the business of my hospitality customers and green coffee partners.

—Serena Beze ’19, MS ’20, Coffee trader and importer; graduate of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. With generous support from the Carnival Foundation, the Chaplin School has awarded five full-ride scholarships each year to exemplary first-year students seeking a bachelor’s in hospitality management, opening new doors of opportunity for 42 Carnival Gold Scholars since 2014.

ENTREPRENEUR

Being a Carnival Gold Scholar was life-changing. It not only gave me an education, but it opened doors. The full scholarship meant I didn’t have to worry about finances or take a job to pay my way through school, so I was able to try everything and explore different sectors of hospitality through internships and study abroad. These experiences helped me decide what I wanted to do in hospitality and where my talents and passions could take me. Being a Carnival Gold Scholar also gave me confidence and put me in the room with the right people, including David Grutman. That led to a marketing position with Groot Hospitality and my work at Lemon Pop. I don’t know where I’d be today without that scholarship!

—Leah Esper ’19, MS ’20, Entrepreneur; graduate of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Esper is the co-founder of Lemon Pop Agency, a social media and creative agency specializing in the hospitality industry. Co-founder Paloma Feldman ’20 is an alumna of the FIU College of Business, and Lemon Pop employs another Chaplin School alumna and Carnival Gold Scholar, Deborah Sanchez, ’18, MS ’19. Go Panthers!

ENGINEER / DESIGNER

As with most first-generation college students, I faced multiple demands on my time, including dedicating time to achieving academic excellence, participating in volunteer and leadership roles, and taking care of family members. With the support of the Jorge and Darlene Pérez Scholars Scholarship, I was able to focus on my education, grades, internships, and stewardship, all of which have culminated in my current career working with different agencies in the federal government to improve their future business operations. The scholarship also eased my financial burden post-graduation, enabling me to build my skills as a leader, give back to the South Florida community through my role on the Interdisciplinary Engineering Industry Advisory Council, and maintain an active and lasting correspondence with Jorge and Darlene Pérez, who have opened a world of opportunity to me, broadened my knowledge of the arts, and offered their continued mentorship.

—Jaquan Starling ’22, Engineer/designer; graduate of the College of Engineering & Computing and the Honors College, earning a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary engineering and minoring in computer science. Jorge M. Pérez and Darlene M. Boytell-Pérez, ARNP ’89, MSN ’96, created the Jorge and Darlene Pérez Scholars Scholarship in 2018 with an endowment gift to the Honors College. Their annual giving also funds the Jorge and Darlene Pérez Excellence Award, given to graduating Honors College seniors distinguished by their academic excellence and commitment to the community. Jorge Pérez and the Related Philanthropic Foundation also made a campaign gift naming and providing endowment support to the Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center, FIU’s economic development think tank.

LAUNCHING LAWYERS

As an alumnus of FIU Law, I have witnessed firsthand the impacts of my gifts in helping FIU law students acquire high-level job placement with the support they received from the Ovadia Career Planning & Placement Office.

—Abraham S. Ovadia, JD ’09, Founder, Ovadia Law Group, PA. In 2013, FIU College of Law alumnus Abraham Ovadia made a gift to the FIU College of Law to enhance its career planning and placement office, which now bears his name. Since then, Ovadia has given to establish the Abraham S. Ovadia Scholarship, which assists promising students from South Florida who have passed their first year of law school and who show an interest in following in Ovadia’s footsteps as leaders and business owners. This scholarship is not only a method for him to uplift students economically but also a way of availing himself to them as a mentor. Support like Ovadia’s has helped FIU Law rise in the rankings—it climbed 38 spots to rank No. 32 among public law schools in U.S. News & World Report 2023-2024 rankings, which now give more weight to critical student outcomes like employment after graduation and bar passage rates.

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER THROUGH EVERY CAFECITO

Café Bustelo Scholars Natalia Cordova and Frank Mediavilla Ponce

We are very excited about this partnership with FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the future FIU CasaCuba, which gives us the opportunity to deepen the connection with the FIU family and the local community. Giving back to the communities we serve through our support of education initiatives while bringing people together through every cafecito is at the core of our Café Bustelo and Pilon brands.

—Eduardo Merino, Senior Brand Manager of Rowland Coffee Brands at J. M. Smucker Co. In 2021, Café Bustelo & Pilon, coffee brands in The J. M. Smucker Co. portfolio, announced a gift to FIU to fund the Café Bustelo® El Café Del Futuro Scholarship for students studying hospitality management, new courses and master classes on the coffee industry at the Chaplin School, and the construction of FIU CasaCuba.

INNOVATION IN SPIRITS EDUCATION

“Your cocktail is ready!” Hospitality management student Samantha Wagner ordered a beverage from Cecilia.ai, the Bacardi Center of Excellence's interactive robotic bartender.

Bacardi’s investment in FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management has led to true impact and a ripple effect in hospitality education, specifically in our unique spirits track. It has allowed us to invest in the latest technology and innovation and has provided faculty and students with new and unexpected opportunities. This partnership has put FIU’s Bacardi Center of Excellence on the world stage and in front of industry leaders, a direct result of the investment and support from this iconic spirits brand.

—Brian P. Connors, MS, CHE, CSW, Senior Director, Global Food & Beverage Innovation, and Founding Faculty Director, Bacardi Center of Excellence, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Bacardi USA made a gift in 2020 to create the Bacardi Center of Excellence at the Chaplin School and provide programming support to FIU CasaCuba.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Judge Phyllis Kotey, clinical professor at FIU College of Law, facilitates the Ferré Institute’s “You Be the Judge” in partnership with the Florida Courts Matter Coalition.

The Ferré Family Foundation’s 2021 gift establishing the Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership at FIU addresses the critical need to prepare diverse leaders and changemakers. The Institute also promotes democracy by educating students and the public about the importance of civic engagement, community infrastructure, and social justice. These are issues championed by the late Maurice A. Ferré, Miami’s first Hispanic mayor and its longest-serving mayor (1973–1985). Ferré was a visionary statesman who laid the foundation for the Magic City’s global stature. The Institute’s multidisciplinary academic, research, and community-facing programs build upon FIU’s role as a local anchor institution with expansive regional, state, national, and global impact and influence.

—Dr. Agatha Caraballo, Director, Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. The Ferré Family Foundation’s gift created the Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership and supports its programming. In 2022, the Ferré Institute led an array of civic literacy and engagement programs at FIU that contributed to the university's designation by the Campus Vote Project and NASPA as a voter-friendly campus for students in 2023.

UNDERGRADS SAVE SEA TURTLES

Funding from the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation enabled me to conduct habitat surveys, turtle abundance surveys, sighting density analyses, turtle tagging, health assessments, and social surveys of sea turtles on Saona Island, Dominican Republic—as an FIU undergraduate! I’m set to begin a PhD program in biology at FIU in the fall. I will continue studying the in-water behavior of sea turtles on Saona Island . . ., and FIU undergraduate students will be able to collaborate with me on this project. Truly a full-circle experience!

—Aloyse Abreu, FIU Undergraduate to Graduate Program Fellow. The National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation has generously given to the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, including support for undergraduate students participating in internships and research experiences in sea turtle conservation.

GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANT SCIENTISTS

New home for the International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong

The William R. Kenan, Jr., Charitable Trust has been a transformational supporter of our initiative to build the International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong, a partnership between FIU and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. We have recently opened our beautiful new education and research facility in Coconut Grove. The new facility supported by this visionary gift will enable us to realize our mission to become a global leader in training the next generation of plant scientists, who will mitigate important contemporary challenges, including food security and climate change. The Kenan Charitable Trust’s leadership gift helped us to establish a global hub for environmental science and education in South Florida and beyond.

—Dr. Chris Baraloto, Director, International Center for Tropical Botany (ICTB) at The Kampong of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

HIGH-TECH LABS TRAIN MEDICAL AND NURSING STUDENTS

Medical student training with a patient simulator at the Albert and Debbie Tano Medical Simulation Center.

The Albert and Debbie Tano Medical Simulation Center provides learners with hands-on training opportunities that are difficult or impossible to replicate in real-life clinical settings, such as medical emergencies and procedures.

—Emiri Uchiyama, MD, Director of the Albert and Debbie Tano Medical Simulation Center. The Center was named after Dr. Albert Taño and his wife, Debbie, in recognition of their gift to the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. This world-class multidisciplinary training and research facility features a variety of programmable adult and pediatric patient simulators and a standardized patient program with “patient actors” to train medical and physician assistant students.

Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences leadership with Diane Ramy Faulconer ’74 (third from right) at the Diane Ramy Faulconer CARE Center ribbon-cutting.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with students at the Diane Ramy Faulconer Collaborative Advanced Rehabilitation/Research & Education (CARE) Center, as it has enhanced my learning experience and theirs. The CARE Center has a Human Performance Lab for research, a Rehabilitation Lab for manual skills, and the Anatomage (virtual dissection table) for hands-on study of the human body, just to name a few. Having these resources at students’ fingertips creates an environment that helps them succeed in their careers, challenges their intellect, and builds on their skills and knowledge.

—Shianne Carter, Doctor of Physical Therapy student at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences and CARE Center lab assistant, affectionately known as a “CARE Bear.” In 2018, Diane Ramy Faulconer ’74, MSM ’74, a double Panther, invested in the future of home health care, naming the Diane Ramy Faulconer CARE Center, creating a state-of-the-art simulated home environment, and equipping a human performance lab. In 2023, Faulconer made another significant gift, naming the Diane Ramy Faulconer Simulation Teaching and Research (STAR) Centers at FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus and Biscayne Bay Campus. Faulconer also generously supports graduate student scholarships in nursing, health sciences, and business.

PREPARING TECH-READY CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS

In the Trimble Technology Lab, I use SketchUp and other applications to create designs, become acquainted with on-site construction processes, create schedules, make estimates, survey, and identify job site hazards more effectively. These are all very-much-needed skills for a construction management student. I have no doubt that the Trimble Technology Lab will make me stand out from others when I’m searching for a job.

—Sridhar Sadana, Graduate student in the Master of Science in Construction Management Program, Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. The Trimble Technology Lab was made possible through a gift-in-kind in 2021 from renowned industrial technology company Trimble, Inc.

ACCESS TO THE ARTS

The Inside World: Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Memorial Poles from the Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection. Photograph by Zachary Balber.

Knowing that our artworks would be available for the students at FIU in perpetuity was a big factor in our decision to donate 200 pieces from our art collection to the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. University museums have a higher purpose and make artistic opportunities available to a student population that might not otherwise have access to the art world. It was just such an opportunity in my life 45 years ago at the Frost Art Museum that set me off on the path of collecting art and becoming a patron. It changed my life, and for that, I am forever grateful.

—Dennis Scholl ’77. During the campaign, Debra and Dennis Scholl generously donated works of art from their private collection to the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum.

A CELIA CRUZ TROVE

The Celia Cruz Music Score Collection contains more than 200 scores and sheet music arrangements of compositions from a variety of genres. Bebo Valdés is among the well-known artists represented in this collection. View the collection.

Celia’s most fervent wish was to ensure her legacy lives on for generations. Donating her original musical scores will provide future students with a unique way to study her repertoire—the way she would have done it.

—Omer Pardillo Cid, Executor of the Celia Cruz Estate, donor of Celia Cruz’s score sheets, and Emmy, Grammy, and Latin Grammy Award-winning producer and talent manager. This gift enhances the student experience, from those studying at the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts or accessing the Diaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection at FIU Libraries to those who will experience FIU CasaCuba when it opens its doors.

TRISH AND DAN BELL CHAPEL

The Trish and Dan Bell Chapel is exactly what the community needs. The multi-purpose sanctuary will be open for both religious and non-religious practices. The chapel will help people connect with themselves and disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. It will be an uplifting space for students, faculty, staff, and visitors at the heart of FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus.

—Roselyn Asusta, Liberal studies major (pre-law track, certificates in Italian and pre-law). Philanthropists Trish and Dan Bell have generously given to build a multifaith center for spiritual inquiry at FIU, the Trish and Dan Bell Chapel.

UNDER WATER AND AROUND THE WORLD

A crew of NASA and European Space Agency astronauts trains at Medina Aquarius, the underwater research lab funded by the Medina Family Foundation and located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The campaign support we have received from the Medina Family Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and The Batchelor Foundation has allowed us to make the kind of impact in conservation that a university can only dream of. The gift from the Medina Family, establishing the Medina Aquarius Program, helped to save and further our one-of-a-kind underwater marine research lab while establishing an education and outreach program that reaches millions of kids each year—all while doing critical science and training. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation gifts have helped create a global shark collaborative network and survey that has underpinned national and international protections for these critical species. It has also provided critical support to researchers embarking on the bold initiative to save the world’s most trafficked wild mammal—the pangolin. And The Batchelor Foundation has united conservation leaders, students, and researchers to recover critical species and biodiversity-rich ecosystems by providing funding that established FIU’s Tropical Conservation Institute—a global hub for saving and recovering populations of endangered species.

—Dr. Mike Heithaus, Executive Dean, College of Arts, Sciences & Education.

PAUL G. ALLEN FAMILY FOUNDATION HELPS TURN DATA INTO ACTION

White-bellied pangolin. Photo courtesy of ZSL.

In a world of scarce resources, data must inform decision. In the case of illegal wildlife trafficking, a bad decision can be disastrous. Realizing this, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation began funding Global FinPrint in 2015, so FIU researchers could lead a global collaboration to measure where reef sharks are at greatest risk and where they are functionally extinct, and to benchmark the status of reef sharks around the world. With 371 reefs surveyed in 58 countries, the data is unprecedented in quality and quantity.

Now, researchers at the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, along with partner institutions including Oxford University, are able to expand this sort of comprehensive data collecting to the pangolin, a scale-covered animal considered the world’s most-trafficked mammal, again thanks to the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. All eight pangolin species are listed as Vulnerable to Critically Endangered. Operation Pangolin aims to compile and study data and use the resulting information to inform conservation strategies and protect the pangolin from illegal trafficking. This six-year collaborative effort is currently focusing on pangolin populations in Africa with plans to expand into Asia.

In addition to learning about the behaviors of this unusual and poorly studied animal, Operation Pangolin will increase awareness of this creature’s plight and of the devastating effects of the illegal wildlife trade.

KNIGHT FOUNDATION FUNDS INFUSION OF NEW TECH FACULTY

A new Knight School faculty member, Dr. Christian Poellabauer received a grant from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab in 2021 for the proposal, “Personalized Mobility Interventions Using Smart Sensor Resources for Lower-limb Prostheses Users.” Photo courtesy of Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.

The Knight Foundation’s $10 million campaign investment in FIU’s School of Computing and Information Sciences, together with FIU funding, will add 20 new tenure-track and 20 new teaching faculty to the School by 2031. Those new hires will double the School faculty, adding teaching talent in emerging as well as applied technology and research expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, big data, high-performance computing, and cybersecurity.

The Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, named in recognition of this transformational gift, has already seen tremendous impacts since 2021. In less than three years, 24 new faculty have joined the School, meeting teaching demands arising from 19 percent annual increases in computer science headcounts and contributing to an 87 percent increase in research expenditures (from $6.1 million in FY 2021 to $11.5 million in FY 2023).

Ranked No. 43 in the United States for R&D expenditures in computer and information sciences (NSF HERD, FY 2021), FIU is poised for research growth in the coming years. Adding to its research faculty will also help the Knight School address the national shortage of computer science PhDs—future faculty—arising from rapid growth in tech occupation employment, demand for undergraduate computer science degrees, and PhD defection to industry, among other factors. Tenure-track faculty members supervise PhDs and drive graduate degree production.

Doubling down on equipping future graduates and faculty for roles in MiamiTech, the region’s burgeoning global tech economy, and US industry and the academy, the Knight School asks, “How can we help?”

PROSECUTORIAL REFORM

MacArthur Foundation’s Director of Criminal Justice Laurie Garduque speaking with Prosecutorial Performance Indicators (PPI) Project founder Besiki Luka Kutateladze and FIU’s Senior Vice President for Research and Economic Development Andrés Gil at the PPI Project conference at FIU in March 2022.

My John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation research grants have allowed my team to build a national research and technical assistance project on prosecutorial reform focusing on transparency, racial justice, and data-informed decision-making. With the MacArthur Foundation’s investments in the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Project since 2017, we have been able to partner with more than 25 large prosecutorial offices nationwide to ensure more just and equitable outcomes for the communities they serve.  

—Dr. Besiki Luka Kutateladze, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, and Associate Director for Prosecution and Courts at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy.

INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM

Jaffer Center faculty, affiliated faculty, and community partners from the Coalition of South Florida Muslim Organizations (COSMOS) at the FIU Annual Interfaith Iftar Dinner, hosted by the Jaffer Center in observance of Ramadan.

The gift by the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation to establish the Mohsin & Fauzia Jaffer Center for Muslim World Studies at FIU has been transformational. Without their gift, as well as the support of other donors, the Center wouldn’t exist in the way that it does today. Their generosity has allowed us to make progress toward our ambitious vision of becoming an international center for the study of Islam and the global Muslim experience. The Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation’s investment has supported both faculty and student research and graduate student scholarships. It has also supported programming such as guest lectures, community outreach, scholarly conferences, and our signature Ramadan Interfaith Iftar Dinner.  

—Mohamed K. Ghumrawi ’11, MA ’17, PhD ’22, Affiliate Faculty, Mohsin & Fauzia Jaffer Center for Muslim World Studies, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. A generous gift from the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation established the Mohsin & Fauzia Jaffer Center for Muslim World Studies at FIU in 2017, among other campaign giving by the Jaffer Family.

REAL IMPACT

Dr. Eli Beracha at the Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate’s REact2022 Real Estate Conference

Tibor Hollo has been a leader in the development of modern Miami, and the Tibor and Sheila School of Real Estate at FIU has experienced tremendous quality improvement and growth since it was named by the Hollo Family and funded by the Hollo endowment. Today, we are clearly one of the top real estate schools in the U.S. and in the world.

—Dr. Eli Beracha, Director, Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate, FIU College of Business. Tibor Hollo and his wife, Sheila, expanded real estate education at the College of Business with a gift naming the Tibor and Sheila Hollo School of Real Estate in 2012. Funding continues to support real estate faculty, academics, and programming. FIU is consistently ranked No. 1 globally in real estate research in the Real Estate Academic Leadership (REAL) Rankings, reflecting the School’s extensive publications in the field from 2018 to 2022 (Journal of Real Estate Literature).

ADVANCING EQUITY & INCLUSION

Dr. Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver

It is important that we have a gender balance in all the forms in which we communicate information so that we can build a more equitable and inclusive society. The work of our Center has impacted the professional lives of women in communication and the very fabric of society for a decade.

—Dr. Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, Founding Executive Director of the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication, College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts. Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, the Center is supported by giving from Dr. Kopenhaver and other generous donors. There are now three Kopenhaver satellite centers at universities in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Missouri. The centers advance women in communication through research, training, workshops, mentoring, a national conference, and fellowship programs.

FIU’S ART + DESIGN INCUBATOR BLOSSOMS

Ratcliffe Incubator’s Dimitry Saïd Chamy introduces Lemon Yellow’s Erika Morales for her talk on branding.

Since its creation in 2017, the Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator has provided a brave and challenging environment for more than 80 early-career creatives to meet society’s most pressing challenges using their imaginations, leadership skills, and entrepreneurial energies.  

—Jacek J. Kolasiński, MFA, PhD, Director, Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator, College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts. Investments from the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation established this novel business incubator focused on arts and design and have continued to fund it during the campaign.

MUSEUMS ARE THE LUNGS OF A COMMUNITY

Rubin-Ladd Student Docent Intern Christopher Carlos Montejo

Thanks to the Rubin-Ladd Foundation, I completed a paid internship at the Frost Art Museum. As a first-generation Cuban student living alone and taking a full schedule of classes, it would not have been possible to juggle an unpaid internship and a job. As a student docent intern, I engaged in outreach to K-12 students at the Frost and in their schools, expanding access to the arts among students of all ages, languages, and backgrounds. Museums like the Frost are the lungs of a community, creating a cycle of inhaling and exhaling knowledge of art and culture.

—Christopher Carlos Montejo, Double major in computer science and philosophy, with a minor in psychology. The Rubin-Ladd Foundation’s generous gift to the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum in 2020 created the Rubin-Ladd Student Docent Internship Program, supporting a robust cadre of student docents focused on exposing students from local schools and FIU to the visual arts world and museums.

BUSSES TO THE ARTS

  The Frost Art Museum’s educational art programs support our mission and amplify our reach in many communities. One of the most significant barriers for our local schools and their students to experience culture is transportation funding. One museum visit can impact a child forever. Knowing that we have the philanthropic support to provide transportation for school groups that have never visited an art museum makes my job worthwhile.

—Miriam Machado, Director of Education and National Museum Education Art Educator 2023, Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum.

GIFTING THE MISSING LINK

Micky Wolfson has assembled one of the most important collections in the museum world. The Wolfsonian’s collection is incredibly intuitive, meaningful, and vast. However, the one significant missing link in this spectacular and all-encompassing collection was jewelry. Jewelry and how it connectively fits into the design dialogue and collection of The Wolfsonian is what guided me in launching an initiative to help build a meaningful collection of jewelry for The Wolfsonian. My gift on behalf of Historical Design adds 275 pieces of jewelry spanning the late 19th century through the 20th century to The Wolfsonian’s expansive collections.

—Daniel Morris, Owner, Historical Design, New York. An exhibition featuring the jewelry collection and decorative arts will debut in fall 2024. Recent campaign gifts have enabled The Wolfsonian–FIU to provide richer context about material culture and the complex ways politics, persuasion, travel, tourism, and social forces have shaped our lives. Building upon the work of founder Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson, Jr., new donors have gifted tightly focused collections that fill critical gaps, enhancing our collective understanding of the lessons and artifacts of the modern age.

BUILDING A HOME FOR CUBA STORIES

Among other things, CasaCuba is a tribute to the countless Cubans who did not live to see their dream of a democratic Cuba fulfilled. Now more than ever, we need a home to tell their story—a story of sacrifice, dedication, and perseverance. CasaCuba is that home.

—Jorge Más, Chairman of the Board and Co-founder, MasTec, Inc.; founding member of the FIU CasaCuba Board of Advisors. In 2021, the Más Family Foundation made a generous gift to support the construction and mission of CasaCuba. The 57,000-square-foot facility on FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus will integrate the latest technology to provide a multisensory experience of Cuban heritage.

To provide this community with a singular, permanent space open to the public, where Cuban Americans in Miami and everywhere can tell their stories, is an ambitious goal but one that we have no doubt can and will be achieved. The story of Cuban Americans in South Florida is filled with inspiring examples of resilience, prosperity, and generosity. Thanks to the campaign support of our visionary donors, we have written the bold opening for FIU CasaCuba’s next great chapter.

—Lili Betancourt Space ’00, Director of Development (2019), Executive Director (2023), FIU CasaCuba.

Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in Our Community

Mobile Health Center Operations Manager Gabriela Gonzalez, a paramedic, takes the pulse of Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP patient Esperanza Selaya in South Miami.

At Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP, we believe that improving health outcomes for vulnerable communities requires focusing on social determinants of health and meaningful community engagement. Our program provides critical health services and resources to individuals and families in the catchment area of South Miami Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital. In addition, it offers a unique opportunity for students to learn from and work alongside community members. By building trust and addressing the root causes of health disparities, we are improving health outcomes and creating a pipeline of future health care providers committed to serving their community’s needs. We are grateful for the support of Baptist Health, whose investment has enabled us to expand our reach and continue positively impacting the health and well-being of those we serve.

—David R. Brown, MD, Chief of the Division of Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Brown leads Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program (NeighborhoodHELP) and was instrumental in establishing the West Kendall Baptist/FIU Family Medicine Residency. Before the Next Horizon campaign was launched, in 2009, Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP was established with a generous gift from the Green Family Foundation and challenge grants from The Batchelor Foundation. With these donors leading the way, many generous donors have since propelled this innovative approach to socially conscious medical education and health care delivery further. During the campaign, Baptist Health expanded Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP to neighborhoods in South Miami. Baptist Health and the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine recently announced plans to expand undergraduate and graduate medical education programs, develop clinical and teaching facilities, grow faculty-physician practices, and deepen capabilities around pioneering research.

Detected Advanced Breast Cancer

Through the Linda Fenner 3D Mobile Mammography Center

Linda Fenner 3D Mobile Mammography Center

I had no idea I could have cancer. If I had not had that mammography, I would have died.

—Gabriela Sierra, Breast cancer survivor and patient of the Linda Fenner 3D Mobile Mammography Center. Campaign gifts made by the Braman Family Charitable Foundation and The Batchelor Foundation to the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine launched the Center in 2014 to provide access to screening mammograms in communities with an incidence of advanced breast cancer.

Nursing Care for Rural Communities

Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim

The generous funding of my Endowed Chair in Prevention and Family Health by Dr. and Mrs. Wertheim has enabled me to continue my work with rural communities to bring forensic nursing care for victims of sexual assault, health promotion in primary care clinics, and increased vaccine education to rural counties across the state of Florida.

—Tami L. Thomas, PhD, RN, APRN-CPNP, FAANP, FAAN. Dr. Thomas is the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Endowed Chair in Prevention and Family Health, Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development, PhD Program Director, and Director of the HRSA-funded Regionally Underserved Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (RUSANE) program. In 2013, the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation made a gift to name the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences and form three endowed chairs: the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Endowed Chair in Prevention and Family Health (held by Dr. Thomas), the Dr. Vanessa Wertheim Endowed Chair in Chronic Disease Prevention and Care (held by Dr. Trudy Gaillard, Associate Professor), and the Erica Wertheim Zohar Endowed Chair in Community Mental Health (held by Dr. Ellen Leslie Brown, Associate Professor, Graduate Nursing). The last two chairs are named in honor of Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim’s two daughters. The support has enabled these faculty to conduct research and publish their work while serving in advisory roles and on councils.

FORGING THE FUTURE: DEVELOPING PERSONALIZED TREATMENTS FOR CANCER PATIENTS

Dr. Diana Azzam

Excerpts from the SOAR campaign story published on givenews.fiu.edu

The leading-edge research of FIU faculty member Dr. Diana Azzam is advancing the field of personalized cancer treatment. Dr. Azzam’s work aims to deliver tailored medical treatments based on a patient’s cancer genomic profile and drug response—an approach she calls “functional precision medicine”—by matching the patient and the cancer with the most effective personalized treatment to improve outcomes. For more than a decade, she has focused on the development of novel and more effective approaches for cancers that are difficult to treat.

Dr. Azzam is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. During the campaign, Dr. Azzam received a grant from the Scott R. MacKenzie Foundation for research on the efficacy of a series of clinically approved compounds on tumor tissue samples. She also received grants from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation and the Community Foundation of Broward and a grant from the Florida Department of Health Live Like Bella Pediatric Cancer Research Initiative for two studies with pediatric cancer patients at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.

Improving Black Maternal Health: Midwives and Doulas

Black Mothers Care Plan Master Trainer and Executive Director of the Southern Birth Justice Network Jamarah Amani presents Transforming Health in Miami through Midwife and Doula Care at the YWCA Downtown/Overtown Center on January 7, 2023.

Maternal death rates in the United States have risen significantly since 2000, with Black non-Hispanic women suffering the highest rates of preventable maternal mortality, two times higher than white women. In Miami-Dade County, these rates are even higher as Black mothers die from pregnancy-related causes at rates greater than three times higher than white mothers. Black women also face the most significant risk of unfavorable birth outcomes, including preterm birth, fetal mortality, and infant mortality, factors compounded by the lack of Medicaid in the postpartum period, where nearly half of maternal deaths occur within the first year after Medicaid coverage is suspended.

Out of this context, the Black Mothers Care Plan at FIU—a collaborative initiative of the FIU Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, The Gathering Place, Southern Birth Justice Network, and Metro Mommy Agency—was born. Dr. Okezi Otovo, Associate Professor of History and African and African Diaspora Studies and an affiliate of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at FIU, leads the program as its principal investigator.

According to Dr. Otovo, the Black Mothers Care Plan is “establishing a community model of care that truly centers Black birthing persons” while also helping “change the cultures, norms, and practices of care, institutionalizing additional supports and liberating Black maternal health from preventable risk, illnesses, and trauma.” At its core, the program provides Black birthing persons with information that encourages patient-centered decision-making in prenatal, birthing, and postpartum care.

With support from a TD Charitable Foundation grant, the Black Mothers Care Plan has expanded its community education series on Black Maternal Health and Wellness. These workshops, led by Black doulas, were launched in 2022 to provide a conduit for Black mothers to access prenatal, birthing, and postpartum doula care and the Medicaid benefits, extended in Florida from 60 days to 12 months postpartum in 2022, that cover them.

Midwives and doulas are associated with improved prenatal, birthing, and postpartum outcomes. They are also part of a rich cultural legacy in African American history.

Collaborating With Communities

Dandrese Clay and Dandrese Clay, Jr., second- and third-generation Bahamians and residents of West Grove, met with project researchers and a photographer as part of their research into the history of West Grove.

Neighborhoods and communities are the heart of disaster resilience, and improving their preparedness and bounce-back capabilities requires listening to their leaders and co-designing solutions that will work for them. The Mellon Foundation’s support of FIU’s Race, Risk, and Resilience: Building a Local-to-Global Commons for Justice project has placed neighborhood and community resilience at the forefront of its efforts in helping forge lasting community-university collaborations that work toward practical and long-term solutions.

—Dr. Richard S. Olson, Director, Extreme Events Institute; Director, International Hurricane Research Center; Distinguished University Professor, Department of Politics & International Relations, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a grant to FIU’s Extreme Events Institute for the Race, Risk, and Resilience project in 2020.

Changing Lives One Trade at a Time

A two-year grant from the Lennar Foundation launched the Certificate Program in Construction Trades. That grant planted a seed that, six years later, has yielded tremendous fruit for the community. FIU launched the program with 39 students, teaching them construction trades and helping them find jobs. We have since trained over 1,400 participants and grown our cohorts to as high as 282 participants. Our free program is offered to people experiencing homelessness, returning citizens, veterans, people aging out of foster care, women who have been victims of abusive relationships, and anyone who does not have the means to pursue an education on their own or an interest in obtaining a BA but who has the desire to create a future for themselves and their families.

—Dr. José A. Faria, Moss Endowed Chair, Moss Department of Construction Management, Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. The Certificate Program in Construction Trades has attracted more than $5 million in funding since the program was established in 2018. This successful program is helping residents find construction jobs, meeting the local construction industry’s workforce needs, and providing a model program for the state and nation.

Helping Our Community Through Crisis

$2.2M raised in pandemic relief

 When COVID-19 started and we shut down our stores, at that point, we were at 75 employees, and we went down to five. It was traumatic. FIU was a life raft. The FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management gave us a grant. It makes me want to cry. It was such a wonderful moment. I used that money to pay for my employee payroll.

—Misha Kuryla, MIB ’04, owner, Misha’s Cupcakes. During COVID-19, Misha’s Cupcakes received a grant from the SOBEWFF® & FIU Chaplin School Hospitality Industry Relief Fund.