New York Knicks All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire, right, with Craig Wilson, executive director of Collegiate, Online, and Pre-Collegiate Programs in the Division of Continuing and International Education

One of the University of Miami’s newest enrollees is 6 feet 11 inches tall, 260 pounds, and can wield a basketball with one hand like the average person holds a softball.

New York Knicks All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire is now officially a Miami Hurricane. Stoudemire, who was selected in the first round of the 2002 NBA Draft and was named Rookie of the Year in 2003, enrolled at UM this week and will pursue a Bachelor of General Studies through a combination of online and on-campus coursework in the same manner as other students in the BGS program.

“It’s all about education,” said Stoudemire, when asked about his decision to continue his education. “I’m doing this because I know that, at any point in life, it is important to keep learning.”

UM’s Bachelor of General Studies degree is ideal for adult learners who have built busy lives with families and, like Stoudemire, successful careers. Craig Wilson, executive director of Collegiate, Online, and Pre-Collegiate Programs in the Division of Continuing and International Education, said BGS students often have started college at a previous stage in life and can build on those credits with flexible programs of study and courses that suit their needs. Wilson added that it has become essential for a growing number of people in the current economy to finish their bachelor’s degrees in order to compete for jobs.

“In Amar’e Stoudemire’s life, competition and learning have come on the basketball court, and now he, like the other BGS students, is seeking educational attainment as part of his personal growth,” said Wilson. “I think that Amar’e Stoudemire’s recognition of the importance of education at any point in life, with the degree of success he has already attained, is a powerful example for others. It is a courageous and honorable thing to seek learning for the sake of learning, and I hope that he is an inspiration for others to do the same. I know that his work ethic from sports will come in handy because this degree will require it as well.”

Added Rebecca Fox, dean of UM’s Division of Continuing and International Education (DCIE), “UM is proud to welcome Amar’e Stoudemire to our student body. He is one more excellent example of the wide range of amazing people who choose to pursue their education at the University of Miami in order to enrich their lives. I know that his experience with UM will be as fulfilling for him as it is for all BGS students who share his goal of a lifetime of learning.”