Norm Parsons was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame last year.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (February 21, 2014) — Norman C. Parsons Jr., executive director of the Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center and Miller School of Medicine Wellness Center, will retire in October after serving the Division of Student Affairs with dedication, distinction, and an unwavering commitment to the health and well-being of students, faculty, staff, and alumni for 43 years.

As executive director, Parsons provided the leadership to build the Herbert Wellness Center in 1996 and the subsequent addition that opened in 2011.

He has held a number of other significant positions at UM, including coach of the 1977 and 1978 National Champion Women’s Golf Teams, coach of the Men’s Golf Teams from 1980-1988, chair of the Student Publications Committee since 1985, and lead fundraiser for the Division of Student Affairs since 2004. He is a member of Iron Arrow and served as the honor society’s advisor from 1995 to 2009. Last fall, he also assumed responsibility for the Miller School of Medicine Wellness Center.

Over the past 43 years, his leadership has included not only the building of the Herbert Wellness Center, but the expansion of the intramural program and the award-winning Sports Club Program that features 48 clubs and numerous exercise class offerings. Through his vision for the Herbert Wellness Center, he ensured that students, staff, faculty, and alumni had access to a variety of wellness educational programming, thereby serving to instill them with the tools to strive toward a lifetime of wellness.

“Norm has been a transformational leader, touching the lives of countless students, staff, faculty, and alumni throughout his tenure,” said Patricia A. Whitely, vice president for student affairs. “The Herbert Wellness Center is a testament to his vision, resolve, and positive attitude. He has educated the UM community about the importance of wellness over four decades. He has served UM with grace and care.”

Parsons was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and received the Iron Arrow Bowman Foster Ashe Honor in 2010, the James W. McLamore Outstanding Service Award in 2009, the Women’s Commission May Brunson Award in 2008, and the University of Miami Alumni Association “Inside Out Award” in 1996. Most recently, in 2013, he was the inaugural recipient of the Norman C. Parsons, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award established by Student Government.

The University will begin a national search for his successor immediately.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (February 21, 2014) – The Unite the U ticket swept the recent University of Miami Student Government elections, winning all three executive officer seats that were up for grabs.

A total of 1,951 students cast votes in this year’s race—a 4 percent increase in voter participation that Symon Rowlands, SG Elections Commission vice chair, attributes to the new OrgSync voting system that allowed students to vote via computer.

The elected executive officers, whose one-year terms begin in April, include:

• President: Alessandria San Roman (Unite the U)
• Vice President: William Herrera (Unite the U)
• Treasurer: Dariel Fagundo (Unite the U)

Seven students were elected to the Student Government Senate:

• College of Engineering: Tomas Cacicedo
• College of Arts and Sciences: Bryon Hazzard and Austin Akira
• Commuter Students: Kristen Schlotzhauer, Eric Gonzalez, and Nicole Marcos
• School of Communication: Bruno Solari

Scholarship students show their appreciation at the Scholarship Donor Recognition Luncheon.

By Robert C. Jones Jr.
UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (February 20, 2014) – Residents of Siguatepeque, Honduras, have probably never heard of the Bowman Foster Ashe Scholarship. But in an indirect way, the University of Miami financial award, named for the institution’s first president, has lessened their dependence on rainwater and brought clean drinking water to their taps.

That’s because the scholarship helped industrial engineer Caitlin Augustin pay for her education at UM, where, as an undergraduate, she started a chapter of Engineers without Borders, spearheading in 2008 a project for the small Honduran town that resulted in a four-and-a-half-kilometer water pipeline. Today, the pipeline is still flowing, and Siguatepeque townspeople are grateful.

But not as appreciative as Augustin. Scholarships have allowed her to soar, and without them, she said, her academic career at UM would have been grounded.

Wednesday, at UM’s annual Scholarship Donor Recognition Luncheon held in the Student Activities Center ballroom, Augustin joined hundreds of students—from biology to business, chemistry to communication, and economics to engineering majors—in thanking the many philanthropists who have made college a reality by providing financial assistance.

“Scholarships allowed me the flexibility and opportunities to explore my passions and interests,” said Augustin, who earned an industrial engineering degree from UM in 2010 and is now working on her Ph.D., with a fellowship from the Abess Center for Ecosystem and Science Policy helping her along the way.

With students seated among donors whose generosity directly funds their education, UM President Donna E. Shalala told benefactors that their support provides “life-changing opportunities” for students, many of whom are among the first in their families to attend college.

As UM’s Momentum2 campaign hums along, Senior Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs Sergio M. Gonzalez noted that scholarships are a priority in the $1.6 billion fundraising effort, with $210 million earmarked in that category. So far, UM has raised more than $152 million for scholarships—funds that have allowed the institution to create 44 new endowed financial awards, Gonzalez said.

UM Provost Thomas J. LeBlanc echoed Shalala’s and Gonzalez’s sentiment that scholarships are critical, noting that financial issues remain a major obstacle for students in completing college. Declining federal and state support for education, a poor economy, and the stagnation of incomes have compounded the problem, resulting in unmet needs for students and families.

The University, said LeBlanc, has been able to offset some of that need, awarding more than $100 million in financial aid annually. He praised donors for providing some of that support, and he inspired students in the audience, telling them that college graduates, on average, earn higher salaries and are less likely to be unemployed.

Mischael Cetoute, a political science and Africana studies major who is the recipient of Ronald A. Hammond Scholarship, spoke to donors as an example of a student who is benefiting from their largesse. His parents, Haitian immigrants who came to the United States in the early 1970s, have always struggled to provide a better life for their children. “And they’ve been successful,” Cetoute said. But now, with Cetoute’s mother, Marie, bringing the only steady income into the household, his scholarship has allowed him to continue pursuing his dream.

Said Cetoute: “One thing I know is that I’m going to change the world.”

Robert C. Jones Jr. can be reached at 305-284-1615.

Okhee Lee-Salwen

Okhee Lee-Salwen, a professor in the School of Education and Human Development for 22 years, feels a profound sense of gratitude to the University of Miami.

When her husband, School of Communication Professor Michael B. Salwen, Ph.D., was stricken with cancer in 2001, his colleagues and students kept him active and engaged as he battled valiantly against the disease. Before Salwen passed away in 2007, he and Lee-Salwen decided to formally thank UM through a planned gift by including the University in their estate plans.

“During the six years Michael was ill, he could work only part time,” says Lee-Salwen. “When he needed surgery or chemotherapy, he could not work at all. The University was very supportive during that entire period. In addition, Michael was among several faculty members who received an award for their academic achievements. We were both very touched by the respectful way the University treated him as a scholar at such a painful time.”

After making a series of smaller gifts over several years, Lee-Salwen recently endowed the Michael B. Salwen Scholarship Fund in the School of Communication and the Michael B. Salwen Graduate Scholarship Fund in the School of Education and Human Development in memory of her husband. “Michael and I were poor when we were doctoral students,” says Lee-Salwen. “So, we felt it was appropriate for us to help students who need financial support to attend our University.”

Now a professor of science and childhood education at New York University, Lee-Salwen returns regularly to the School of Education and Human Development, where she made significant contributions in the field of science education, such as developing a curriculum for English-language learners and students in low-income urban settings. In 2004 she received the Distinguished Career Award from the American Educational Research Association Standing Committee for Scholars of Color in Education.

Today, the professor emeritus encourages other members of the UM family to give back, even in small amounts, or through a bequest or other planned gift. “This was my academic home for more than two decades, and I believe in saying ‘thank you’ for the support,” she says.  “There are many ways of giving and the personal rewards are truly priceless.”

To learn more about making a planned gift, please visit www.miami.edu/plannedgiving or contact Cynthia Beamish, executive director of the Office of Estate and Gift Planning at 305-284-4342 or [email protected].

UM theater arts students serenaded President Donna E. Shalala at the Sand in My Shoes Awards dinner.

From UM News

MIAMI, Fla. (February 19, 2014) — University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala officially joined the pantheon of Miami’s greatest leaders last week, when the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce recognized her significant contributions to the community with its highest honor, the Sand in My Shoes Award.

Saying she was honored to follow in the sandy footsteps of so many great Miamians, Shalala accepted the award that recognizes individuals whose commitment to and strategic vision for South Florida have enriched it immeasurably by issuing a call for the community to continue reaching beyond its grasp.

“Our future challenge is to continue to be ambitious—to reach for the stars—to be the best, do not compromise on excellence,” Shalala told 800-plus admirers gathered at the Hilton Downtown Miami for the February 18 ceremony. “I believe Miami is the next great world city with universities and colleges to match. We must not compromise on greatness.”

Chamber chairman Alberto Dosal said the chamber was honored to recognize Shalala for the “undeniable impact” she has had on the University of Miami and the entire community.

“She has raised the profile of the U nationally and internationally and, in turn, that of our city, and the chamber is elated to celebrate her outstanding achievements by presenting her with our most prestigious award,” Dosal said.

Accompanied by her mother, sister, brother-in-law, and Sebastian, Shalala also was feted by UM students from the Band of the Hour, which provided the fanfare, and from the Theatre Arts Department. Singing and dancing, the student actors surprised the president with a musical tribute that spilled from the stage into the audience, where they serenaded her with a slightly revised show tune, “There Is Nothing Like Our Dame.”

As the chamber noted in its official announcement, Shalala’s accomplishments and contributions are legendary. Since arriving in Miami in 2001, the nation’s longest serving U.S. secretary of health and human services has solidified UM’s standing as one of the nation’s top 50 research universities, elevated the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine’s mission of saving lives and protecting health as an anchor of the Miami Health District, and strengthened one of Miami-Dade County’s largest private employers. The University has a $6.1 billion economic impact on the tri-county regions of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The chamber also cited her leadership in ensuring that the U continues to grow as an education powerhouse by raising an unprecedented $1.4 billion during Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami and launching its successor Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami. The new campaign already has raised nearly 80 percent of its $1.6 billion goal.

As the chamber also noted, Shalala undoubtedly ranks among Greater Miami’s most honored residents. She has more than four dozen honorary degrees and a host of other awards, including the 1992 National Public Service Award.

In 2008 President George W. Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award; and in 2010 she received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights, which recognizes individuals for outstanding dedication to improving the health and life chances of disadvantaged populations in South Africa and internationally. In 2011 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

The chamber began bestowing its Sand in My Shoes Award in 1981. Past recipients include Shalala’s predecessor as UM president, Edward T. “Tad” Foote II, who received it in 2000, and Susan and Leonard Miller, stalwart supporters of the U, who received it the following year.