UM News

Patricia A. Whitely

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (February 27, 2018)—Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia A. Whitely, who has played a key role in the development of the University’s Catholic Campus Ministry since joining the UM staff in 1982, has been appointed to the national executive board of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA).

“I am so honored to be chosen by the CCMA to represent higher education and Catholic Campus Ministry,” Whitely said. “One of my most fulfilling experiences in higher education was participating in their terrific campus ministry program as an undergraduate. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the organization on a national level and share my experiences with a new generation.”

Composed of nearly 700 campus ministers at more than 500 college campuses and 144 dioceses across the U.S., the CCMA fosters the professional, spiritual, and theological growth of campus ministers and promotes the mission of the Catholic Church in higher education.

As an undergraduate student, Whitely was very involved in the Catholic Campus Ministry at St. John’s University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in business management and theology. In her early years at UM, where she began her career as a residence coordinator in 1982, she served as a part-time minister. Most recently, she advocated for the Archdiocese of Miami to appoint UM’s first Catholic chaplain, Father Phillip Tran, who assumed his post in 2017.

Vice president for student affairs since 1997, Whitely is no stranger to national service. One of the nation’s most highly honored and recognized student affairs professionals, she chaired the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ (NASPA) board of directors in 2014-15, and has served on NASPA’s Foundation Board, Editorial Board, and Region III Committee. A frequent presenter for the NASPA Alice Manicur Symposium, she also has received NASPA’s highest honors, from Region III’s John Jones Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Professional in 2012 to the 2013 NASPA Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Officer, the highest award in her profession.

Whitely is held in equal esteem on the UM campus, where in 2012, the Student Government Executive Board honored her by creating and bestowing on her the inaugural “Patricia A. Whitely Unsung Hero Award.” In 2017, the Faculty Senate honored her with its James W. McLamore Outstanding Service and Leadership Award for her countless contributions to the University community.

After graduating from St. John’s, Whitely received her master’s degree in student personnel services from the University of South Carolina, and her doctorate in higher education leadership from the University of Miami. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Higher Education Administration program in the School of Education and Human Development’s Department of Educational and Psychological Studies.

UM News

Walter G. Secada

Senior Associate Dean Walter G. Secada, a professor of teaching and learning and an expert in STEM education, has been appointed acting dean of the School  of Education and Human Development until the national search for Dean Isaac Prilleltensky’s successor concludes this spring.

“I have been honored to work with Dean Prilleltensky for these past ten years,” Secada said. “During these next few months, I hope to maintain his legacy and to hand off a well-functioning School of Education and Human Development to his successor.”

Since joining the UM faculty in the fall of 2003, Secada has been associate director and co-principal investigator (PI) of the original Promoting Science among English Language Learners (P-SELL) study, which introduced a hands-on method of learning that dramatically improved test scores among English-language learners in Miami’s elementary schools.

He has served as associate director and co-PI of Science Made Sensible, which pairs doctoral students in the STEM fields with middle school teachers; associate director and co-PI of Replicating the CGI experiment in diverse environments, which helped primary teachers of mathematics focus their teaching on how students reason and learn to solve mathematics problems; and director and PI of Language in Mathematics, designed to help middle school teachers better facilitate mathematics for English-language learners.

At UM, Secada also has served as chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning and as a member of the University’s Social Sciences Institutional Review Board. He also has been a senior Fulbright fellow, helped the Peruvian ministry of education design its new school mathematics curriculum, and been awarded an honorary professorship by Universidad La Salle in Arequipa, Peru.

Born in Lima, Peru, he graduated from Miami’s Curley High School and later left the area to earn a B.A. in philosophy (magna cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in education from Northwestern University.

He temporarily succeeds Prilleltensky, who stepped down in December after 11 years of distinguished service as dean to devote more time to his scholarly endeavors. After a one-year sabbatical to write a new book, Prilleltensky plans to return to UM as professor of educational and psychological studies and the Erwin and Barbara Mautner Chair in Community Well-Being, and continue his role as vice provost for institutional culture.

“We will be conducting a rigorous national search for a permanent dean of the School of Education and Human Development who will continue to build on our achievements,” Executive Vice President and Provost Jeffrey L. Duerk said in announcing Secada’s appointment. “Please join me in thanking Isaac Prilleltensky for his service and welcoming professor Secada to his new leadership role.”

C. David Naylor

Known for his visionary contributions to health research, education, administration, and policy, C. David Naylor will share his expertise with the UM community November 14-16, when the president emeritus of the University of Toronto, founding director of the renowned Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and 2016 inductee into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame becomes the U’s newest visiting talent.

Welcomed to UM as a Distinguished Presidential Scholar, the physician-scientist says he is intrigued by Miami’s “diversity, potential, and momentum,” which reminds him of Toronto’s. He describes both places as among the world’s most multicultural cities.

“I love the energy of both cities and firmly believe that diversity of disciplines, ideas, and backgrounds has very positive effects on learning and research,” he said, adding “there are lots of universities that have been around a long time and have more or less topped out—the University of Miami is very much a growing academic force with great upside.”

Recognized for his “relentless belief” that the world can be a better place, Naylor will share his wealth of knowledge as a physician-scientist, clinician, researcher, and educator—the consummate public health care pioneer—at four speaking engagements, two each on the Coral Gables and Miller School campuses.

His topics: “Paradise Lost: Canada’s Health Care Systems at a Crossroads” (a colloquium); “Endemic Mismeasurement: Heretical Musings on Health, Illness, and Evidence; “Universal Health Care: Canada and the U.S. Revisited; and “What Happens When Science Is Shortchanged?” View the schedule and RSVP for one or more sessions.

UM News

Jessica Brumley and Brandon Gilliland

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (November 3, 2017)—Jacqueline A. Travisano, executive vice president for business and finance and chief operating officer, has added two experienced university leaders to her team, Jessica Brumley, as vice president for facilities operations and planning, and Brandon Gilliland, as vice president and chief financial officer.

Brumley, who will oversee the departments of Real Estate, Campus Planning, Facilities Design and Construction, Facilities Administration, and Parking and Transportation, will join the University January 1 from Nova Southeastern University (NSU), where she is responsible for $140 million in operations and capital budgets.

She will bring to the U a wealth of experience in campus planning, having developed more than 1.6 million square feet of classroom, clinical, research, and simulation spaces at NSU and delivered critical support to NSU’s main campus and 20 satellite locations throughout South Florida and Puerto Rico. She also helped NSU develop and align its campus master plan with its academic mission.

“Jessica is a top professional and a formidable talent in campus planning and facilities management,” Travisano said. “She is going to be a tremendous asset and member of our senior team, and will provide the strategic vision and oversight to key services that enhance our academic, clinical, and research missions.”

A South Florida resident for 16 years, Brumley is eager to join an institution she has long admired from afar. “I am thrilled to be joining the ’Canes community, and I look forward to committing all of my efforts to achieving our shared goals and ambitions,” she said. “I am excited to work alongside the talented facilities and operations teams.”

Gilliland, who joins the U on December 18, will oversee the offices of the Treasurer, Controller, Budget and Planning, Business Services, and Supply Chain Services.

He brings more than 20 years of senior financial leadership experience from various settings, including a decade at Wake Forest University, where he led $500 million in financing activities, reduced the cost of borrowing capital, and improved investment income by 50 percent. He also implemented a number of best practices, including liquidity policies and procedures that were recognized by Standard & Poor’s as an industry best, and is actively engaged in the industry at the national, regional, state, and conference levels. He has served on many organizations, including the Research Universities Council and the Accounting Principles Council for the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Most recently, he led the Atlantic Coast Conference’s inaugural Enterprise Risk Management Summit earlier this year.

“Brandon is a senior financial professional who is not only an expert in the field, but is also actively engaged and widely respected in the industry,” Travisano said. “He is a superb addition to our team, and I am confident that Brandon will not only be a steward of all of the University’s financial resources, but he will build a strong, collaborative, University-wide team.”

Gilliland said he is excited to return to South Florida, where he worked earlier in his career, with his wife, Laura, and three teenaged children, Cara, Holly, and Alex.

“I am delighted and humbled to join the UM family, a community that is spirited and united in advancing the University’s mission,” Gilliand said. “UM has a stellar reputation and a very bright future, and I will enthusiastically support President Frenk, EVP Travisano, and other campus leaders in achieving the ambitious goals established to move the University forward as it approaches its centennial.”

Applications are being accepted for faculty fellow positions on the University of Miami Coral Gables campus. Reporting to the senior vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, the faculty fellow serves as a positive and visible member of a residential college.

Faculty fellows are full-time faculty who affiliate with a specific residence hall but do not reside in it. The primary role of the faculty fellow is to serve as an academic advocate and mentor for undergraduate students in the hall with which the fellow is affiliated. Faculty fellows will work closely with Residential Faculty and Housing and Residential Life staff to increase faculty-student engagement in the residential college and contribute to the development of an intentional intellectual community in the residential colleges.

An information session will be held Monday, October 9, at 12 p.m. in the Hecht Senior Residential Faculty apartment (Hecht Residential College #122).

In general terms, the faculty fellow will be expected to:

• Host no fewer than two Office Hours per week in the residential college or in the dining hall.
• Become knowledgeable about the Cognate General Education program and the curricular frameworks and basic requirements of the University’s nine undergraduate schools and colleges.
• Advise students about their selection of cognates and the academic options in the different schools and colleges
• Host two dinners with students per semester in a residential faculty apartment
• Maintain a regular but informal presence in the residence  hall
• Attend some Tuesday evening residential college staff meetings and senior staff meetings as needed.
• Make a time commitment of 3-4 hours per week during the academic year.
• Participate in faculty training as provided.
• Provide an annual report of activities in the Residential College.
• Report to the faculty master of their affiliate Residential College

Faculty fellows will be appointed for a one-year term, with the option of renewal. Their activities will be assessed at the end of the academic year. They will receive a $1,500 research stipend and a 5 meal-per-week meal plan.

Qualifications: Full-time faculty member; undergraduate teaching responsibilities preferred. Candidates should have a minimum of two to three years of university teaching experience and demonstrated experience in academic advising and mentoring.

Applicants should be student-centered, innovative, willing to collaborate with residence life staff, able to work with students and build sustainable links between curricular and co-curricular experiences, and have a knowledge and understanding of a large, urban research university.

Candidates also should be familiar with the University of Miami’s residential college system, the educational mission of the University, the issues facing today’s college students, and be able to relate and communicate with college students. They should possess strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with students and residential college staff.

To Apply:

1) Submit a resume/CV

2) Submit a proposal no longer than three pages describing the following:

1. a) strategies you would suggest to provide resident students with effective academic advising and academic mentoring;
2. b) strategies you would suggest to create initiatives that have a defined educational purpose and that can achieve meaningful and assessable educational goals;
3. c) how you would work effectively with other faculty in the residential colleges to improve student learning/academic success.

Completed applications must be received by Monday, October 30, and sent electronically to the attention of Assistant Provost of Undergraduate Education Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado at [email protected].