On Thursday, March 11, the Women’s History Coalition of Miami-Dade County, Inc. presented the 2010 Women of Impact award to UM Law Assistant Dean for Law Development and Alumni Relations, Georgina Angones. She was one of six women selected to receive this award.

In addition to Angones, Dorothy Chaney, Patricia Clarke, Linda Collins Hertz, Daniella Levine, and Victoria Usherenko were honored at the University of Miami BankUnited Center at 6:30 p.m.

Angones has served the University of Miami in various capacities since 1973. Prior to joining the administration at the School of Law in 1980, she served as an associate director for alumni relations in the University’s advancement division. She is a member of the prestigious Iron Arrow Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, and was awarded the 1991 “Inside Out” Outstanding Service Award by the University of Miami Alumni Association.

In addition, Angones is heavily involved in the local community. She is a member of the Judicial Nominating Committee for the Southern District of Florida. She serves on the boards of the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews, the Miami-Dade Public Library Foundation, and the Naval Academy Selection Committee. She has also served on many community boards, including The Archdiocese of Miami Development Council, Vision 2000 Committee, the Board of Trustees of St. John Vienney College Seminary, Bay Point Schools for at-risk youth, the Miami-Dade County Library Board of Trustees, and the Florida Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.

She is a fellow of the Florida Bar Foundation and a Sustainer of the Junior League of Miami, which selected her as the 2005 recipient of the “Women Who Make a Difference” Award  for Community Leadership. Angones also received the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center’s 2008 Arthur Helton Humanitarian Award.

The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute have announced the awardee of this year’s Bankhead-Coley head and neck pilot project development grant. It goes to Paolo Serafini, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Sylvester, who is working on “Retrospective Analysis of Tumor Infiltrating Leukocytes of Head and Neck Squamos Cell Carcinoma Patients.”

University of Miami Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt has been selected one of Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 Award recipients. Those selected will receive their awards in Los Angeles during a black-tie ceremony at the JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE on Thursday, March 18. Hocutt is the only director of athletics in among this year’s award recipients.

The Forty Under 40 Awards program was initiated in 1999 to identify and honor the most promising young executives in the sports business under the age of 40. A committee of SportsBusiness Journal/Daily editors and writers selects winners.

“Our Forty Under 40 program recognizes the very best young talent from all the different segments of the sports industry, from teams and leagues, to agencies and media, to sponsors and partners,” said Richard Weiss, publisher of SportsBusiness Journal/Daily. “This year’s class is another outstanding group of young men and women who are at the top of their game and who wield enormous influence in sports.”

The winners were chosen from hundreds of nominees and were cited for specific achievement in the sports industry, including demonstrations of innovation, entrepreneurialism, leadership, and influence.

The School of Law’s Academic Achievement Program (AAP) recognized its Dean’s Fellows at a luncheon on February 25 at the School of Law, during which director Joanne Harvest Koren received a proclamation from Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorenson that pronounced February 25, 2010 as Joanne Harvest Koren Day.

Established 16 years ago by Koren, the AAP has become one of the model academic support programs in the country.  The AAP involves law school students, faculty, and administration in a collaborative effort to promote and enhance the academic environment for the law school. The program’s focus is improving student learning and performance with the goals of developing analytical and examination skills and integrating 1L students early into the law curriculum.

The Dean’s Fellows are some of the “best and brightest students” who are trained to use interactive learning exercises geared toward different learning styles.  The Dean’s Fellows work with professors, attend all classes, and facilitate two separate weekly study group sessions. Through these efforts, the Fellows become acclimated to the study of law much more quickly.

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On February 18, Governor Charlie Crist announced the appointment of Lourdes Simon, a School of Law Litigation Skills Program adjunct professor, to the Miami-Dade County Court.

“For more than 15 years, Lourdes has been a devoted public servant, humbly serving the people with honesty and integrity,” said Governor Crist. “I am confident her extensive experience has prepared her to be an excellent judge.”

Simon has served as an assistant public defender for the 11th Judicial Circuit since 1994. Simon will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Antonio Arzola to the 11th Judicial Circuit.  Professor Simon teaches criminal pretrial litigation skills on Thursday nights for the first time this spring.