Pat Whitely, third from left, throws up the U with, from left, symposium speaker Cecilia Gutierrez-Abety, Provost Thomas J. LeBlanc, and Mikala Farr, chair of the Women’s Leadership Symposium.

CORAL GABLES, FLA. (March 19, 2016) —A ’Canes family has made an anonymous $200,000 gift to endow the Women’s Leadership Symposium in honor of Dr. Patricia A. Whitely, vice president of student affairs. The family was directly touched by Dr. Whitely’s leadership and care and wanted to support this important program for female students. The announcement came Saturday afternoon during the annual symposium, now in its fourth year, at the Shalala Student Center.

“Dr. Pat Whitely is a remarkable leader and well deserves the distinction of having the University of Miami Women’s Leadership Symposium named in her honor,” said President Julio Frenk. “The contributions by women to all fields must be recognized and valued, and I am proud that the University offers such a forum for engaging and transforming our community.”

Whitely has been an integral part of student affairs at the University for more than 30 years. She has been honored with numerous awards by the University’s student community. In 2012, the University of Miami Student Government Executive Board established the “Patricia A. Whitely Unsung Hero Award” in her honor. The award recognizes a Student Government member who goes above and beyond his or her responsibilities.

The chair of the Women’s Leadership Symposium, senior Mikayla Farr, has seen first-hand how the annual  student-led conference helps students become effective leaders. “I am very honored to have been a part of such an amazing program throughout my undergraduate career here at UM,” she said. “The Women’s Leadership Symposium has taught me so much about what it means to be a confident and charismatic servant leader.”

Farr sees this gift as a facilitator for the symposium to reach more people and influence future leaders. “I am very excited to see the future growth of the symposium with this generous donation, and how it will serve as a catalyst for leadership development for the next generation of UM women,” Farr said. “Dr. Whitely is a phenomenal woman, and it is truly a privilege to be able to use the symposium as a tool to celebrate her leadership.”

Whitely’s service extends beyond the University of Miami, as she is a national leader in the field of student affairs. She recently completed her term as the chair of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Board of Directors for 2014-2015. In 2013, she received NASPA’s Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Officer, the highest award in her profession. In June 2012, NASPA’s Region III awarded her the  John Jones Award for Outstanding Performance as a Senior Student Affairs Professional.

“I am extremely humbled that a special ’Cane family has honored me by endowing this innovative student leadership experience in my name,” Whitely said. “With support of this gift, in the fourth year of the symposium, I’m thrilled we can continue to enhance this experience for future generations of Miami Hurricanes. The program provides our students a unique opportunity to explore and develop their personal leadership skills from diverse women within our Miami community, along with creating a positive and supportive network of individuals who vary across professional disciplines and life experiences.”

This year’s symposium featured keynote speaker Cecilia Gutierrez-Abety, president and CEO of the Miami Children’s Initiative. Advised by the Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development, the symposium serves as a forum for students to connect, explore and engage in topics pertaining to women’s leadership and empowerment. The goal is to create a safe and empowering environment for participants to learn from each other as they explore their individual leadership styles through professional development workshops and wellness classes.

For more information on the Women’s Leadership Symposium, please visit miami.edu/wls.

The Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development, in collaboration with the Division of Student Affairs, invites faculty, staff, and students to nominate outstanding students who will be recognized at the 2016 Celebration of Involvement on Tuesday, April 19. Qualifications are available at the links below and nominations are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, February 26. 

• Edward T. Foote II Award for Excellence in Student Leadership

o   Senior | 1 recipient

o   Nominee has exemplary campus and community involvement, leadership, and achievement.

• Vice President’s Award for Service

o   Senior | 1 male and 1 female recipient

o   Nominee has demonstrated exemplary community service throughout their college experience.

• Sherwood Weiser Memorial Fund for Student Community Service

o   Junior | 2 male and 2 female recipients | $2,000 scholarship

o   Nominee has a combination of character, compassion and a strong commitment to community service.

• Robert Bates Cole Award for Volunteer Leadership

o   Sophomore | 1 recipient | $2,000 scholarship

o   Nominee has shown unassuming interest and participation in community service.

The Butler Center is also introducing a new $10,000 scholarship that will be announced at the Celebration of Involvement. Students can self-nominate for this scholarship in addition to being nominated by a peer, faculty, or staff member.

• The Magaly Santos Llaca Endowed Memorial Scholarship 2016

o   Sophomore or Junior | 1 recipient | $10,000 scholarship

o   Nominee is a first-generation student who demonstrates involvement in being civically engaged.

Submit nominations through the Butler Center for Service and Leadership portal on OrgSync. Award finalists will be notified by email and asked to interview with the selection committee at the end of March and beginning of April. If you have any questions regarding nominations, contact the Butler Center at 305-284-4483 or at [email protected].

UM News

Celebrating Natasha Koermer, third from left, at the gala are the Butler Center’s Lindsey Woods, Samantha BonenClark, and
Andrew Wiemer.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (November 18, 2015)—Senior Natasha Koermer, a biomedical engineering major who has created sustainable solutions to global engineering and health issues, received the Student Excellence in Service Award and was honored as a Newman Civic Fellow at Florida Campus Compact’s annual gala this month.

Both awards were presented during Florida Campus Compact’s annual conference, held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, where Koermer was invited to speak on a student panel that highlighted civic engagement. It is a subject with which the triathlete, recent inductee into Iron Arrow, and self-described global citizen is well-versed.

Also minoring in Spanish and public health, Koermer has initiated a number of community projects, including a local urban sustainable gardening initiative, a STEM outreach program for high school students, the on-campus Take Back the Tap campaign, and a 5K Run/Walk for Water to raise funds for Engineers Without Borders’ Ecuador Project.

As past president of the University’s student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA, she helped implement a $30,000 sewage system in Las Mercedes, Ecuador. She also assisted research projects in the School of Nursing and Health Studies on Intimate Partner Violence and adolescent health in Nicaragua. And this past summer, she worked in Limpopo, South Africa, on a performance and acceptance evaluation of a novel water treatment technology.

“As a triathlete and global citizen, I am really motivated by pursuit of ‘better,’’’ Koermer said. “I know that I can always work harder, train harder, and run faster. That same dedication to improvement applies to my perspective on international development and health. Health outcomes have increased significantly around the world in the past decades, but there are still communities with basic unmet needs that students with skills and passion can help solve.”

UM’s Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development, along with the Office of Civic and Community Engagement, nominated Koermer for both awards, with the support of Patricia A. Whitely, vice president for student affairs, and former UM President Donna Shalala, who presented Koermer with Newman Civic Fellows Award earlier this year. The award recognizes the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders.

“She is an incredibly bright, civically engaged student and will no doubt continue to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and its practical application in solving real-world issues,” Robin Bachin, assistant provost for civic and community engagement, said of Koermer.

Nearly 900 students volunteered at more than 30 sites during UM’s largest service day of the year.

UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (October 5, 2015) – In the true spirit of service above self, nearly 900 University of Miami students participated in the National Gandhi Day of Service on October 3, volunteering at more than 30 Miami-Dade sites such as Kristi House, Miami-Dade Animal Services, and Virginia Key Beach Park. In all, students contributed more than 5,500 hours of community service to the South Florida community.

“I loved the excitement and energy felt the morning of Gandhi Day as everyone came together to serve the community,” said UM senior Saskia Groenewald. “Service shaped my undergraduate experience, and it all started with Gandhi Day.”

On the morning of the event, President Julio Frenk’s wife, Felicia Knaul, joined Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Whitely in welcoming students at the UC Rock before they headed out to their volunteer sites.

Sponsored by the William R. Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development, the event is UM’s largest service day of the year and honors the legacy of the late Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

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Gandhi Day

Valerie Quirk holds her Excellence in Service Student Award.

University of Miami sophomore Valerie Quirk is the recipient of  an Excellence in Service Student Award bestowed by Florida Campus Compact to recognize and honor students for outstanding service to Florida’s communities.

“When I first came to college, my goal was to help bring programming to students that would be meaningful and impactful on their lives,” Quirk said. “It means a lot to be personally recognized as I work towards my goals, but at a bigger level, I think it is amazing that Florida Campus Compact is putting a real spotlight on service and leadership in general.”

A marketing and visual journalism major from Springfield, Missouri, Quirk was nominated by Patricia A. Whitely, UM’s vice president for student affairs.

“Valerie is an exceptional student leader,” Whitely said. “She is a student who clearly exhibits integrity, leadership, and a strong sense of community engagement. By visibly making a direct impact on those around her and addressing the needs of the community, Valerie is unquestionably a wonderful individual who will continue to make a difference in whatever endeavor she is afforded.”

Quirk is actively involved with the William R. Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development on the UM campus. She is playing an instrumental role in planning the Atlantic Coast Conference Student Leadership Symposium, to be hosted by UM in February. Eighty students from ACC schools will come together to explore this year’s theme: The Next Generation of Social Change.

“As a delegate of the Butler Center, Valerie has really tried to make a difference for our students at the University of Miami and within the local, national, and global community,” said Andrew Wiemer, director of the Butler Center.

Recipients of the Excellence in Service Student Awards are leaders at their universities and have been carefully evaluated for their personal impact in issue areas. Quirk, who received the second place award, was among other winners featured at the Florida Campus Compact Annual Awards Gala on Thursday, November 7, at the Boca Raton Campus of Palm Beach State College.

“I always find hearing about how other people are changing the world in their own ways so inspiring and invigorating,” Quirk said. “As a young leader, I’m thrilled to have a chance to be surrounded by so many wonderful individuals.”