Hailing from 20 countries from Angola to Venezuela, many of the 359 students in UM’s Intensive English Program celebrated Thanksgiving Friday by sampling turkey and other traditional Pilgrim fare while sharing the cuisines and cultures of their homelands. Allen Hall was transformed into a veritable United Nations for the annual extravaganza, with music and dances from around the world in the courtyard, and the aromas of lamb Machboos from Kuwait, zongzi (rice dumplings) from China, brigadeiro (chocolate truffles) from Brazil, and other tempting dishes wafting from the classrooms. Housed in the Division of Continuing & International Education, the Intensive English Program has been an integral part of the University  community for 63 years. The program immerses students in American culture while preparing them for academic success through quality English-language instruction.

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The search is on for South Florida soldiers and their family members with stories to tell. StoryCorps, Warmamas, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Miami (OLLI at UM) are collaborating on the Military Voices Initiative, a new project that honors veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their families by recording and preserving their stories. Approximately 18 interviews will be conducted on June 25, 26, and 27 on UM’s Coral Gables campus.

StoryCorps interviews are conducted as a conversation between two people, while a trained StoryCorps facilitator guides the 40-minute recording session. With the participants’ permission, the recordings of these interviews will be archived at the Library of Congress, and segments of select interviews may also air nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition.

“We are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness, and heroism,” says StoryCorps founder David Isay. The Military Voices Initiative builds on this notion and contributes to StoryCorps’ diverse collection by recording and preserving the stories of veterans and military families. It is an opportunity for them to share their experiences in their own words.

“There is so much to learn from our nation’s heroes, including the complex realities of service and sacrifice that these men and women have faced,” said Rebecca Fox, dean of UM’s Division of Continuing and International Education, which administers OLLI at UM as part of its noncredit offerings. “We are proud to be a part of capturing these remarkable historical accounts with StoryCorps and warmamas.”

Veterans and military families interested in the opportunity to tell their story should call Patricia Sowers at 786-493-0892 or 305-461-5193, or email [email protected].

Wearing a Britto scarf, IEP student Lina Binyousef shows off the signature of neo pop artist Romero Britto, who graciously signed anything students had handy.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (March 7, 2014) — Brazilian-born neo pop artist and advocate Romero Britto spoke to the University of Miami Intensive English Program (IEP) class at the Student Activities Center on February 28, leaving 50 students from 17 nations with some valuable insights on being an immigrant—and his autographs on their cell phones and T-shirts.

Britto told the students that his work, which graces everything from skyscrapers and parks to lunchboxes and scarves, is inspired by people of diverse cultures and backgrounds. He also shared his passion for education, which he said is what makes speaking to UM students so special. Urging the students to take advantage of every opportunity to learn, he said, “Education helps the person, community, and a country.”

Introducing Britto, who was recently named the ambassador of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be played in Brazil, Rebecca Fox, dean of Continuing and International Education, noted that the artist “inspires people from around the world.”

Many of them were sitting in the audience—students from Kuwait, Venezuela, Angola, Italy, Bolivia, and Britto’s homeland of Brazil, who lined up at the conclusion of his talk so he could sign whatever they had handy. Among them was student Lina Binyousef, a native of Saudi Arabia who wore a Britto scarf around her neck. She left with his signature on her iPhone.

Housed under UM’s Division of Continuing and International Education, IEP has immersed international students in American culture while preparing them for academic success through English-language instruction since 1951. It is one of the University’s oldest programs.

Rising in popularity at a rapid pace, massive open online courses (MOOCs) offer the draw of classes that anyone with an Internet connection can take for free. While MOOCs have existed for a few years as online learning events for techies, the nation has recently seen a rise in the number of colleges and universities offering college-level MOOCs.

Now the University of Miami is poised to start a new trend with the distance-learning tool. The UM Global Academy is launching on November 26 what it bills as the world’s first free MOOC for high school students—a three-week, six-session class that will prepare students for the SAT subject test in biology.

“We created this from scratch, so we’re pioneers in that respect,” says Craig Wilson, headmaster of UMGA, the online high school based out of the University of Miami’s Division of Continuing and International Education. “We recognized a need to help high school students prepare for college, and we wanted to use the MOOC model to give them that opportunity without having to worry about going through a pay-for-preparation aspect.”

About 200 high school students, some as far away as China, are set to take UMGA’s “MOOC SAT BIO” course via Skype and an electronic classroom platform. The class will air live, allowing students to pose questions in real time—a rarity for a MOOC, according to Wilson. Sessions will also be recorded.

“We are very excited that our wonderful online middle and high school has taken this important and innovative step,” says Rebecca Fox, dean of the UM Division of Continuing and International Education. “We pride ourselves on making it possible for students to have an online experience that keeps them at the center of the learning process, and that is the principle that undergirds our new MOOC.”

Taught by UMGA lead science instructor Jennifer Taylor, the course will be offered once a semester and will prepare students for the SAT subject test in biology administered by the College Board. Depending on the success of the course, UMGA may offer other MOOC test prep courses in the near future, Wilson said.

For more information on UMGA’s MOOC initiative, visit www.umga.miami.edu/mooc.

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. Read the full story