CORAL GABLES, Fla.  (October 20, 2015) — The University of Miami Alumni Association has announced the election of Brenda Yester Baty as president of the association and Frank Jimenez as president-elect. Both officers are distinguished alumni who have attained high positions in their respective careers.

Yester Baty, B.B.A. ’90, currently leads strategic initiatives for the Lennar Corporation. Before joining Lennar, Yester Baty spent 14 years at Carnival Cruise Lines, where she was senior vice president of revenue management. Prior to joining Carnival, she held a variety of finance and accounting positions with Royal Caribbean Cruises and Ryder System, Inc. She is a member of the board of directors for Make-A-Wish of America as well as past chair of the board of directors for Make-A-Wish of Southern Florida.

Jimenez, B.S., ’87, is the vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of the Raytheon Company based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Raytheon is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government, and cybersecurity markets throughout the world. He previously served as general counsel, secretary, and managing director, Corporate Affairs, of Bunge Limited, and general counsel of the U.S. Navy under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In this position, he was one of seven Senate-confirmed Pentagon civilians of four-star equivalent rank overseeing the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

“We are thrilled to have Brenda Yester Baty and Frank Jimenez be our strategic volunteer leaders for the future,” said Donna Arbide, vice president of Alumni Relations and Individual Giving and executive director of the UM Alumni Association. “With their combined experience and dedication to the University of Miami, we are well poised to succeed in all our endeavors.”

In their respective roles, Yester Baty and Jimenez will serve as ambassadors to more than 170,000 living alumni of the University of Miami worldwide.

By Robin Shear
UM News

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s size 14 shoes and former pro wrestler mitts are immortalized in cement at the TCL Chinese in Hollywood. Photo by Michael Tran/Getty Images

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (May 21, 2015) – The earth stood still in Hollywood on Tuesday, May 19, as the star of the forthcoming earthquake-themed blockbuster San Andreas planted his powerful hands and feet in wet cement in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Following in the foot and handprints of such legends as Marilyn Monroe and Robert DeNiro, UM alumnus Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, B.G.S. ’95, stepped into Hollywood history, immortalizing his size 14 shoes and former pro wrestler mitts ten days before the scheduled premiere of his new action movie, which opens May 29.

Surrounded by family and fans, Johnson, who has a string of winning films and TV appearances to his credit, underlined his personalized slab with the word “Blessed!” And right now he seems particularly so, heading into a summer that includes San Andreas, about a rescue helicopter pilot on a mission to save his estranged daughter in the wake of a massive earthquake in California, and Ballers, the new HBO series filmed partly on UM’s Coral Gables campus that’s set to debut June 21.

Introducing Johnson at Tuesday’s event, San Andreas director Brad Peyton said, “He’s humble, he’s gracious, he’s kind, he’s attentive.”

Thanking his family, team, and multitude of fans, Johnson recounted how seeing movie hero Indiana Jones at age 8 inspired him.

“I knew I wanted to be that guy who was charming with the ladies, cool. The tough guy—but doing it with a smile,” he said.

The future champion of Hurricanes football and World Wrestling Entertainment made his own whip out of a stick and string and then got his first pair of boxing gloves to start building himself physically—“anything I could do to change my life with my hands,” he explained.

Fast forward a few decades, and Steven Spielberg, the director of the movie that spawned Johnson’s  childhood hero, sent him a letter “out of the blue” that read, “You’re going for it. You keep going for it,” recalled Johnson before taking the cement plunge.

“I’m so proud of this moment. I’m so grateful. Not only does it symbolize hard work. It symbolizes the people I have around me supporting me in my hard work,” Johnson said, singling out his family, his team, and his fans, whom he called part of his “extended family.”

Johnson shares the iconic distinction with another UM alumnus and big-screen hero, Sylvester Stallone, B.F.A. ’98, who on June 29, 1983, became the 148th person to be honored by the theater.

This June 5, Stallone will be on hand during the University of Miami Alumni Association’s own blockbuster weekend in Los Angeles, California. The Rocky and Rambo star will be recognized for his outstanding career achievements with the Edward T. Foote II Alumnus of Distinction Award during the first-ever Regional Alumni Awards Ceremony.

The evening before, on June 4, the School of Communication and UM Alumni Association will join forces at the Directors Guild of America to present the 2015 ’Canes Film Showcase, featuring top student films from the Motion Pictures Program and a pantheon of judges from the industry, many of whom are alumni. The evening’s emcee will be Jason Kennedy, B.S.C. ’04, co-host of E! News.

The University of Miami Alumni Association is seeking nominations for its governing body, the Alumni Board of Directors. To nominate a UM alumnus you know, please complete the online form.

To learn more about the role of the Alumni Board of Directors and criteria for nomination visit www.miami.edu/alumni/umaa/board.

This Valentine’s season the University of Miami Alumni Association is asking all of our caring ‘Canes and 5,000 alumni couples to do what comes naturally … Support the next generation of ‘Canes by making a gift to benefit UM students and continue the special legacy of ‘Canes Couples for years to come.

 If 1,000 alumni couples make a gift of any amount by February 14, the Alumni Association will award  four book scholarships to deserving legacy students.

Don’t hesitate, click here to seal it with a gift!

UM alumna Sabrina Taldone, left, and her mom, Suzanne, created the UM Tradition Keeper Program to help students capture and preserve their memories of and participation in UM traditions.

It was the spring of 2010, and just two weeks remained before Sabrina Taldone, B.S. ’10, and some of her closest friends would graduate from the University of Miami, leaving behind college life for careers in their chosen fields.

But as they celebrated the next chapter in their lives, some of the students in Taldone’s close-knit group realized that after four years of attending UM they were still unfamiliar with many of the institution’s long-held traditions, such as the significance of the boat burning ceremony held during homecoming, the correct way to perform the C-A-N-E-S spell-out, and the unwritten rule of not walking on the University seal in front of the bookstore. Read the full story