UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (May 4, 2018)—The University of Miami announced Friday the election of three new members to its Board of Trustees, a group of accomplished industry and community leaders, philanthropists, and alumni.

“We are pleased to welcome this group of distinguished leaders whose broad perspective and passion for our mission will benefit the University and its stewardship,” said Richard D. Fain, chair of the board.

Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., enters his third year leading the body responsible for governing one of the nation’s top private research institutions. Hilarie Bass and H.T. Smith remain vice chairs of the board.

“Our new board members possess unique talents and insight that will help guide the University of Miami into a new century,” said UM President Julio Frenk. “I look forward to working with each of them and the rest of our Board of Trustees as we carry out the mission of our institution.”

They newly elected members of the board are:

Robert E. Sanchez, B.S.E.E. ’87

Chairman and chief executive officer of Ryder System, Inc., a leading Fortune 500 transportation and logistics company, Robert E. Sanchez has held numerous leadership positions of increasing responsibility, including chief information officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, over the course of his 25-year career at Ryder, where he began as a business analyst. Sanchez is also a board member of Texas Instruments, Inc.,  St. Thomas University, and the Association of Cuban-American Engineers, for which he chairs the scholarship foundation. He is also a member of the executive committee of the United Way of Miami-Dade and is a 2016-2018 campaign co-chair.

Marilu Marshall, B.B.A. ’66, JD ’69 (Alumni Trustee)

Senior vice president, executive management, and chief inclusion and diversity officer for the Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Marilu Marshall began her career as a trial attorney with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the United States Department of Justice, the first woman to serve as a trial attorney on an Organized Crime Strike Force. She has served in executive positions at Playboy Enterprises and Cunard Line, Ltd., the British passenger shipping company known for its ownership of the Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mary II. Marshall is a member of the New York and Florida bar associations as well as the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion.

Evan de Joya, B.S. ’19 (Student Trustee)

A junior biology and geography major at the University of Miami, Evan de Joya is in the dual-degree program in medicine and will be attending medical school in the fall of 2019. He is president-elect of the Student Government Association and the director of Student Government Academic Affairs, overseeing the Academic Liaison Council. In addition, he is a student research assistant in UM’s Health Geographics Lab in the Department of Geography and Regional Studies.

Completing their terms as trustees this year were Susan Lytle Lipton, Thomas E. Pfeiffer, and Alessandria San Roman.

In other business, the board approved a new strategic plan that will serve as a roadmap for the University as it approaches its centennial in 2025.

Members of the University community and guests are invited to join in honoring the recipients of this year’s Faculty Senate Awards at the awards ceremony at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 16, in the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center, multipurpose room.

Stuart A. Miller, immediate-past chair of the UM Board of Trustees, will receive the James W. McLamore Outstanding Service Award, and Patricia Sánchez Abril, professor of business law and vice dean of Graduate Business Programs at the Miami Business School, will receive the Outstanding Teaching Award.

With the telltale beating of a single drum and a tap on the shoulder with an iron arrow, members of the Iron Arrow Honor Society renewed one of the U’s greatest traditions last week, marching across the University in a solemn procession to bestow one of the U’s greatest honors: membership in the organization that recognizes students, faculty, staff, and alumni who exemplify love of alma mater, character, leadership, scholarship, and humility.

In addition to stellar faculty and staff—Joy Beverly, associate faculty master at Pearson Residential College and faculty advisor to the UPup service club; Carie Penabad, associate professor of architecture; and Humberto Speziani, assistant vice president for Business Services, to name a few—new members include many amazing students. Among them: Hunter Carpenter, executive chair of Hurricane Productions; Brianna Hernandez, president of Get Out the Vote, and Christopher Stowell, a member of the men’s basketball team, among others.

For a full list of the fall inductees, view Iron Arrow’s recent tappees.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (March 22, 2018)— The University of Miami has earned gold-level status for its Exercise is Medicine on Campus (EIMOC) programs, an initiative led by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Medical Association to promote physical activity and health on college campuses.

UM earned EIMOC’s highest recognition for creating partnerships between healthcare and exercise departments that provide physical-activity prescriptions and encourage students and employees to take advantage of recreational facilities and health and fitness programming.

The University is among 38 gold-level colleges and universities that will be recognized for their EIMOC programs at a special session, held in conjunction with the annual ACSM meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 30.

“This recognition is a result of many collaborations of the entire University community to promote exercise,” said Tony Musto, director of fitness programs at the Herbert Wellness Center and UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center. “What is really impressive is that most of the programs and protocols that earned us this award have been in place for years, clearly showing how advanced we are.”

UM’s EIMOC initiative includes several programs and services hosted by the UM Wellness Centers for students, employees, and community members promoting safe, smart, and effective physical activity. Currently 500+ individuals participate in EIMOC activities between both UM campuses.

For individuals prescribed physical activity supervised by exercise professionals like physiologists, the Herbert Wellness Center and UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center offer the Supervised Exercise Program. Intended to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, mood, concentration, and sleep patterns, the Supervised Exercise Program targets individuals with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.

Research shows that physically inactive older adults who become active can offset 50 percent or more of their physical loss during these years. Living Independently Through Fitness and Exercise (L.I.F.E.) at the Herbert Wellness Center is designed specifically for individuals 65 years of age or older to improve strength and flexibility, enhance activities of daily living, remain independent for as long as possible, and prevent falls.

Further, there are approximately seven to 10 million people worldwide living with Parkinson’s disease, and studies show that the repetitive rhythm and movements of cycling help decrease symptoms in Parkinson’s patients. Exercise helps people with Parkinson’s maintain balance, mobility, and daily living activity. Following its success at the UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center, the Herbert Wellness Center introduced Cycling for Parkinson’s, a program in line with the most current research indicating the benefits of cycling. The program features two one-hour cycling sessions a week where participants are able to keep a steady pace.

Another EIMOC initiative is SHAPE-UP, an incentive program designed to encourage participation in fitness and wellness programs. Full-time and regular part-time UM faculty and staff, and their spouses who have UM health insurance, are eligible to earn a 20 percent rebate on the cost of a membership by checking in and working out at either wellness center at least 10 times a month.

In order to coordinate these programs, the Herbert Wellness Center works with a committee of collaborators comprising colleagues from the Department of Wellness and Recreation, Student Health Services, the Student Counseling Center, Housing and Residential Life, the Sandler Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Education, and ’Canes Care for ’Canes. This committee creates programs to address overarching health and fitness needs for students and staff, utilizing the resources and expertise of each department.

To continue its legacy, UM continues to educate physicians and wellness professionals on the importance of EIMOC initiatives. Third-year medical students attend a mandatory Wellness Week as part of their general primary care clerkship. This five-day rotation includes nutrition education and smoking cessation but focuses on understanding EIMOC through a basic fitness assessment and consultation, a one-hour observation of a supervised exercise program, exercise prescription education for special populations, and explanation of and mandatory attendance to five various group exercise classes.

This is the first year ACSM has recognized UM’s EIMOC program, which provides the opportunity for campuses to enhance their image as a healthy academic environment, emphasizing the commitment to utilizing exercise as medicine to create a culture of wellness.

UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (March 16, 2018)—Graduate School Dean Guillermo (Willy) Prado, whose research focuses on the prevention of risky health behaviors in adolescents, has been elected to the board of directors of Research!America, a national advocacy and public education nonprofit committed to promoting research that improves health.

“I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to work alongside the distinguished leaders that comprise the board of directors of Research!America,” said Prado, the Leonard M. Miller Professor of Public Health Sciences and the director of the Division of Prevention Science and Community Health at the Miller School of Medicine. “I am eager to advance Research!America’s mission to elevate the visibility of the importance of research in improving the nation’s health.”

Prado joins the board along with Derek Rapp, president and chief executive officer of JDRF, which is a global leader in funding research for type 1 diabetes.

“Derek Rapp and Dr. Guillermo Prado have committed their careers to improving the lives of patients and supporting efforts to accelerate medical progress,” said Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America. “They bring a wealth of experience to our board and our alliance will benefit tremendously from their longstanding dedication to research for health.”

A double UM alumnus who was appointed dean of the Graduate School in 2016, Prado has focused most of his career on preventing drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, inactivity, poor diet, and other behaviors associated with adolescent morbidity and mortality, particularly in Hispanic youth.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has continuously funded his research on Hispanic adolescent health since the first year of his doctoral program in epidemiology and public health, which he completed in 2005, after earning his Master of Science in statistics in 2000.

Since earning his Ph.D., he has been a principal investigator (PI) Co-PI, or senior mentor of approximately $80 million in HIV, substance abuse, and obesity prevention studies funded by the NIH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He is currently the PI of two NIH-funded research grants—one in drug abuse and HIV prevention and the second in obesity prevention—and he has been recognized by numerous organizations for his research, mentoring and training of early career scientists.

“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Prado being elected to the Board of Directors of Research America as it is a reflection not only of his exemplary leadership in advocating for the role that basic and translational research plays in our country, but also the University of Miami’s stature,” said Jeffrey Duerk,  executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Willy has been a creative and passionate leader of our Graduate School and I am thrilled to see he will have the opportunity to share his talents on the national stage.”