University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala is one of several distinguished individuals from myriad fields to be elected into the American Philosophical Society (APS), a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based organization that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach.

Shalala, who became president and professor of political science at UM in 2001, was elected an APS member in the “Arts, Professions, and Leaders in Public and Private Affairs” Class 5 category, joining other newly elected luminaries such as composer Philip Glass, concert pianist Emanuel Ax, and playwright and novelist A. R. Gurney.

The APS has played an important role in American cultural and intellectual life for more than 250 years. Early members included doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and merchants interested in science, and also many learned artisans and tradesmen like Benjamin Franklin.

Election to the APS honors extraordinary accomplishments in all fields. Currently, there are more than 900 members around the world, with 85 percent of the organization’s membership residing in the United States. In the course of the 20th century, more than 200 members of the Society have received the Nobel Prize.

The society holds annual meetings in April and November. The papers presented at these meetings, and the discussions that follow, explore topics in both the sciences and humanities, from underwater archaeology to nuclear magnetic imaging, from Shakespeare’s writings to race relations in modern America.

President Shalala has more than 25 years of experience as an accomplished scholar, teacher, and administrator. In 1993 President Clinton appointed her U.S. secretary of health and human services, a role in which she served for eight years, becoming the longest serving HHS secretary in U.S. history. In June 2008, President Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, at a ceremony in the White House.

Click here to view the full list of new APS members.

The University of Miami’s School of Education (SOE) has received its first endowed chair through a gift from a retired librarian and alumna of the school.

The Erwin and Barbara Mautner Endowed Chair in Community Well-Being was established with a $2.36 million donation by Barbara Mautner. Dean Isaac Prilleltensky will be the first recipient of the chair, which will support his work in the area of community well-being.

“I am thrilled for Dean Prilleltensky, especially because this important first chair is funded by an alumna of the School. The Erwin and Barbara Mautner Chair in Community Well-Being validates the dean’s important research and teachings that promote a holistic approach to education,” said Donna E. Shalala, president of the University of Miami.

As Dean of the School of Education, Prilleltensky believes his goal is to promote an effective, reflective, and supportive organization that will foster a new paradigm in educational and community well-being. To that end, the school has increased its engagement and visibility in the Miami Dade County area through a number of innovative initiatives in schools, non-profit organizations, and other entities.

read more

Passing of the torch: Seen at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Phillip George, left, outgoing BOT chair Marta Weeks, and UM President Donna E. Shalala.

Phillip George, a dedicated member of the University of Miami Board of Trustees since 1989, has assumed leadership of the board. In addition, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez has been named a national trustee to the board, while Matthew E. Rubel and T. Mechelle Francis have been appointed alumni trustee and student trustee, respectively. 

The board is responsible for governing UM, one of the largest private research universities in the southeastern United States.

An alumnus of UM’s Miller School of Medicine, George is a retired plastic surgeon and private investor. He was co-founder and vice chairman of Trivest Inc., a middle market private equity firm. He has been involved in the formation of multiple public and private enterprises. He has served as a trustee and member of multiple institutions, including trustee of Ransom Everglades, a member of Collectors Committee of the National Gallery of Art and Miami Art Museum, and a member of UM’s Hospital Board of Governors.

Carlos M. Gutierrez’s term as national trustee begins June 1.

Gutierrez, who served in the George W. Bush administration, was recently named non-resident scholar at UM’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies (ICCAS). He will be based in Washington, D.C. and will work with ICCAS’s Cuba Business Roundtable, an ongoing program that recruits businesses interested in professional advice on a post-embargo Cuba. He also serves as ICCAS’s keynote speaker on the Cuba Transition Project seminars in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Canada. Gutierrez, whose term on the board begins June 1, served as co-chair for the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. Prior to his cabinet service, Gutierrez served as chairman of the board and CEO of the Kellogg Company.

Francis, a doctoral student, serves as the president of the Graduate Student Association. She will graduate in May 2011 with a Ph.D. in International Studies.

On Friday, May 1, the Institute for Women’s Health will hold the second annual Women’s Health Research Day from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at UM Hospital, South Building, first-floor Seminar Center. Nearly 40 posters will be on display and presented by UM faculty, residents, staff, and students. 

At 12 p.m., UM President Donna E. Shalala will offer opening remarks, followed by keynote speaker Vivian W. Pinn, director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health.

Read the full story

America’s economic future is on the line, and with a national debt approaching $11 trillion, those who will face the responsibility of this debt are America’s youth.

The University of Miami will host a lineup of events, the Budgetball Series, on the fiscal challenges facing our youth. The kick-off event is a visit from the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour today, Monday, March 23 at 7 p.m. at the Storer Auditorium on the Coral Gables campus. The series culminates with a fast-paced Budgetball Tournament on April 18. Both events have been made possible by grants from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour is an ongoing public engagement initiative visiting cities across the country to foster a more realistic public dialogue about the country’s long-term fiscal challenges. It will bring leading experts to campus to discuss the realities of the nation’s financial future and the range of possible solutions.

The panel, to be moderated by UM President Donna E. Shalala, includes David Walker, president and CEO of The Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. comptroller general; Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition; Isabel Sawhill, senior fellow and director of Budgeting for National Priorities Project, The Brookings Institution; and Andrew Briggs, resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute.

read more