Miami Hurricane, August 23, 1991

              UNIVERSITY OF
First Impression
**ut
SUMMER 1991
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI. CORAL GABLES. FLA.
SECTION A
Personalized classes to challenge freshmen
By TOMB. HIGGINS
News Editor
Beginning this fall, University of
Miami freshmen will be able to
enroll in "personal, innovative classes unavailable at most universities
in this country," Dr. Ross Murfin,
the newly-appointed dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences said.
The classes are callejjiiffeshmen
seminars," and trTey were instituted to combat the "lost feeling" that
some entering students have when
they first come to college, Murfin
said.
Before the instituion of this program, "not all of our freshmen had
Top professors will teach seminars
the chance to sit down in a small
room with a distinguished faculty
person, to hear them speak, and to
write papers on their discussions,"
Murfin said.
"In freshmen seminars, the students can argue points and get
feedback," he continued.
The Freshmen Seminar Program
began when Murfin circulated a letter suggesting that professors propose courses for the program.
Twenty-two came forward, creating courses like The Images of
Women in American Society, in
which professors Rita Deutsch and
Lindsey Tucker will explore the
beliefs and attitudes towards women in the 20th century.
Other seminar topics include:
• Visions of Home and Despair:
The Spanish Civil War — Professor
Jane Connolly will examine the war
though the eyes of its observers
and participants.
• Creation Mythologies in the
World's Religions — Professor
Marvin Sweeney introduces students to the varieties of cosmologic
mythologies as well as the common
patterns of such myths.
• Cowboys and Indians: Image,
DAVE BERGMAN/StaH photographer
CELEBRATION SPLASH: Taking part in a not-so-old UM tradition,
1991 graduates frolic in the McLamore Plaza fountain after commencement.
1991 graduates
set for success
Grad: 'Spirit of the moment shared by all'
By TOMB. HIGGINS
News Editor
In a ceremony filled with cheers
and excitement, the University of
Miami graduated 2,191 students
during a May 10 ceremony on the
University Green at the Coral
gables campus.
Commencement speaker Louis
Sullivan, U.S. secretary of Health
and Human Services, spoke to the
graduates about creating a "new
culture of character in America."
He said the graduates of today
must "be willing to put service
above self and the good of our communities and of humnanity above
the lure of lucrative careers and
materialistic lifestyles."
"The needs of at-risk populations
are a clarion call to each of us," Sullivan continued.
Students cheered throughout
Sullivan's speech, but the real celebration began as University President Edward T. Foote II began to
confer degrees upon the ocean of
black robes clustered on the Green.
As each college and school
received its degrees, anticipation
grew among the graduates.
"I felt really excited," said
School of Music graduate Allison
Gillespie. "The humor and enthusiasm of the graduateswas well
received by the administration."
"The spirit of the moment was
shared by everyone," Gillespie continued.
Streams of orange and green
"silly-string"shot up among the
students as confetti floated through
the air.
Howie Hauser, a new graduate of
the School of Business, said the
event was a part of the biggest day
of his life.
"I felt a feeling of accomplishment as I moved my tassle from
right to left," he said. "My long-
awaited goal had been achieved."
Before he assumed his post in the
Bush administration in 1989, Sullivan was a founding dean and president of Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, one of three
principally black medical schools in
America. He received an honorary
doctor of laws degree from the University at the ceremony.
Other honory degree recipients
included John Michael Bishop,
1989 Nobel laureate for medicine;
William J. Brennan, retired justice
of the Supreme Court of the United
States; and U.S. Rep. William Lehman, D-Biscayne Park, Fla.
TEN YEARS OF SERVICE
DAVE BERGMAN / Special to the First Impression
'SANDBAGGED': University of Miami President Edward T. Foote II, center, receives the first Vice
President's Award for Service. Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. William Butler, right, and Student
Government President Irwin Raij look on.
Foote celebrates 10 years
'Still a lot to do here,' president says; no plans to leave
By ROBERT MILLER
Editor In Chief
... And so we gather at a University of astonishing accomplishment, in a city of boundless
opportunity, astride a fulcrum
of continents and peoples — perhaps of eras. There are times
when cities take off. There are
times when universities take off.
When those times coincide, there
is the stuff of combustible excitement. We here are at the threshold of such times.
President Edward
T. Foote II
Inaugural Address,
Dec. 4, 1981
Watching himself on the
big screen television
in the corner of the
banquet hall, and seeing himself
as a man 10 years younger give
the most important speech of
his life, he seemd to sink into his
chair. During the testimonials
his wife put her arm around his
shoulders and whispered in his
ear. And finally, when the chairman of the Board of Trustees
gave him his pin for 10 years of
service to the University, and
the entire room signalled its
approval with a standing ovation, President Edward T.
Foote II was at a loss for words.
After several minutes at the
podium, "thanks" was all he
could say.
The occasion was the Board
of Trustee's retreat, held at the
Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo,
Fla., April 12. They were celebrating Foote's 10th anniversary as the University of Miami's
fourth president.
The board had decided to sur-
Please see page Z4/FOOTE
FINANCIAL MATTERS
The total amount of the
University's endowment
since President Foote's
inauguration in 1981:
In 1981-$40.68 million
SOURCE: UM
rraatursCs-
OfHe*.
Myth, and the American West —
Professor Michael Carlebach will
investigate the nature and meaning
of myth and its peculiar and complicated relation to historical reality in
the American West.
Freshmen seminar programs are
also offered at the University of
Pennsylvania, Princeton University
and Duke University.
The seminars will be available
only to frshmen, and will count
toward their general education or
distribution requirements. Registration for the courses will continue
until they are filled, and a cross section of incoming freshmen are
expected to register.
Excitement
planned for
orientation
Activity fills week
By FRANK RECIO
Assistant News Editor
As the fall 1991 semester begins,
it will bring with it 1,800 new faces
to the University of Miami campus.
To help them with the transition
to college life, Orientation '91 will
offer students a week of exciting
activities to help them find their
way around the campus, make new
friends, get set for their academic
challenges and help them get
involved in the activities of their
choice, Karen Melino, director of
Student Development and Orientation Services, said.
A staff of over 200 trained student orientation assistants (OAs)
will be available to help students
with any problems or questions
they might have, Melino said.
"They [the OAsl are the University's official welcoming commitee;
they are the first contact the students have when they arrive on
campus."
Students will be divided into four
categories', resident, commuter,
international and transfer. Groups
of 10-15 students will be meeting
with an OA, who will involve students in activities specially
designed to help them get acclimated to UM.
"We want to give incoming students an upperclassman whom they
can talk to and ask questions they
might have. Our OAs are as diverse
as our student population and will
relate to them very well." Melino
said.
Orientation begins on Saturday,
Aug. 24, 1991, with a program for
international students. "International Orientation is geared to help
students overcome the 'shell shock'
of the American society and customs," Melino said.
Melino hopes that Orientation
will "get students off to a great
year."
"We want to introduce students
to college academics, and other
curricular opportunities available
at UM."
This year's Orientation will be
heavily charged with much of what
UM is all about. "Miami history,
traditions, and customs will all be
part of the program," Melino said.
Orientation for all other students
begins on Sunday, with check-in for
Pleaseseepage 7-4/ORIENT
Murfin appointed new A&S dean
Former vice provost/English professor to replace Wilson
NEWLY APPOINTED: Ross Murfin will take over as dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences
August 1.
INSIDE
• Club listings: Your guide
to the many activities and
organizations on campus, 9A.
* Opsn house: A day in the
■"e of.a residential college
master, Editorial — 15A.
By FRANK RECIO
Assistant News Editor
Dr. Ross Murfin, former vice
provost of the University of Miami,
will soon take over as the new dean
of the College of Arts and Sciences
— the largest of the 14 schools and
colleges at UM, administration officials announced recently. Murfin is
replacing Dr. David Wilson, who is
stepping down as dean after six
years to return to teaching and
research in the Department of Biology.
"Dr. Murfin is a distinguished
scholar and a real leader," said
Executive Vice President and Provost Luis Glaser. "He has served
the University with distinction in a
variety of roles and will be a charismatic leader for the College of Arts
and Sciences. I am delighted that
he has accepted the position. We
will miss him in the Provost's
Office."
Murfin, who joined the English
Department as an associate professor in 1981, is currently vice provost for undergraduate affairs. He
has served as served as associate
dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Programs
in Honors and Privileged Studies.
When the University's residential
college system was established in
1984, Murfin was appointed as the
first head master Hecht Residential
College.
UM President Edward T. Foote
II said the search for a new dean
earlier this year had been thorough
and exhaustive and that a large
number of qualified candidates
were considered.
"When I made my decision ... I
was confident I had chosen the
best," Foote said. "Professor Murfin is one of the most respected
members of our talented faculty.
"The search for a dean drew
much interest nationally. That professor Murfin emerged as our
choice is a tribute to him as a scholar, teacher and leader. He is very
well qualified to guide this important college, with the second-largest faculty at the University of
Miami and the traditional 'heart' of
any university."
Freshmen show promise
This fall, a diverse and over-
achieving group of freshmen will
be arriving on campus to begin
their academic and social challenges at the University of Miami.
According to Mary Conway,
director of Admissions, 40 percent of this year's freshman
ranked in the top 10 percent of
their graduating class.
The class of 1994, Conway
said, is similar to last year's group
of 1,800 freshman, who had combined Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores within a "mid-range of 940
to 1,220."
Conway said that this year's
class is probably going to be
slightly smaller than last year's.
"The main difference this year,
is that students tend to be staying
closer to home," she said. "Last
year, 38 percent of our freshman
were from in state, this year it is
up to 41 percent. That means that
our out-of-state numbers are
down, because we have roughly
the same number of international
students."
Conway said 54 percent of the
incoming freshman class is
enrolled in the College of Arts and
Sciences, 17 percent in the
School of Business and 9 percent
each in the College of Engineering and the School of Communication. The remaining students
have enrolled in a program in
architecture, music or nursing.
— FRANK RECIO
A GLOBAL CITY
Miami is not your average 'college town.'
The city, and surrounding communities,
offers many diversions for UM students.
• Lifestyles — page 1B
CANE CONCERNS
A young and inexperienced
Hurricane football team will try
to storm their way into the Big
East Conference this fall.
• Sports — page "IC