Veritas, Vol. 32, No. 09, Summer 1992

              For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
Summer 1992 Volume 32 Number 9
New Sylvester building called “remarkable facility of hope”
After more than an hour of praise directed at him for his generous gift, which made possible the new headquarters for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Harcourt Sylvester, Jr., stood before more than 400 guests at the building’s dedication and turned the tables.
“All of this adoration—I don’t know what to do with it,” he said humbly. “But really it’s you people who have made this possible—the doctors, the nurses—all of you people sitting out there.
“My mother and father join me here today in expressing their thanks to each of you,” he said of his late parents, in whose memory he donated $32.5 million through the Harcourt M. and Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation.
Sylvester was the last of several speakers to stand in the morning sun in front of the dramatic, arched entrance to the new building—the largest outpatient cancer facility in the southeastern United States.
The award-winning, architecturally unique, peach-colored building brings together the complete range of oncology specialties in a multidisciplinary approach to the detection, dignoisis, and treatment of all major adult cancers. It will also include ambulatory surgery and endoscopy suites, a large day
hopsital for chemotherapy patients, social work services, radiology, a pharmacy, and a dental clinic.
Bernard J. Fogel, senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, called the building, “a remarkable facility of hope.” President Edward T. Foote II referred to it as a “modem miracle.” And Nathaniel Berlin, deputy director of the center, said the facility “will give our patients the kind of care they deserve and will give our physicians a place to deliver that kind of care.”
Also speaking at the ceremony were Charles E. Cobb, Jr., chairman of the UM Board of Trustees; Jose Cancela, chairman of the Public Health Trust; and C. Gordon Zubrod, director emeritus and founding director of the center.
In concluding the dedication, Harcourt Sylvester offered a heartfelt appeal.
“A building doesn’t have a soul,” he said. “The soul will be in the building through the people who serve. If we love, if we have hope, if we help one another and help the less fortunate than ourselves, progress in cancer will exceed our greatest expectations. ”
—Susan May
Harcourt Sylvester, Jr., offers his sincere thanks for the tribute given him at the dedication of the new building. The gift of $32.5 million he gave through the Harcourt M. and Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation, which was used in part for construction of the building, is the largest gift in the history of the University of Miami.
New deans named in business and education
Two new deans have been appointed at the University of Miami: Paul K. Sugrue is dean of the School of Business Administration and Sam Yarger will become dean of the School of Education, effective August 1.
Sugrue joined the University in 1977 as an assistant professor of management science and became a full professor in 1988. From 1984 to 1987 he served as associate dean of the School of Business Administration and in 1987 was named senior vice provost responsible for faculty affairs and university planning. During the past year he also has served as interim dean of the Graduate School.
“Paul Sugrue is a natural to lead our respected business school,” says President Edward T. Foote n.
“He is an outstanding teacher and a well-published scholar. Having served as an important University leader in several key capacities, he is widely respected throughout the University and in the business community.”
A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sugrue received his Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, his master of business administration from the University of Rhode Island, and his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He has co-authored the widely used textbook, Microcomputer Applications in Business, in addition to authoring numerous scholarly articles on inventory control models, competitive bidding, and
decision theory. He has also provided professional consulting services to several major South Florida corporations.
Sugrue replaces outgoing dean Kenneth Fedor, who will continue with the University as a professor in the management department.
Sam J. Yarger, a specialist in teacher edcuation, will become the new dean of the School of Education on August 1. Yarger has been dean of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education since 1984. Before going to Wisconsin, he was associate dean and professor of education at Syracuse University and has served on the faculty of the University of Toledo and Oakland Community College.
“We are fortunate in having
attracted Dr. Yarger as the leader for the School of Education,” says Luis Glaser, executive vice president and provost. “His commitment to teacher education and to build partnerships with the community will not only enhance the activities of our School of Education but will benefit the South Florida educational community as well.”
Yarger received his Ph.D. in educational psychology from Wayne State University, his master’s degree in school psychology from the University of Michigan, and his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Eastern Michigan University. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on teacher education, staff development, and professional development.