Veritas, Vol. 50, No. 06, March 2008

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By the numbers: A look at some of the milestone numbers in UM’s record-breaking Momentum campaign.
4 The University is placing lifesaving portable defibrillators in many of its Coral Gables campus buildings.
5 The UM Libraries’ Purdy Florida
Collection traces the state’s history from the 16th century to the present.
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UNIVERSITY OR
MAR 2 6 20
LIBRAR
Volume 50 • Number 6 - March 2008	For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
www.miami.edu/veritas
MOMENTUM
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
Record-breaking fundraising drive has reinvigorated and transformed the University
A grand finale: Momentum raises $1.4 billion
The University
of Miami’s record-breaking Momentum campaign, launched with the ambitious goal of raising $1 billion, has come to an end, surpassing its objective by unprecedented numbers and poising the institution to become one of the nation’s elite teaching and research universities.
Momentum: The Campaign for the
University of Miami has raised more
UM GETS $80 MILLION FOR GENETICS RESEARCH
The University of Miami’s mission to become an internationally renowned scientific research powerhouse received a big boost on February 1 when Florida Governor Charlie Crist formally announced the awarding of an $80 million grant to the Miami Institute for Human Genomics during a news conference on the Miller School campus.
The institute is home to the world’s top geneticists who conduct leading-edge work in identifying genetic variants that underlie common human diseases.
“We’re always mindful of how important projects like these are,” Governor Crist said. “Not only will it improve the quality of lives, it will save lives. It will also help our economy, a tremendous byproduct of what we’re talking about here today.” Speaking at the news conference,
Major grant; Governor Grist announces the $80 million grant. To his left is Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio.
UM President Donna E. Shalala described the funding as “an extraordinary grant from the state that I believe will transform South Florida.”
The award is based on recommendations from Enterprise Florida to the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. Enterprise Florida’s recommendation came after a study and various analyses that found that the Innovation Incentive Fund award would help induce the creation of about 300 new jobs paying a salary of at least $62,000.
The Miami Institute for Human Genomics, established at the Miller School a year ago, has already drawn international attention for the groundbreaking work of institute director Margaret Pericak-Vance and Jeffery Vance. The Vances and their team have uncovered critical clues to the origins of diseases, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, age-related macular degeneration, and autism. Most recently, Pericak-Vance co-led a multicenter study that for the first time in 30 years uncovered a gene linked to multiple sclerosis.
than $1.4 billion, a milestone amount that has “enriched every area of our University and prepared it for further greatness,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala. “The remarkable success of Momentum has fueled a sweeping transformation throughout our institution. It has been the catalyst of one of our most dynamic periods and is propelling us to unprecedented levels of distinction. Everywhere you look the University is being reinvigorated and transformed, and we are taking advantage of this momentum to further accelerate our progress.”
The campaign, says Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs Sergio Gonzalez, has
Kirby Hocutt leads UM
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hey said he was too small to JL play major college football. But Kirby Hocutt never let the critics discourage him.
An all-state high school player out of Texas, Hocutt signed in 1990 with Kansas State, the only Division I college football program that showed an interest
provided UM with the resources “to improve the institution in a very quantifiable fashion.”
Indeed, many of those improvements have already come to fruition. Over the past four years, the campaign has had a dramatic impact on the University, creating a slew of new chairs and endowed scholarships, new centers and institutes, and several new facilities and major building renovations.
A change in the institution’s physical appearance is one of the most obvious results of the campaign, and UM’s Coral Gables campus, where several new facilities have opened, is a testament to that transformation. For example, the Frost School of Music opened the Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library and
athletics into new era
in the 5-foot-10-inch linebacker. In 1993, when he cracked the Wildcats starting lineup, Hocutt proved the doubters wrong, leading the then-Big Eight in tackles (135) and being named all-conference for his junior year.
“I was determined not to let my size prevent me from accomplishing my dream,” Hocutt says. “Going to Kansas State and playing against Big Eight opponents, I faced offensive linemen and running backs who were much larger than me. So I had to take my work ethic, dedication, and commitment to another level.”
It is that same attitude that Hocutt says he will bring to his role Continued on page 3
Technology Center; the School of Architecture unveiled its new Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center; the School of Business Administration opened the Kosar/ Epstein Faculty Office Wing; the School of Communication opened its new five-story International Building; and the School of Nursing and Health Studies opened the world-class M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies. In January, the University broke ground on the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center, a $24 million home away from home for its more than 147,000 graduates.
Transformation is also under way at UM’s Miller School of Medicine, where the new Clinical Research Building opened in 2006. The 15-story, 350,000-square-foot high rise is helping to speed discoveries from the lab to patients. Later this year, the Biomedical Research Building will open on the sprawling campus.
Meanwhile, many world-class researchers and scholars, including renowned philosopher Colin McGinn, husband-and-wife geneticists Margaret Pericak-Vance and Jeffery Vance, and Nobel Laureate Andrew Schally, are now here. What’s more, Distinguished Professorships have been created to recognize the contributions of some of UM’s most outstanding faculty.
During the course of the campaign, UM rose dramatically in the nation’s most prestigious college rankings. UM climbed to No. 52 in U.S. News & World Report's annual “America’s Best Colleges” rankings, up two spots from last year and 14 places since 2003.
Momentum's $1 billion goal was actually reached in early 2006, 18 months ahead of schedule, making UM the first school in Florida to raise $ 1 billion in a single fundraising drive. The University then decided to raise an additional $250 million by the end of 2007, augmenting the campaign’s goals of endowing student scholarships, enhancing research, and funding new interdisciplinary centers and institutes.
The campaign was launched at a time when the national economy was on a downturn and when many institutions Continued on page 3
Meet the press: With cameras rolling, Kirby Hocutt answers questions from the South Florida media during the press conference where he was introduced as UM’s next athletic director.