Veritas, Vol. 45, No. 05, February 2003

              3 As a Fulbright Scholar, Professor Beth
Harry heads for Spain to take on a challenging study in special education.
4 A new School of Medicine initiative is
bringing basic medical care to some of Miami-Dade’s neediest students.
Olts holdings once scattered in
different places, UM’s Cuban Heritage Collection gets a home all its own.
Volume 45 ■ Number 5 - February 2003
For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
www.miami.edu/veritas
UM RANKED AMONG ‘GREAT COLLEGE TOWNS’
University of Miami students and administrators have long known that their institution is located in one of America’s great college towns. Now, the proof is in writing.
The University of Miami has been ranked among the top ten “Great College Towns” by the Princeton Review, the college and graduate test preparation service. The University was listed number five on the A-list, which is based on students’ assessments of a school’s surrounding city or town.
Students told the Princeton Review that “the sun shines every day” on their “beautiful campus” and also offered their views on academics, touting the “first-rate education” and vast resources.
UM was the only Florida school to make the top ten. To see the full list, visit www.princetonreview.com.
UM/SYLVESTER LIGHTS THE WAY OF HOPE
Fighting cancer is a passionate mission at the UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, as is the search for creative ways to fund research. Survivors and supporters took major steps toward that goal recently on a philanthropic
m few m
$48 million Convocation Center has storybook opening
Hurricanes get a home to call their own

The UM/Sylvester courtyard aglow.
and reflective journey down the Path of Light.
A labyrinth of candlelit luminaries, used for generations as a passage toward solitude and healing, was woven around the UM/Sylvester courtyard, showcasing the talents of students from the School of Architecture and College of Engineering. Supporters at the event purchased luminaries, which were personalized and positioned in the maze. The evening ended in a solemn tribute, with each participant lighting another candle.
It was a giant steel and concrete puzzle that took half a century to complete, but finally the last piece is in place.
The University of Miami’s new $48 million, 7,000-seat Convocation Center, home of Hurricanes basketball, opened its doors in storybook fashion: thousands of orange-and-green-clad fans filling its seats to the rafters and national power North Carolina in town for a nationally televised game against the Hurricanes in their “house.”
Even Disney could not have written a better ending for this opening night performance. With six-tenths of a second left in regulation and Miami down by three, forward Darius Rice hit a baseline three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Only this time, the Hurricanes would emerge victorious, a 64-61 winner over the Tar Heels.
Miami forward James Jones, you could say, christened the building with the first competitive basket ever made in the arena—a three-pointer with 18:37 left in the first half. He added an exclamation point, the arenas first slam dunk, later on.
Those in attendance for the arenas opening included UM President Donna E. Shalala, Athletic Director Paul Dee, Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick, and Board of Trustee member Eddie Dauer, who donated a major gift for the facility. Texas Rangers All-Star shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who recently donated $3.9 million to the University for the renovation of its baseball field, also was on hand.
“It was great to see a gym full of people instead of a gym full of empty seats,” said Rice, who, along with his teammates, have bid farewell to Miami Arena, where the Hurricanes played their home games since 1988 and crowds were often sparse.
But now, more than 23 years after then-basketball coach Bruce Hale promised recruits an on-campus field house before they graduated, UM has its ‘sixth man,’ an arena coaches and officials hope will be a distraction for opponents but an attraction for recruits.
“This new building is the final piece of the puzzle I’ve been waiting for,” said women’s head coach Feme Labati, whose team debuted at the new Convocation Center against Boston College last month. “I’m excited now to show high school girls our facilities.” Her squads had formerly played their games at the Knight Sports Complex, an on-campus
practice facility with bleachers.
Says Dee, “This has been a goal for a long time, and I truly believe it will take our basketball programs to the next level.”
Already, 4,000 season tickets have been sold, about 1,000 more than last season. Meanwhile,
25 of the Convocation Center’s 26 luxury suites have been sold, and the “Hurricane 100” sections—the first nine rows—are sold out.
It is all icing on the cake for a basketball program that has experienced more pains than a six-foot, 160-pound point guard taking a charge from a
seven-foot, 300-pound center. Twice the program was dropped in its history, once because of sagging attendance figures and financial losses.
UM point guard Armondo Surratt drives for the basket during the Hurricanes’ 64-61 overtime victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The new facility, UM officials agree, has the potential to change all that. The center’s opening night
Continued on page 3
All Rhodes lead to England for Devi Sridhar

Most students who are Devi Srid-har’s age are just entering college and taking the academic steps of registering for classes and deciding on a major. But Sridhar is not your typical college student. At only 18 years of age, she will graduate from the University of Miami this May with a biology degree and then head to Oxford University in England as the youngest American ever to be named a Rhodes Scholar.
Sridhar is one of 32 American winners of the prestigious scholarship, which provides up to three years of study at Oxford. Starting next October, she will study for a degree in philosophy, politics,
h
Devi Sridhar and her mother, Leela, attend a luncheon where the 18-year-old was honored for winning a Rhodes Scholarship.
and economics, specializing in developing countries.
She is among 95 winners selected worldwide from 981 applicants. Winners are chosen on the basis of high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor.
Sridhar is the University’s third Rhodes Scholar. The award was created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes.
For Sridhar, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Medical Honors Program, which fast-tracks students from undergraduate entrance to a medical degree in six years, winning
Continued on page 3