Veritas, Vol. 44, No. 04, December 2001

              Veritas
Donna E. Shalala pledges pursuit of excellence
With her mother watching from the front row, and the
governor of Florida and her last two predecessors seated on stage as members of her procession, Donna E. Shalala was inaugurated as the University’s fifth president in a ceremony filled with all the pomp and circumstance of a formal investiture and the spirited atmosphere of a college pep rally.
A standing-room only crowd of more than 3,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and invited guests witnessed the inauguration, held in a tent on the University Green on the Coral Gables campus. Several months in the planning stages, the ceremony was the highlight of the University’s ongoing 73th Anniversary celebration.
Outgoing Board ofTrustees Chairman Carlos M. de la Cruz, Sr., presided over the ceremony, which was attended by several high-ranking local, state, and federal officials, and academic delegates and professionals from colleges and universities from around the world. Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who marched in the President’s Procession, called Shalala “a true leader.
She is someone who has enthusiasm, a zest for life, an understanding that student-centered education is what this University should be all about,” said the governor, dressed in full academic regalia as he addressed the audience.
Offering salutations to the president were Alumni Association President Gino Torretta, Student Government President Jose Diaz, and Chair of the Faculty Senate Steven Green. Green credited Shalala with using her energetic enthusiasm, vision, style, and dedication to draw the University community
December 2001
Volume 44 • Number 4
For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
President Shalala is congratulated by Florida Governor Jeb Bush, center, and UM Trustee Charles E. Cobb, Jr., who chaired the presidential search committee.
regalia with green trim and exiting the stage after her inaugural address with UM’s mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, in tow, as the School of Music’s marching band, The Band of the Hour, performed.
A campus-wide celebration at Stanford Circle followed the ceremony. Some 4,300 to 5,000 people watched jugglers and stilt walkers, listened to
musical performances, danced in the street,
'It was one of those rare moments when the entire University community .	r. .	,. ,
and ate a variety or international roods.
came together to witness a milestone in our history."	“It was one of those rare moments
when the entire University community
together. “Dr. Shalala has assumed the leadership of this great University at a critical moment,” he said. “We are well-positioned to forge ahead to the next level of excellence. She has the personal warmth and skills, the academic sense, and the sheer energy to lead us there.”
Shalala herself displayed true Hurricanes spirit, wearing orange academic
came together to witness a milestone in our history,” said Paula Musto, vice president of University Relations, who, with Aileen Ugalde, assistant to the president, cochaired the Inaugural Steering Committee that was composed of faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni.
Please turn to pages 4 and 5 for full inauguration coverage.
Phillip Frost assumes chairmanship of UM Board of Trustees
Physician-entrepreneur
Phillip Frost has assumed chairmanship of the University of Miami Board of Trustees, succeeding Carlos M. de la Cruz, Sr., chairman of Eagle Brands Inc., who had chaired the board since 1999.
Frost is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of I VA)C Corporation, a Miami-based generic pharmaceutical firm. He and his wife, Patricia, are longtime patrons of the South Florida arts community. Last year, the Frosts
Phillip Frost
donated $1 million to support the Band of the Hour, the University’s marching band, and have endowed a number of student scholarships along with supporting the commission of new works at the School of the Music.
A member of the UM Board ofTrustees for the past 18 years, Frost holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and a medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was chairman of the Department of Dermatology at
Mount Sinai Medical Center of Greater Miami, in Miami Beach, Florida, from 1972 to 1990.
He is nationally recognized for his business acumen and creative enterprise. He invented a disposable skin biopsy device, sold it to a pharmaceutical firm, and with the proceeds, opened a medical device business, which he later merged with another company.
Frost has served as chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of IVAX Corporation since 1987. IVAX is a holding company with subsidiaries engaged in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of branded and brand-equivalent pharmaceuticals in the United States
and international markets. The company also has subsidiaries specializing in veterinary products, diagnostic products, and nutraceuticals.
Frost has served as president of the Lowe Museum Friends of Art, CEO of the Board of Advisors for the School of Business Administration of the University of Southern California, and as a trustee for the Miami Jewish Home for the Aged. He also has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2001 National Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the annual Wharton Business School’s Business Statesman Award. He and his wife reside in Miami Beach.