AlumNews: University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, Fall 1980

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UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
In Honor Of President Henry King Stanford
Ernie Sabella, President Stanford, Gail Edwards.
A Testimonial Dinner
On April 25, hundreds of University of Miami alumni and friends attended a dinner to honor Dr. Henry King Stanford for his contributions to education and to the South Florida community. The $150 per plate fundraising dinner was held at the Omni International Hotel in downtown Miami. Co-emcees for the program were television/news personalities Ralph Renlck (Ch. 4), Larry Klaas (Ch. 6), Wayne Fariss (Ch. 7), and Ann Bishop (Ch. 10). The testimonial dinner-dance was the climax of “Dr. Henry King Stanford Day” declared in Dade County by the cities of Miami and Coral Gables.
Headlining the evening was Distinguished Alumnus Jerry Herman, composer-lyricist responsible for such Broadway hits as Hello Dolly, Mame, and Dear World. Mr. Herman had composed a short “Hello Henry” diddy for the occasion. A little later in the evening alumnf Gall Edwards and Ernie Sabella reminded Dr. Stanford of a stunt he performed as entertainment at a Thanksgiving dinner with American
students during his (“infamous”) Heidelberg days (1937). Gail came all the way from California where she had just completed a pilot for the television series “It’s a Living” to be aired on the ABC network this fall. Ernie popped in from New York where he has been performing both on and off Broadway. The multi-media presentation of live and videotaped entertainment was the work of UM alumnus and Professor Paul Nagel in cooperation with Bill May and Chris De Malo of UM Communications Services and staff from the Public Affairs Office.
Dr. Stanford’s term of office spanned 18 years, exactly one third of the University of Miami’s history. During this period, the University experienced its greatest growth in terms of facilities and academic maturity. Increases in enrollment, student quality, faculty compensation, faculty doctorates, assets, employees, alumni support, fund raising and federal support marked the “Stanford Years” as the President set his sights on a “rendezvous with greatness.” A recent UM Institutional Research report revealed that Dr. Stanford’s signature graces
99% of all doctoral degrees, 81% of all master's degrees, 62% of all bachelor’s degrees and 65% of all degrees granted in UM history.
At a specially called meeting on April 22, the Board of Trustees had unanimously re-elected Dr. Henry King Stanford as President of the University to serve until the next annual meeting of the Board which will be held on March 27,1981. In his announcement, James W. McLa-more, Chairman of the Board, said that “the re-election was not only unanimous but was met with a standing ovation and a strong emotional showing of support for Dr. Stanford.” Dr. Stanford agreed to postpone his retirement for another year while a newly constituted presidential search committee continues the search for a new president.
A Distinguished Professorship
One purpose of the Stanford Testimonial Dinnerwasto raise fundsto establish a permanent memorial to Dr. Stanford. The Stanford Testimonial Committee has determined that the net proceeds from this affair as well as an additional $100,000 anonymous gift will be used to establish the Henry King Stanford Distinguished Professorship In the Humanities.
The first Henry King Stanford Distinguished Professor of Humanities will be nobel laureate Isaac Bashe-vls Singer. Mr. Singer is returning for a third year to the Department of English, where he teaches creative writing.
The importance of the humanities to the quality of life tends to get overlooked by many students with their career orientations. The faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences feel very strongly that a liberal education is important for all students and is gratified that Dr. Stanford and the Testimonial Committee have indicated their support of this ideal in such a meaningful way.
ALUMNEWS - FALL, 1980, Page 1