Veritas, Vol. 49, No. 06, March 2007

              3 Stepping up to the plate: Sprint
campaign will usher in a new era for UM’s varsity athletics program.
4 Three UM students conduct
cutting-edge marine research as Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship recipients.
5 The Department of Psychology teams up
with the Miami Museum of Science on a new heart disease study.
Volume 49 ■ Number 6 ■ March 2007	For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
www.miami.edu/veritas
FEELING LIKE A MILLION: UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN IS A HUGE SUCCESS
United
Way
-L he University of Miami has completed the most successful United Way campaign in its history, raising more than $1 million during a comprehensive institution-wide fundraising drive that included everything from faculty and staff pledges to book and bake sales, auctions, and even a pizza party given by an enthusiastic group of 6- to 12-year-old “Mini-Canes.”
The $1,047,872 total is not only the most money raised in any UM United Way campaign but is also one of the largest university or college United Way campaigns in the nation.
“This is a phenomenal amount of money, and everyone should be very proud of this incredible achievement,” says UM President Donna E.
Shalala. “We make the United Way a top priority, and our
employees and students always come through.”
“This has been a banner year for our United Way campaign,” says Jerry Lewis, vice president for University Communications and director of UM’s United Way campaign. “True to form, our University community has once again stepped up to the plate and reached into their pockets to help those who need our help most.”
UM’s outpouring of philanthropy stemmed from many sources. This year, for example, the University’s 1 percent donors, those who give 1 percent or more of their annual income to the United Way, accounted for $450,000 of the campaign total. They were honored on January 18 at a Leadership Reception held at Shalala’s residence.
More than $88,000 was raised through fundraising projects such as costume parties, jewelry and necktie sales, and other creative means.
University of Miami students also played a m^jor role in the campaign’s success, raising $10,000 during the annual Orange Bowl collection and volunteering at United Way agencies.
The University’s “Mini-Canes,” the 6- through 12-year-old kids who participate in the Department of Wellness and Recreation’s Mini ’Canes Recreational Sports Camp, donated the proceeds from their pizza party, proving that even the smallest ones can make a difference.
Knight Center for International Media will help news cross borders worldwide
UM creates $10 million international media center

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With global
warming, ethnic genocide in Darfur, and gender equity in the workplace at the periphery of global concern, the University of Miami has created a $10 million international media center that will use innovative news techniques and practices to help solve some of the world’s most difficult and inadequately reported problems.
Based at UM’s School of Communication, the new Knight Center for International Media is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Journalism Initiatives and builds upon the University’s longstanding relationship with the foundation.
“The Knight Foundation has a history of supporting important projects that have helped make the University of Miami the great institution it is today,” says President Donna E. Shalala. “By creating the Knight Center for
for international

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Beyond borders: School of Communication Associate Professor Sarçjeev Chatterjee, left, and Dean Sam L Grogg announce the new Knight Center for International Media, which will help news cross borders worldwide.
International Media at UM, future journalists will be connected with the working professionals who cover critical issues affecting our world.”
The center is being launched with a total of $ 10 million—a new grant of $3.5 million, the reallocation of previ-
The election, which must be made by April 6, 2007, is irrevocable and becomes effective June 1, 2007. Regardless of the election, faculty and staff will
University introducing new retirement plan
In another major step toward attracting and retaining the best and brightest faculty and staff, the University of Miami will launch a new retirement plan on June 1 that features a matching contribution from the institution and allows employees to decide how to invest their savings.
The Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) will be the only plan available to faculty and staff whose date of employment is on or after June 1
A new plan: Under the new Retirement Savings Plan, faculty and staff will decide how to invest their retirement account.
2007. Faculty and staff who are in existing retirement plans will be given a one-time opportunity to elect to stay in their current plan or begin earning benefits in the new RSP.
not lose benefits they have already earned in existing retirement plans.
“We believe the new plan offers a highly competitive and effective benefit,” says Joe Natoli, senior vice presi-
Continued on page 3
ous Knight endowments to the University totaling more than $5 million, and a UM contribution of more than $1 million. Sanjeev Chatterjee, associate professor and vice dean of the School of Communication, will serve as the center’s executive director.
Under Chatterjee’s direction, the center will use cutting-edge communication techniques to bring underrepresented issues of worldwide significance to the public consciousness, helping people to communicate effectively across borders. Photojournalism exhibits and One Water, a nonverbal documentary film on the scarcity of potable water in the world, are among the projects that the center will undertake.
“This center is based on the simple idea that the world will not solve its most difficult problems unless its people can communicate effectively across national, ethnic, and cultural borders,” says Alberto Ibarglien, president and CEO of the Knight Foundation. “Journalists can play a major role both in bringing clarity to complex issues and bridging cultural divides. The Knight Center for International Media will be dedicated to the proposition that we can understand each other and will train journalists in the use of many forms of media to achieve that goal.”
The center will house two endowed chairs. The Knight Chair in Visual Journalism will explore the impact of dynamic, multimedia visual communication in film, photography, illustration, and graphics, while the Knight
Continued on page 3