FIU to graduate thousands in five ceremonies


MIAMI – Nearly 3,000 Florida International University graduates will receive their degrees during five ceremonies to be held on December 15 and 16 at the U.S. Century Bank Arena on FIU’s University Park, 11200 SW 8th St..

Graduates hail from more than 20 states and territories and nearly 15 countries, including Hungary, Bolivia, India, China and Andorra.

FIU medallions will be awarded to a university president, a hotel industry executive and a statewide business leader. A real estate mogul and community figure also will receive the Cal Kovens Community Service Medallion while a major leader in public healthcare will receive an honorary doctorate in public service. The honorees are:

Elsa A. Murano is the 23rd President of Texas A&M University. Taking office on Jan. 3, 2008, at age 49, she is the first woman and first Hispanic-American to lead the oldest public institution of higher learning in Texas-now one of the largest teaching and research universities in the nation.

Murano worked her way up the academic ranks and into administration from an unconventional beginning. At the age of 2, her family departed from Havana, Cuba, when Fidel Castro came into power. After living in several Latin American countries, she and her family settled in Miami when she was 14 years old. At that time, she only knew Spanish but quickly mastered English and launched an educational career that carried her through the doctoral ranks. She received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Florida International University and earned both a master’s degree in anaerobic microbiology and a doctorate in food science and technology from Virginia Tech.

In 2002, Hispanic Business Magazine recognized Murano as one of the nation’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics.”

Murano will receive the FIU Medallion – Outstanding Alumna on Monday, December 15 at the 10 a.m. ceremony.

A graduate with honors from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Bruce Blum brings more than 25 years of hotel investment, acquisition, development, asset management and operational experience as a partner of The Chartres Lodging Group, LLC.

Prior to the company’s formation, he was with Doral Hotels & Resorts. Blum served as CEO for five years and as president for three years, when the organization became a division of MeriStar, formerly one of the nation’s largest publicly traded hotel companies.

During his career, Blum has been instrumental in the acquisition, development, sale and/or refinance of more than $2 billion of hotel and resort projects. On behalf of the Dubai Investment Group, Blum led the acquisition of the Essex House Hotel, which was awarded the 2005 Americas Lodging Investment Summit Single Asset Transaction Award.

Blum will receive the FIU Medallion-Outstanding Alumnus on Monday, December 15 at the 3 p.m. ceremony.

As the chairman and chief executive officer of Adler Group, Inc, Michael M. Adler has played a significant role in the growth and development of South Florida as a major center for international trade. Adler Group, Inc., formed in 1978, is an aggressive, multi-profile real estate firm with individual entities and affiliates offering services in such areas as development, general contracting, real estate management for institutional investors, real estate brokerage, and leasing and property management.

Adler’s involvement in South Florida real estate began at a very young age. He represents the second-generation of one of Florida’s most respected families of builders. His father, Samuel I. Adler, founded Southern General Builders in the early 1950’s and built, owned and managed more than 5,000 high-rise rental apartment units in Dade and Broward Counties..

While attending college, Adler learned his father’s business on the job, as a working crew member of the Laborers and Carpenters Unions, where he participated in the construction of high-rise apartment buildings throughout South Florida. In 1979 Adler began developing Miami International Commerce Center (MICC), this 340-acre park was the pioneer mixed-use project in Dade County’s Airport West market. Today, the park contains approximately four million square feet of warehouses, flex showrooms and offices. MICC was developed in a joint venture with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Adler will receive the Cal Kovens Community Service Medallion on Monday, December 15 at the 7:30 p.m. ceremony.

A veteran health care administrator known for his dedication to improving community health care, Marvin O’Quinn rose through the ranks after launching his career as a hospital orderly more than 25 years ago to become president of the Public Health Trust and CEO of Jackson Health System.

Since 2003, he has overseen Jackson Memorial Hospital and a countywide network of health care services that includes 12 neighborhood primary care centers, nine school-based health clinics, two long term-care nursing facilities, a series of community mental health centers, a children’s hospital and two community hospitals.

Under his leadership, Jackson embarked upon a major capital expansion to better serve all of Miami-Dade County. Jackson’s efforts to reach residents have included the 2006 acquisition of Jackson North Medical Center, as well as the recent groundbreaking for a renovation and expansion of Jackson South Community Hospital to double its size.

O’Quinn will be leaving Jackson Health System at the end of 2008 to accept a top job with Catholic Healthcare West, a San Francisco-based system of more than 40 hospitals in California, Arizona and Nevada.

O’Quinn will be presented with the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service on Tuesday, December 16 at the 10 a.m. ceremony.

A graduate of the College of Business Administration’s School of Accounting, Mario de Armas is market managing partner for the Florida offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers. In this role he works with a number of the company’s private and public clients in South Florida and Latin America.

A certified public accountant, de Armas has experience in industries such as distribution, higher education, telecommunications, travel and leisure, technology, entertainment, and media.

De Armas was appointed to his current position at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2007. Prior to that, he spent two years as office managing partner, and the previous seven as a partner at the firm.

From 1991-1994, de Armas spent time in Barcelona where he served U.S. and British multinationals with operations in Spain.

De Armas is an engaged member of the community. Among his extensive public service commitments is his participation on the Board of Trustees of Dade Marine Institute, Inc., a United Way agency that works with court-supervised youth in Miami-Dade County. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of the New World Symphony, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He volunteers his time for FIU as well, serving as a member of the Dean’s Council of FIU’s College of Business Administration. In addition to his FIU degree, de Armas has an MBA from the University of Florida.

De Armas will receive the FIU Medallion-Outstanding Alumnus on Tuesday, December 16 at the 3 p.m. ceremony.

The ceremonies are scheduled as follows:

Monday, December 15
10:00 a.m.       College of Arts and Sciences (Murano)

3:00 p.m.         School of Journalism and Mass Communications (Blum)
School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
College of Education

7:30 p.m.         College of Engineering and Computing (Adler)
College of Architecture and The Arts

Tuesday, December 16
10:00 a.m.       Robert Stempel School of Public Health and Social Work (O’Quinn)
College of Nursing and Health Sciences

3:00 p.m.         College of Business Administration – Landon Undergraduate School of Business and Chapman Graduate School of Business (De Armas)

-FIU-

Media Contact: Jean-Paul Renaud at 305-348-2716.

About FIU:

Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.

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