President Rosenberg’s Weekend Update


A weekend update from President Rosenberg:

Dear FIU family:

What a glorious weekend we just had! On and off-stage, on the field, the court and in the pool Panthers were busy this weekend engaging with our community and showing how Worlds Ahead we truly are. I would like to share with you some of the highlights:

  • Theater: This was the second weekend for “Rent” at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, under the direction of FIU Alumnus Andy Señor, ‘97. The production ends on Nov. 21. Tickets are going quickly but good seats are still available online at carta.fiu.edu.
  • Community engagement: Our Honor’s College students, the Golden Dazzlers and Rory took part in the second annual Thanksgiving Day Bash for residents of Lil Abner, hosted by owner Raul Rodriguez. This is another way that FIU engages Sweetwater, in a win-win relationship benefitting our neighbors and our own university community!
  • Architecture: Professor Marilys Nepomechie was featured in Sunday’s Miami Herald for her work on a recently-published book about Miami architecture. She is also leading the FIU Solar Decathalon team, which will compete next summer in Washington D.C.
  • Music: FIU Collegium Musicum joined the Palm Beach Atlantic University Early Music Ensemble and Choral Program in a rare performance of Monteverdi’s stunning “Vespers for the Blessed Virgin of 1610” to a packed house in downtown West Palm Beach. The FIU student group was led by associate professor of musicology David Dolata. Also this weekend was the opening of Florida Grand Opera’s production of Puccicini’s “Turandot” at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, featuring several Panthers, including Robert Dundas, associate professor of vocal studies, who plays the emperor.
  • The arts: The Wolfsonian-FIU celebrated its birthday this weekend with a Miami-style Quince party at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hosted by the Wolfsonian Visionaries. A fun party and a resounding success for the museum and its supporters!
  • Law: The College of Law hosted its annual law review symposium which focused on health care this year and attracted more than 100 students and attorneys. Several dozen law students and local attorneys also participated in the Minority Mentoring Picnic, which took place at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah.

And if that were not enough, our athletes picked up six victories! The highly successful weekend was highlighted by football’s first-ever victory over Troy, taking first place in the Sun Belt Conference. Along with the football team’s win, the men’s and women’s basketball teams picked up their first victories of the new season, while volleyball won its eighth straight and swimming and diving dominated New Orleans.

  • Football: FIU had its most prolific offensive game ever on its way to a 52-35 victory over four-time defending Sun Belt champion Troy, Saturday afternoon in Alabama. The win moved FIU’s record to 4-5, but most importantly 4-1 in the Sun Belt. The win sets up a key match up next weekend as the first-place Panthers travel to Lafayette, La., to take on the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns on Nov. 20.
  • Men’s basketball: Four players scored in double-figures, as the FIU Panthers defeated the Florida Memorial Lions, 89-73, on Friday, Nov. 12, at U.S. Century Bank Arena. Leading the way were juniors Eric Frederick and DeJuan Wright, who each posted double-doubles in their FIU debuts. Frederick scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Wright poured in a game-high 21 points and led all players with 14 rebounds.  
  • Women’s basketball: Four Panthers posted double figures to help lead the FIU women’s basketball team to its first win of 2010-11, a 66-65 victory over Rice at the World Vision Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Freshman guard Jerica Coley had a breakthrough performance in just her second career game with a team-high 16 points and six rebounds.
  • Swimming and diving: The FIU swimming and diving team got back in the win column with a resounding 175-83 victory over New Orleans at the New Orleans Aquatic Center on Friday, Nov. 12. The Panthers swept all 12 events from the Privateers in FIU head swimming and diving coach Randy Horner’s return to the Big Easy. Horner, previously coached UNO’s swim team
  • Women’s volleyball : FIU went 2-0 this past weekend, locking up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament (Nov. 18-20). FIU began the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Troy on Friday, Nov. 12. On Saturday the Panthers registered a dominating 3-0 win over Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama. FIU closed out the 2010 regular season with its eighth-straight win.

Now we look forward to another week full of promise as our men’s basketball team takes on Barry at 7 p.m. on Monday and women’s volleyball team plays in the Sun Belt Championship Opening Round on Thursday in Denver. For a full schedule of athletic events visit http://fiusports.com/

Starting on Wednesday, the Eugenio Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center is hosting Americas Venture Capital Conference, the first major venture capital conference focusing on companies doing business in Latin America. Companies from throughout the continent are coming to our campus looking to do business with venture capital firms interested in investing in this growing market.

I invite you to take as much pride as I do in our teams, our students, our faculty and staff as they bring the richness of our university experience off campus to share with our community and competitors in a way that enriches them too. Thank you for being part of the exciting FIU family!

Please forward these wonderful accomplishments to others in the community, family and friends so they too become “pantherized” – Go Panthers!


Mark B. Rosenberg
President