Pres. Rosenberg: The 12th Panther is in the house! Dec. 18, 2011

President Mark B. Rosenberg is in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The president is sharing commentary and photos from his trip, so be sure to check out his blog on this whirlwind trip. Below is the president’s first entry:

St. Pete – the 12th Panther is in the house!

It was sand, sun and fun at Sunday's beach party.

Your FIU is now assembling in St. Petersburg for the 2011 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. The bowl caps an invigorating year for our university. A record enrollment, significant new faculty and staff hires to meet the needs of our students,  inspiring holiday musical performances – Messiah, and Nutcracker Suite – by our students, six joyful family-centered graduations just this past week, and a year-end commendation for our school-based community efforts by the Superintendent of the Miami Dade County Public Schools.

Rosalie and I enjoyed visiting with the fans at Sunday's beach party. Here we took a moment to pose with FIU alumnus Alberto Padron '98, MBA '09 and his sons.

The year-end activities are really about “finishing strong.” Our opportunity to be in a nationally televised bowl offers another moment to tell our story and to show the pride faculty, staff and members of the community have in FIU.

Our pride in accomplishment is matched by the obvious joy that St. Pete has in hosting this year-end bowl. Everywhere we go around this city, there are signs welcoming bowl participants. Hotels associated with the event are bedecked in FIU and Marshall colors and hotel staff are wearing T-shirts and gear from the respective universities.

Even the Marshall fans wanted a photo with our Dazzlers!

But it’s not just the hospitality that beckons. St. Pete is full of great museums and points of interest. And now that FIU is in the house, we have one more opportunity to show our Worlds Ahead mettle, whether in the museums or on the playing field. There are still a few tickets left, so if you have the opportunity to help us make a statement about how we finish strong, there is still room for another 12th Panther in this city that is just four short hours via I-75 from Miami.