Alumni Association welcomes new president at annual meeting

The 2014-15 Alumni Association Board of Directors

A record 350 FIU graduates turned out for the Alumni Association’s first ever off-campus annual meeting, making it a night of milestones. They also welcomed a new president, Frank Pena ’99, and paid tribute to beloved FIU figure, Graham Center Director Ruth Hamilton, who retires this month after more than 30 years.

The cocktail reception began in an open air, waterfront patio at Grove Isles Hotel and Spa where the Alumni Association set up a fun and silly photobooth that was the hit of the party.

“Tonight is special,” said Alumni Relations Associate Vice President Duane Wiles. “We look forward to seeing great things from each and every one of you.”

Peña, a businessman who’s one of the diehard FIU sports fans affectionately dubbed “The Four Horsemen,” takes the reins of the Alumni Association from Gonzalo Acevedo.

“I’m humbled and honored from the support I’ve received,” Peña said. “The association has a brighter future because of members like you. Everyone has their own FIU story and it’s a story you should be proud to share. There is no place that has contributed to South Florida like FIU has.”

The time has come for the Alumni Association “to rev up,” he added. “We’ll become more relevant in the community. With 20,000 members we have to speak out on the issues that are important to us.”

Among those issues, he said, are expanding FIU’s footprint to the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds next door to MMC, and remaining a leader in the annual eMerge conference and supporting FIU’s capital campaign.

University Advancement Senior Vice President Howard Lipman underscored the global reach of FIU. He recounted how he met a museum director from the Canary Islands in an airport in Madrid and discovered that he knew Carol Damian, director of the FIU Frost Art Museum. “Right there in an airport in Madrid is someone who knows who we are, who our people are,” Lipman said.

“The reputation of your university is predicated on the success of its alumni,” Lipman said. “You take this institution to the place you go. When you wear the FIU shirt or pin, people stop and say, ‘Oh, FIU!’”