| You
wake up one morning and discover you need milk and bread for breakfast. No problem.
Just jump in your car and drive to the store to pick up the items at the
closest grocery, 100 miles up the road.Sounds preposterous? Perhaps. Then consider
a comparable scenario: having to travel several hundred miles to earn a bachelor's
or graduate degree at a state university. Education
is every bit as basic to life and growth as the sustenance provided by milk or
bread. Yet less than 30 years ago, residents in Greater Miami could not secure
a four-year or graduate college degree at a local public university. They had
to move upstate to attend a state university. Miami was the largest urban area
in the country lacking a public baccalaureate-granting university. It's no wonder
that when FIU threw open its doors in September 1972, it welcomed the largest
opening day enrollment of any university in the history of the U.S. Since
then, FIU has rapidly developed. It has exceeded expectations in its ability to
achieve benchmarks of excellence associated with much older institutions. To achieve
the University's chief goal, however to become one of the nation's top
public urban research universities an infusion of private resources was
needed. That
need gave rise to The Campaign for FIU in 1996. FIU asked its friends in the community
and beyond to invest in the promise of the University and the response
once again exceeded expectations. In this issue of FIU Magazine we cover
the campaign's overwhelming success and the projects it is supporting to strengthen
the institution. You will also find stories on ways FIU and its alumni are working
to solve problems in Miami the community from which the University draws
so much of its vitality and richness.
Todd Ellenberg
Editor | 
Surpassing
all original expectations, the capital campaign unprecedented in FIU history
will help provide a strong foundation for future growth. 