As Hurricane Irma crawled west through the Caribbean, South Floridians scrambled to shutter their homes, braved hours-long waits for a share of the dwindling gasoline supply and raced to snatch up cases of water and generators flying off store shelves.

Meanwhile, a team trained in disaster response assembled in FIU’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), a 1,630-square-foot reinforced facility in Parking Garage 5 at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus that would become the hub of decision making at the university during the hurricane.

“Now’s the time to step up to the plate,” Assistant Vice President for  Disaster Management and Emergency Operations Ruben Almaguer tells the group of administrators who represent operations, facilities, student housing, law enforcement and other key areas.

They’re gathered around tables, some with notes in hand detailing immediate concerns. The day’s action plan is outlined on white boards, televisions are tuned to local and national news, and landline phones are connected to ensure direct calling as needed to the National Hurricane Center and county and state emergency operations centers.

The mission: Safeguard a university with 56,000 students, 10,000 employees and a $9 billion economic impact against a storm with the potential to level South Florida, and provide support to the broader community.

“We have to plan like a Category 5 will hit Miami-Dade County. We prepare for the absolute worst, but continue to hope for the best,” Almaguer explains.

Led by Almaguer and Emergency Management Director Amy Aiken—who together have 50+ years of experience in the eld at the city, county and state levels—the EOC team is charged with mitigating potential damage that could endanger FIU’s ability to get back to the business of education once the threat passes. They coordinate the logistics of battening down buildings; sheltering campus residents and Monroe County evacuees; communicating important updates on the storm as well as university closures; and cleaning up post-hurricane.

The 40 EOC members meet every semester to participate in a daylong simulation that challenges them to implement emergency protocols in various scenarios. They are guided by the university’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, which covers all potential emergencies including cyberattacks, active shooters, civil disturbances, pandemics and more. Response-and-recovery strategies are updated based on lessons learned from exercises and actual activation. (The 7-year-old center has been activated only twice before, both times for less-menacing hurricanes.)

Jonathan Lord, deputy director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management, said using the Incident Command System—a standardized structure for coordinating emergency personnel and resources that is considered best practice by military and government agencies—is key to FIU’s ability to seamlessly manage, coordinate and communicate its emergency and disaster services and information, both within the FIU community and with external local and state partners.

“FIU provided unprecedented support to Florida residents and students in response to Hurricane Irma,” Lord said, acknowledging public universities and colleges statewide for their exceptional response- and-recovery efforts.

Communication is key during crisis. Led by Assistant Vice President Maydel Santana, the team sent daily updates on behalf of the president to inform students, employees and the community about the university’s status, encourage hurricane preparation and safety, and address questions of greatest general concern as monitored by the FIU call center.

“Seeing our EOC in action is truly impressive,” Santana said. “There’s a lot of heart in this team that came together to coordinate important work for the benefit of our students and the broader community.”  

Considering her schedule, Bridget Pelaez is surprisingly chipper for mid-morning on a Wednesday. In the days since Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys, she has been sleeping—poorly—on a bus in a parking lot in Marathon. Luckily, she found a place to shower the day before, a bathroom at a partially destroyed marina. There was no hot water, but she still described access to any running water at all as something of a luxury.

A paramedic and a nurse, Pelaez would be well qualified for a hospital job. Instead, the always-moving 33-year-old helps run the  FIU-Florida Advanced Surgical Transport Team, an all-volunteer group of medical professionals who drop into disaster zones to tend to the injured. Her title is flex commander, a role that has her developing schedules for dozens of nurses and doctors one minute, servicing a generator the next and assisting on surgeries as needed. On that Wednesday on the sweltering bus, she had been at it for two weeks, first in Houston following Hurricane Harvey’s destruction there and then in the Keys. She could count one good night of sleep in all that time.

With no bed or fully working bathroom available to her, Pelaez chooses to relish the few small things she does have. Like her supply of Gatorade packets, a travel pillow, sunflower seeds (which she chews to help her stay awake) and a required stash of Cuban coffee. “Focusing on my lack of comforts just doesn’t feel right when there are so many people who lost everything,” she says.

Her attitude is in part a product of her past, the South Miami kid who was always doing things for someone in need. It also comes out of her training through FIU’s  Academy for International Disaster Preparedness within the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, where she received a Master in Disaster Management in 2017.

Upbringing and education, however, can’t totally prepare someone to forego sleep and a decent shower for the better part of two weeks. And that’s what makes Pelaez special: She is ready, willing and able to go without.

Nerves of steel

In 2011, Pelaez, in a full HAZMAT suit, walked out onto a thin metal walkway at the edge of a nuclear bomb crater. Below her was a 450-foot drop into a canyon of radioactive Nevada desert.

Beside her was Raj Maragh. They were both training to be part of an emergency response team, and one challenge involved visiting the site of a nuke test. The exercise was meant to give participants an unusual view of devastation. It also tested their mettle: Will you take those first steps to the edge of the crater, or turn around and find a new career?

“Take a volcano and put it upside down. That’s what it looked like,” Maragh recalled. “It’s real. It’s not a simulation. There we were, on top of where a nuclear bomb was detonated.”

Every person there looked understandably nervous. Except for Pelaez. She just seemed to get calmer under the pressure—a habit of hers in times of high stress. “When things are hairy, you get this sense of confidence in her that everything is going to be taken care of, that it’s going to be OK,” Maragh said.

A history of helping

As an athlete at South Miami Senior High—where she played volleyball, soccer, softball, basketball and golf—Pelaez earned the nickname “Mother Theresa” for always wanting to take care of teammates when they were injured.

“She was very outgoing and always interested in volunteerism,” recalled classmate Steve Lora, remembering how Pelaez would hold blood drives when there was a tragedy somewhere. “She just has this way of helping people, and it was evident even back then.”

Pelaez went on to enroll in the fire academy to become a firefighter and paramedic. With those credentials in hand, she signed up to begin volunteering with various disaster response teams.

Following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, she went to the island with the National Disaster Medical System team and Baptist Health South Florida. Half of each day there she hung drywall and mixed concrete to rebuild a hospital. Then she’d switch to treating patients. Mostly she saw gastrointestinal diseases in children so impoverished they could afford nothing more to eat than biscuits made of dirt mixed with shortening. “They would pound their stomachs with their fists because of the hunger pains,” she said.

That experience encouraged her to pursue a nursing degree, even as she continued to strengthen her disaster response skills by signing up for various kinds of training. One program focused on responding to nuclear and biological attacks, and that’s how she found herself standing next to a nuclear bomb crater in Nevada.

Today Pelaez is looking for a full-time administrative position in disaster management—someone who can help manage deployment while working on strategy and prep between team deployments—as there are actually few paid jobs in disaster response. Most responders deploy as unpaid volunteers, often with the blessing of their regular employers.

“For the past 10 years, I’ve had to explain to friends and family about this path I’m on,” Pelaez said. “But the happiest times in my life have been when I’m caring for the most vulnerable.”

No drama queen

In 2016, Pelaez enrolled in FIU’s  Master in Disaster Management program, and like all her fellow students, she’d have to endure one especially tough 48-hour stretch to earn her degree.

That tough final exam involves a disaster simulation on FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus where students spend two days sleeping in a tent, eating freeze-dried meals out of a bag and using a bucket as a bathroom.

“It’s not pleasant,” said Ruben Almaguer, FIU’s Assistant Vice President for Disaster Management and Emergency Operations. In 2015, FIU became the first university in the state and one of only a few institutions in the country to offer a master’s degree in disaster management. “Some people have it in their DNA, and some just don’t.” For those who don’t, their future likely will not include field work, and instead they’ll be headed for an office job. Then, Almaguer said, there’s people like Pelaez, who simply relish those tests of will.

“She does these things because she’s good at it and because it’s important. She simply has a real compassion for others and doesn’t care what she has to sacrifice herself,” he said.

After the flood waters rose in Houston from Hurricane Harvey, Pelaez headed there as part of the National Disaster Medical System team. During the day, she served as the team’s deputy commander, leading meetings and serving as a point of contact, helping coordinate where and when nurses and doctors would be deployed. At night, after her full day of administrative tasks, she’d volunteer at makeshift temporary hospitals.

She saw patients with septic shock likely caused by contact with contaminated flood waters. Others suffered respiratory problems exacerbated when their ventilators lost power. Those involved in post-storm cleanup presented with chainsaw lacerations and injuries from falls off ladders. Some came in with gunshot wounds, not uncommon in the widespread looting that often follows such disasters. For the most serious cases, she arranged for transfers to a local hospital.

Pelaez spent nine days in Houston, sleeping mostly during the 10- or 20-minute bus rides that took her to whichever location needed her next. She was back home in Miami one night before she had to ready herself for Irma. She spent the days before the storm amassing supplies and directing volunteers to where they’d be needed after the storm made landfall.

As the track shifted from the east to west coast of Florida, Pelaez was forced to rethink the plans by the minute.

Read more:  FIU-FAST team answers the call for help

The storm made landfall on Sept. 10, and by 8 p.m. that night, Pelaez had sent assignments to 82 volunteers working with the FIU-FAST team. They dispatched to hospitals in South Miami, where ERs had begun filling with those injured in the storm.

At West Kendall Baptist Hospital, Pelaez found herself working with an old friend who had stood with her at the nuclear bomb crater years ago. Raj Maragh is now the emergency preparedness and security director for Baptist Health South Florida. Pelaez’s arrival at the hospital, her team in tow, made for a smooth landing all around. Where clashing egos could have heightened an already difficult situation—a growing number of patients awaited care—she instead used her inborn skills to almost seamlessly schedule her personnel into the existing conditions.

“You have to understand that Bridget makes it not about her,” Maragh said. “It’s always, ‘What can I do, Raj? What can I do to help?’ She’s just a go-getter, and you have the confidence in her that everything is taken care of.”

Meeting the demands of an active hurricane season

Pelaez had one day off before heading back to FIU to log a new shipment of medication and then head with the FIU-FAST contingent to Marathon, where Fishermen’s Community Hospital was damaged beyond use. The team set up a 19-by-35-foot shelter with AC, lights and medical equipment powered by a generator, and soon the hospital staff was seeing 60 patients a day in the temporary space.

With the tent hospital up and running, Pelaez spent two days demobilizing her team. But before she could truly rest, she began looking at what was next. She spoke with officials in Dominica, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico about whether her team could deploy there. They’d need transport, likely from a military cargo plane, which sometimes drops them on a runway with just five minutes to unload. (They ended up not going.)

Whether she would sleep or get a hot shower between the two deployments, she had no idea. People ask her about it a lot, how she can so easily put aside any concern for her own needs.

Her response sums her up perfectly: “I’m kind of that crazy girl who will tell people that I want to help save the world.” 

—By JoAnn C. Adkins, Ayleen Barbel Fattal ’06, Evelyn S. Gonzalez and Chrystian Tejedor ’04, MBA ’15

When extreme weather strikes, nature endures devastation but also reveals secrets to its resiliency. Researchers in FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education are investigating the clues that plants, animals and ecosystems leave behind in moments of suffering and recovery. What they find could offer solutions to protecting nature from long-term changes happening to the planet.

Hugh Willoughby knows a thing or two about extreme climate events. Throughout his career, the FIU research meteorologist has own more than 400 missions into the eyes of storms for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Among those was 1989’s Hurricane Hugo, which ravaged the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and parts of the southeast United States.

“The Caribbean will be the best predictor of climate change,” Willoughby said.

Since 2015, data shows energy is increasing in these storms, but there’s not enough data to establish a trend. The 2017 hurricane season may change all that. Willoughby says data from recent major storms, including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, could prove Caribbean temperatures are on the rise. It will take months of data collection and review before scientists can say for sure. But if Willoughby is right, the Caribbean could serve as a barometer for the rest of the world.

Other subtropical and tropical regions are offering clues of their own. In 2005, hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma attacked South Florida and the Gulf region. In 2008, subtropical China was hit with a devastating cold spell followed by a major drought. In 2010, South Florida suffered its own cold spell. And in 2011, one of the most pristine and untouched coasts in world—Shark Bay, Australia—experienced drastic changes after temperatures reached historic highs.

In each of these scenarios, FIU had researchers who have been working in these areas for decades. They have been monitoring conditions, wildlife and plant life. Armed with years’ worth of long-term research data, they were able to assess how these isolated weather events impacted their areas. They witnessed catastrophic losses. But they also witnessed stories of adaptation and survival. It’s on these moments researchers are focusing with the hopes of developing new methods of conservation and giving policy solutions to mitigate climate change.

Helping the homeland

Hurricane Maria’s touchdown in Puerto Rico just two weeks after a pummeling from Hurricane Irma left the island reeling. (Officials called the devastation “apocalyptic.”) A total loss of electrical power and downed communication channels made getting out immediate word to friends and family in the United States nearly impossible.

“It’s complete desperation,” Miami attorney Nicole Ramos, a 2005 FIU Law grad, said of what she felt as she worried about loved ones in her homeland. Almost a week after the destruction, she still had no idea how an elderly aunt and uncle as well as a close friend had fared. “That’s the worst part,” she said. “I just need to know.”

Channeling her worries into a productive outlet, Ramos turned her Coral Gables apartment into a makeshift warehouse as she quickly began soliciting nonperishables from neighbors and checks and Venmo contributions from coworkers and Facebook friends. In addition to the nearly $1,000 in donations she spent at Walmart in the first days after Maria, she also received Amazon deliveries of diapers and toiletries from folks as far away as New York. She took all the supplies to a local collection center that had arranged for shipping.

“I grew up there and seeing the videos and photos of people who are hungry, hot, thirsty—for me, it just hits my heart,” said Ramos, who shares a home with her mother and 7-year-old son. “I had to do something.”

The concentrated activity served as a temporary distraction from her growing fears. She suffered endless sleepless nights and spent countless hours combing the internet for any news or photos of her relatives’ hometown. And she took to social media in a quest to locate her friend. (She would eventually learn that all three, though shaken, had come out fine.) In the midst of her worry, Ramos found hope in the collective good will of those around her.

“What is beautiful about this is that strangers reach out,” Ramos said, “and we’re all coming together as a community.”

School leaders take charge

As Hurricane Irma aimed for South Florida, Bianca Calzadilla ’97, MS ’00, Ed.S. ’03 and John Galardi ’02 were each pressed into duty to ready their schools in anticipation of sheltering a combined 3,000 people.

With almost 40 evacuation centers already nearing capacity, Miami-Dade County looked to public school buildings as more people sought refuge from a potential direct hit from the Category 5 storm with winds exceeding 150 miles per hour.

Supported by custodial staff, volunteers, national guardsmen and police, Calzadilla and Galardi took charge of their respective teams and opened their doors.

“It was automatic, we knew what had to happen,” said Calzadilla, principal of Shenandoah Middle School in Miami. “There was no question what needed to be done. There was no question we needed to be there.”

In Homestead, Galardi’s South Dade Middle School sheltered 2,500 evacuees. The first night, they dined on pizza and chicken—the regularly scheduled student lunch.

“This community was hard hit during Hurricane Andrew 25 years ago, and I know that upped the anxiety for this storm,” Galardi said. “I didn’t want people to be in a scenario where they were in a house or a mobile home that was unsafe.”

A thank you for those who bring light

As many as 10 million Floridians suffered the consequences of lost electrical power and an inability to run AC during 90-plus-degree temperatures in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Frustrated and uncomfortable, many cursed the darkness. But the temporary hardship led Naomi Valle ’02 to an enlightening experience.

A post directed her to the Facebook group “Irma Recovery: Florida Linemen Support,” and she began learning about the work of the roughly 30,000-strong army of electrical contractors arriving from as far away as California, Wisconsin and New Hampshire to get the lights and fans running again.

As she connected with workers’ families online and spoke with individual crew members in the South Florida streets, she found that daily conditions for the out- of-towners were not much better—and sometimes worse—than for locals. Shifts lasted 16 hours in the blazing sun. Company-provided meals were meager. Laundry was piling up. For many, nights were spent on cots or in trucks. Plus, some workers had come straight from weeks-long stints in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, with a number of them missing personal events such as a planned honeymoon and even a son’s wedding.

Valle wanted to honor the workers’ sacrifices and the risks they took as part of their jobs, so the stay-at-home mom and former teacher used social media to called upon more than two dozen fellow Panthers as well as family, friends and even high school classmates she hadn’t spoken with in 20 years. Strangers and former students also contributed to the cause as did local businesses.

“My phone buzzed non-stop, from early mornings to late nights, with requests and updates,” she says. “Laundry service needed for an eight-man crew in North Miami. Boot dryers for a lineman with aching blisters. An Italian dinner for a crew of 25 in Brickell.” Valle also arranged for birthday surprises—tipped off by workers’ loved ones—as well as handmade “thank you” cards from local schoolchildren that were delivered with home-cooked meals.

“You’ve given us a completely different outlook on this world,” one grateful lineman told Valle, who was motivated by memories of the kindness shown her own family after Hurricane Andrew took everything they owned in 1992. “I can tell you now, after 25 years, that the feeling of immense appreciation lasts a lifetime.”

Immokalee residents, battered by Hurricane Irma, line up for aid from a charity drive coordinated by Greek organizations from across the state, including FIU students from Lamda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority and La Unidad Latina Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity.

Hitting the road

Students Anthony Baez and Milhtian “Milci” Cerda each drove to Immokalee, Fla., to represent their Greek organizations at a charity drive in support of Hurricane Irma victims.

Located about 30 miles northeast of Naples in Collier County, where Irma had made landfall, the migrant farming community of Immokalee was hit hard. In the aftermath, many residents were forced to move as crews condemned more than 50 mobile homes destroyed by the storm.

Cerda, president of FIU’s chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, and Baez, president of FIU’s chapter of La Unidad Latina Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, joined dozens of volunteers from across the state to sort food and clothing at a donation center. They also provided guidance to those completing applications for FEMA assistance.

“I moved here from Dominican Republic and grew up in a poor neighborhood, so I know firsthand how complicated it is not to have anything and not have anyone there to help you,” Baez said. “Whenever I can do something that can impact someone’s life, I want to do it.”

Cerda added: “It was well worth it. We saw how many people were panicked and scared leading up to the hurricane and knowing that we were OK, we just wanted to do our part.”

Redirecting efforts

Soon after Hurricane Harvey decimated Houston, Camila Martinez, a sophomore nutrition and dietetics major, prepared for a week-long mission trip to help rebuild ruined homes.

But then Hurricane Irma put an end to the plans.

Her flight and trip canceled, Martinez turned her attention to those impacted by a storm much closer to home. With FIU classes interrupted due to Hurricane Irma, she used the time off to volunteer as a caseworker with the American Red Cross at the Tamiami Park shelter, just a short walk from FIU. She worked 12-hour shifts, conducting interviews with dozens of evacuees, many from Monroe County, to help assess their immediate needs.

“My goal is to be a doctor one day and to take what I’ve learned and find out how to make my community better,” Martinez said. “Many of the evacuees were worried about their homes, their jobs and wondering if they were going to have to leave and start over. I wanted to try and help, even if I was just one person.”

But she wasn’t just one person. Martinez was one of many students who sprang into action in the wake of the storm, many through their campus organizations such as the Caribbean Students Association, which collected donations, the Miami Medical Team of FIU, which filled more than 60 boxes with nonperishable food and medical supplies, and the Panther Motorsports automotive engineering club, which participated in a local “Cars & Coffee” hurricane relief event. 

By: Joel Delgado ’12, MS ’17, Alexandra Pecharich and Chrystian Tejedor ’04, MBA ’15

 Mark J. Macgowan is the associate dean of academic affairs for the  Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work and a professor of social work. A licensed clinical social worker, he serves on one of Florida’s Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and has also worked as a disaster mental health worker with the American Red Cross.

The emergency notification app goes off on my phone, then a text comes in and, finally, someone calls me with the news: My disaster response team is to deploy within 24 hours to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. I have to get ready.

In my day job, I am a professor of social work and associate dean of academic affairs for the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work. But when disasters strike, I transform into a behavioral health specialist on a medical response team that includes physicians, nurses and paramedics also ready to leave on short notice. I travel with a backpack outfitted with essential supplies and nonperishable food to carry me for up to 48 hours on my own and a bigger bag to keep me going for the remainder of the two-week deployment.

Our team’s duties are to help out in all aspects of a rapid deployment, including setting up a base of operations. We are trained to potentially deploy into austere environments; we may sleep in the open air, aircraft hangars or in hotels. In Houston, we were stationed beside one of the large convention centers that sheltered evacuees from floods. 

Attending to people’s behavioral and mental health is an essential part of disaster response and recovery. Evacuees frequently seek medical care and tangible services such as financial assistance, but they also often have psychosocial needs as a result of the disaster or exacerbated by the event. There is a general consensus that mental health should be integrated into disaster response as most people will experience some level of distress. Although the majority of those affected do not have severe symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression can appear in up to a third of “highly exposed” survivors.

During our short deployments, we do what we can to address the range of emotional responses even as the full range of symptoms may not yet be evident. We typically use brief interventions such as psychological first aid, an approach that is built on the concept of human resilience. For example, on one deployment, a person seeking financial assistance sat crying quietly. While she waited, I sat down beside her, offered her a tissue and a bottle of water. I said nothing until she was ready to talk. She opened up about losing precious old family photographs in the storm. She spoke about being nervous to go to sleep as the storm had happened at night. Having someone available to talk about how she felt and what she could do next to get her life back in order was important.

In another case, on a community visit, I met with a single mother of four children who was living in a trailer partially destroyed by a hurricane. She had pre-existing and aggravating stressors, including a recent car crash. Now, after the storm, her home had no air conditioning, and many of her family’s belongings were ruined. As I met with her away from the kids, she broke down and cried and said that she needed to “be strong” in front of them. Beyond providing emotional support, we connected her with a local store that donated gifts cards so she could secure new bedding, clothing and children’s toys.

In addition to working with those directly affected by disaster, I care for the mental well-being of responders. The stress of a deployment can take a toll as those charged with helping are themselves cut off from their own support systems. Sometimes responders handle this through humor at the expense of others, as was the case with one who had a pattern of making fun of teammates. While humor can serve to diffuse stress, in this instance it came at the expense of others. I spoke privately with the man about the habit, which had caused some friction among his colleagues. He responded well and was more mindful of his actions.

Sometimes responders become angry or frustrated. In such cases, the answer may be to accompany the individual on a walk away from the center of operations to talk things out. I will also check in with that person periodically throughout the deployment to help him or her avoid compassion fatigue, or burnout.

How do I keep my own balance during a deployment? Calling or texting home as often as time and cell service permit is one way. Talking with my teammates about family and activities outside of the deployment also helps as does making personal space away from the center of operations to read or listen to music. And having a second mental health responder on the team allows me to discuss with him or her any built-up emotions associated with, for example, witnessing medical trauma or empathizing with evacuees who have faced major losses. For first responders, access to psychosocial caregivers plays a critical role in promoting compassion satisfaction, the pleasure derived from helping others. An ability to find such fulfillment keeps disaster personnel going back in times of need, myself included.

It wasn’t long after returning home from Texas that my emergency notification went off again: on standby to help after Hurricane Maria. It’s been a busy fall! 

Several people on the set spoke directly with Vela while he told of residents’ fears of storm surge and their battening down in homes of dubious construction. Among those interacting with the reporter were two meteorologists. They informed him that Irma’s previously anticipated “brush” along the northern coast now appeared on radar as a potential direct hit on his current location, in the town of Caibarién.

An FIU professor has a plan to get rid of the blue tarps that inevitably appear on rooftops after a hurricane.

Arindam Gan Chowdhury has patented a concrete roofing system that aims to replace the hundreds of individual shingles or barrel tiles, not to mention thousands of nails as well as plywood sheathing and wooden trusses, that often put housetops at risk.

“Why have so many elements?” the civil engineer asks. “Any weak link creates a domino effect,” with a small break or a misstep in installation potentially escalating into serious damage.

Chowdhury’s solution: Replace all those components with a monolithic structure, in this case a series of conjoined concrete panels, each of which measures about 4 feet wide and up to 30 feet long and features an inch-thick wavelike pattern. The panels would be fabricated off site and then connected to one another atop a home using interconnecting joints before being secured to the building’s masonry block via a steel strap or metal rod.

Manufacturing the panels in a factory allows for the kind of quality control that is often impossible with current roofing systems, the integrity of which depends largely on the skill of installers, Chowdhury explains. Labor costs for the concrete panel installation would likely be lower than those for traditional roofs as the work is expected to take less time. The price tag on the panel rooftop—constructed in the sloped shape common to homes—is comparable to the total cost of all materials that go into other roofs. And the heft of the panels is no greater than the combined weight of all the elements of a standard roof.

Chowdhury, who directs the NSF-funded Wall of Wind Experimental Facility, and his team have tested the innovation under simulated Category 5 wind effects with great success. “We have not had any failures,” he says.

Designed with aesthetics in mind, the panels have the potential to be colored to fit a homeowner’s tastes. A red dye, for example, can be infused into the concrete mixture before pouring to create a product that resembles clay tiles. Chowdhury also has patented a system compatible with commercial flat-roof buildings. The university is in talks with companies interested in potentially manufacturing the technology.

Separately, Chowdhury has applied for a patent on a system of screw- like turbines that can be mounted to a building to interrupt the powerful vortices of air generated by strong winds as they travel up and over the roofline. Such vortices are responsible for ripping away tiles and shingles and even pulling off whole roofs as they create upward lift. For those who do not have in place the concrete roof panels Chowdhury has devised, the turbines might be the next best way to avoid destruction. 

Adriana Pereira-Reyes ’05

Senior Director of Community Relations, Walmart

Q: When FIU requested bed sheets to cover cots in a campus special-needs shelter for Monroe County hurricane evacuees, you and Walmart came through. Why?

A: At Walmart, we work every day to offer meaningful support to the communities we serve. Helping my alma mater was not only an opportunity for my company but also for me on a personal level. I did not hesitate to do a small part for an institution that has done so much for me and our community. Partnerships like this speak to the amazing things that can happen when people come together and focus on the greater good.

Q: Did you have any FIU experiences that drove home the value of a community-oriented approach to living?

A: Days after graduation, I started an internship at what is now FIU in D.C. I left the familiarity and comfort of home in Miami and took a blind leap of faith in Washington, in the middle of winter. I thought I would have to navigate a new life alone but I quickly realized I was in very good company. I found myself surrounded by an amazing and talented group of FIU alumni who did not hesitate to lend a hand. For me, that experience defined community. We had FIU in common and that was enough to build camaraderie, a support system and friendships.

Q: Is there someone in particular who encouraged you to work on behalf of others?

A: My father recently passed away and at his funeral I delivered a eulogy centered on selflessness. It is the best lesson my father taught me. His life’s work was driven by a passion to help people, especially those less fortunate. I strive every day to personify his legacy by putting others first.

Q: Your degree in mass communication led you, eventually, to the directorship of FIU’s Governmental Relations and, today, a position as spokesperson for Walmart. Which lessons best prepared you for this work?

A: Much of my success, both personal and professional, I owe to FIU. Every step I’ve taken and every corner I’ve turned can trace back to FIU, but it was actually the lessons outside of the classroom that best prepared me for the real world. The internship opportunities, the campus involvement, and the interactions with administrators, faculty, staff and alumni all shaped who I am today. At FIU, I was constantly reminded that my true self is the best one, dreams are limitless and challenges are meant to be overcome.

Q: You are mom to 1-year-old Matthew. What will you teach him about finding satisfaction and happiness?

A: My mother always taught me that an education and knowledge are two things that can never be taken from you. I want my son to appreciate that and spend his life learning. I also want him to be prepared for life’s curveballs. You can plan all you want, but always be ready for the surprises, and embrace them!  

John Cal is associate vice president for Facilities Management, so hurricane season poses special concerns for him. When storms threaten, Cal’s 380-strong team undertakes many of the same precautions as everyone else—installing shutters and pulling in outdoor dining furniture—but also sees to the herculean effort of monitoring 120+ buildings over two campuses and several satellite locations both immediately before and after the threat passes.

When not in hurricane mode, Cal focuses on the demands of an aggressive capital construction program—more than $300 million in new buildings in the last five years—while maintaining and upgrading existing structures to meet the needs of a growing research institution.

1. What is key to pulling off FIU’s hurricane preparation?

Critical are two programs carried out well in advance of any storm. First, our landscaping program demands year-round activity as we work with a certified arborist to prune trees so that winds pass through branches. While FIU was not immune to damage—as anyone could see from the debris piles on each campus—it is worth noting how many trees withstood the storm. Second, we systematically inspect each building and its major systems so that we have a clear sense of operational and maintenance needs at any given time. Nothing is left to the last minute. On top of that, every member of the Facilities Management team understands the mission and is empowered to act.

2. Post-hurricane, what are you most concerned about?

Our focus is the safety and security of students and employees. Just prior to a storm, we take photos of existing conditions to provide a baseline for post-storm damage assessments. FIU police are the first to patrol the campuses and provide information on roads, electrical lines, buildings and other structures. We then systematically inspect each area of infrastructure.

3. What are the challenges of new construction on campuses?

Modern construction practices generally make it possible to undertake projects while maintaining existing operations. In our environment, that means building state-of-the-art facilities even as we maintain normal campus activities focused on education and research. Our contractors do a great job of providing safe, secure construction sites that do not expose the campus community to hazards or impact classes and campus events.

4. How has FIU been able to earn distinction as the most energy efficient in the State University System?

We have built sustainability initiatives on two fundamental premises. First, the greenest, cleanest and most renewable form of energy is the energy you never use. Second, everyone can agree on the value of clean air, clean water and clean soil. We orient all our efforts around those foundations. We have achieved the best energy performance as measured by the EPA’s benchmark.

5. How do you view the work of your team as integral to the university’s mission?

We want to enhance education and research. That starts by providing an environment that people enjoy and that focuses on the individual student and researcher. Without a functional and comfortable environment, the learning process is severely challenged. 

Jose Tirado

For a man whose typical day consists of vacuuming carpets and disposing of office garbage, preparing a “nursery” for a four-day-old baby was a new experience.

While Jose Tirado was working at the Convocation Center, which served as a shelter for residents of the Florida Keys, he learned of a mother and her new born baby. He immediately thought of the infections and illnesses the baby could catch being surrounded by so many people. He outfitted a room in the Convocation Center with cots and blankets to help the small space feel more comfortable.

While working his 12-hour shifts, Tirado thought of his family in Puerto Rico, which was also hit by Irma, but he felt better knowing he was able to provide meaningful support to a community here that needed him.  

Ricky Ramirez

It’s the small things in life that are often taken for granted. Something as simple as clean clothes can be easily overlooked because of its normalcy in day to day life. But after disaster strikes and there’s no way to get a hold of a fresh set of clothes what is one to do?

Ricky Ramirez had the foresight to think of that. The assistant athletic facilities director made the arena  washing machines available to the U.S. Public Health Service men and women. After days of being on their feet and cycling through their clean clothes Ramirez offered to wash every single service member’s uniform and personal clothes, so that at the beginning of every shift they had a fresh uniform to change into.

“In moments like these it’s about what can I do to help another individual who is experiencing the same thing as me,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez washed 40 uniforms over three days, a chore that some people dislike doing but he did with a smile on his face. It was his way of giving back to the people who were tending to the needs of the evacuees. Something he says he would do all over again.

Richard Samperisi

Richard Samperisi can sympathize with the victims of hurricane Irma who were displaced. His Campus Chiropractor office was converted into a shelter for the special needs patients evacuating from the Florida Keys.

The temporary relocation was predicted to last only 30 days, but 30 days has turned into two months and counting. His office currently houses U.S. Virgin Island residents who were moved to Puerto Rico prior to hurricane Maria. While the relocation isn’t very far, they’re currently located inside the Ambulatory Care Center in front of PG-5, it has presented Samperisi and his staff with challenges. However, for Samperisi giving up his space is the least he could do for a population of people looking for a safe place.

“This is a part of life. You have to be willing to roll with the punches and make adjustments,” Samperisi said.

Edmond McClendon, Lawana Dowda and Giovanna Ortiz

Heating up food for 400 people with just six butane burners sounds like a bad summer-camp movie, but an Aramark team did just that for folks who rode out the storm in a residence hall that sheltered students.

Edmond McClendon, Lawana Dowda and Giovanna Ortiz functioned as they would in a professional kitchen, even though they were working out of a conference room in Parkview Hall. As the storm barreled through South Florida, the three warmed up hot dogs, chili, nachos and whatever other comfort food they could find in the stash of provisions supplied in anticipation of a power outage. While everything came out of a box or a bag, the cooks worked overtime to supply warm meals and pleasant conversation.

“Getting to know the students and being able to interact with them on a more one-on-one basis made it the most memorable experience for me,” said Dowda, who along with the others normally can be found behind the scenes at the Fresh Food Company.

Aaron Johnson, Richard Penz and Abel Rodriguez

What does it take to prepare a university campus located on the water for a Category 5 hurricane? Just ask Aaron Johnson, Richard Penz and Abel Rodriguez, three members of the small, nine-person maintenance team at FIU’s 200-acre Biscayne Bay Campus.

The campus’ geographic location puts it at risk for massive flooding. So the trio put in 10- to 12-hour days to fill 200 sandbags and install more than 1,000 shutters. With little time to secure their own homes, the men sacrificed sleep to finish their jobs in advance of the storm.

“I have a commitment to my work, and because we are such a small group, we all came together and pushed through to do what we needed to do,” Rodriguez said.

After the hurricane, the three quickly returned to work. Despite their own personal challenges getting back to campus—a 45-minute commute that turned into three hours, a concrete pole that landed smack in a driveway, a flooded apartment—they spent the next week conducting critical repairs, righting overturned outdoor furniture and collecting the debris that littered the otherwise breathtaking grounds.

“We made a big difference in just a few days,” said Johnson. “We got the campus back up and safe for students and employees.”

Jean Byron

Jean Byron is no stranger to hurricanes. A veteran of Hurricane Andrew, he learned at just 12 years old how to “ride it out.”

The athletics facilities manager felt compelled to stay at Ocean Bank Convocation Center owing to his familiarity with the building and his interest offering support to the Florida Keys evacuees who sheltered there. He greeted all who entered and paid special attention to anyone who seemed overly distressed.

One man in particular caught his attention. He appeared anxious, so Byron made the extra effort to reach out and learn his story, one that included a broken relationship, drug addiction and a precarious life. He encouraged the man to get clean and even offered to help him find work.

“It just shows how close we are to being a paycheck away from being homeless, or suffering from depression, or turning to drugs, or losing everything because of a natural disaster,” Byron said. “It touched me, and it made me appreciative of what I have. 

The landscape starts to change around mile marker 94. Traveling down to the Florida Keys from Miami in October, a month after Hurricane Irma, volunteers—nine of my fellow Panthers and myself, along with employees and execs from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and the Miami Chamber of Commerce—peer out bus windows as the devastation comes into focus. The relatively few piles of debris we saw earlier—mostly tree branches and insulation—give way to much larger ones that include mattresses, furniture and even refrigerators slung to the side of the road. A couple of motorboats sit in the swale of the Overseas Highway. Blue tarps appear on rooftops here and there. A gas station overhang bends crumpled like tin foil. The bottoms of sunken boats protrude from the water and glisten in the sun.

We arrive at the parking lot of Vineyard Community Church in Big Pine Key, the island on which the storm made landfall, and a Red Cross administrator ushers us to folding chairs inside. There Pastor Steve asks if anyone in our group of about 40 knows how to operate a chain saw. Two Wells Fargo guys raise their hands.

The church has been accepting donations of nonperishables for distribution to those in need and taking requests for help from local residents still digging out from the storm. Those who come forward to ask for free day labor—mostly unskilled, like what we will provide—appear to be the lucky ones: They believe their dwellings remain habitable or, at least, fixable. For many others, that is not the case.

An estimated 25 percent of homes in the Keys were destroyed by Hurricane Irma, and the majority of those constituted “workforce housing”—mainly older structures and trailers used to accommodate folks who staff the tourist industry, particularly in food service. Compounding woes for the worst-hit residents: Many also lost jobs as their places of employment closed for repairs.

A member of our Panther team is handed several forms with the addresses of individuals who have asked for help, and the papers become our marching orders. We head together to the house of Liz Laatsch. She evacuated before the storm with her daughter and 2-year-old grandson and returned to find their cars and the ground floor of their home destroyed by floodwaters she estimates rose six feet.

Laatsch, 55, downplays her own losses as she recognizes that others have it worse. “I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve been blessed. I have only lost things that are downstairs, some sentimental, some not,” she says. Nearby, a box holds a pair of children’s handprints, each one pressed into a plaster-of-Paris mold and dating back nearly 20 years. “My neighbors, coworkers and friends have lost everything,” she says. “They lost the house. They’ve lost the job.”

Laatsch also has lost her job—as a server/bartender at Little Palm Island Resort, likely shuttered until next year—but she figures she can find another one (the Keys remain open for business), and she stays positive. “I’m pretty optimistic,” she says, “especially with all the help I’ve been getting.”

From us, that help amounts to clearing felled trees, removing a damaged screen door and carrying away an old metal shed.

A street or two away, Donna Allison, 58, explains how she weathered the storm alone in her two-bedroom bungalow and now laments the loss of several trees (two of which lean against her roof) and a well-maintained garden. “It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful,” she says while showing off photos on her cell phone.

Again we volunteers start hauling trash. Again we witness the human spirit straining to rise above it all.

“I do got hope. It takes patience and time [but] I’m going do it,” Allison says of rebuilding her battered landscape. Of the hour or two of concentrated labor our team puts into her small plot of land, she says, “That did a world of good. Every little bit helps.”

Deciding that our next home—a moldy trailer just steps from the water—has taken too great a hit to ever come back to life, we do no work there but instead meet up with the other teams from our original group. It’s all hands on deck at a house where several families have come together in the wake of the disaster. A young woman of 23, Alexa Olivera, appears in charge despite bearing signs of trauma. Struggling to hold it together, she talks about the loss of her rental apartment and how she and a friend slept for two weeks on the roof rack of Olivera’s car before finally moving into a hotel room compliments of FEMA. Prior to the storm, Olivera sent away her toddler with relatives even as she stayed to ride out a hurricane that would take her clothes, her computer and her two dogs, a Pomeranian and a Chihuahua that eventually drowned. “We didn’t expect it to get that high. We didn’t think it was going to be that serious,” she says of disregarding mandatory evacuation orders. “We waited too long.”

With so many hands at work, debris at the property is quickly collected into a huge mountain. Emboldened by the visible progress, someone asks aloud if the five-foot-tall wire birdcage sitting in the front lawn can be thrown onto the pile. Olivera calls to a disabled man, the homeowner, sitting inside at a window. He balks at the suggestion of getting rid of the cage. “But it’s broken,” one of the volunteers insists. Having already lost plenty, the man contemplates the useless item with an importance that seems out of proportion. “It’s broken,” someone says again. The man thinks for another moment before relenting, and the once elegant enclosure is tossed on the trash heap. 

Government officials joined hands with FIU to bolster the spirits of those affected by Hurricane Irma and to throw their support behind the university’s efforts to meet ongoing needs. In the days following the storm, President Mark B. Rosenberg welcomed national, state and local representatives in a show of solidarity with evacuees, first responders and the people of South Florida in general. They toured the shelters on campus and gathered with students and employees volunteering there under the direction of the United States Public Health Service, the State of Florida Department of Health, the Monroe County Public Health Department and the American Red Cross. And they met with FIU’s emergency operations team to hear directly from those who secured the campuses and coordinated the university’s planning-and-response activities throughout the storm.

Among the visitors were Gov. Rick Scott and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera; U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta; U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo; state Sen. Oscar Braynon; and state Reps. Jeanette Núñez, Jose Felix Diaz and Daniel Perez.

The activities undertaken by individuals and their of ces included restocking the FIU student pantries, supplying and serving meals, and providing a special wheelchair for an evacuee, among others.

“These are public servants who came to help those displaced by the storms,” said Vice President for Governmental Relations Michelle Palacio. “They were doing anything they could to help their neighbors from Miami-Dade, Monroe County, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Not for publicity, but because it needed to be done. Each of them helped make this experience more comfortable for those who had been away from home for days and weeks.”

The only civilian crew of its kind in the nation, the Florida Advanced Surgical Transport team joined the FIU family in April 2016 through a partnership with the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and the university’s Department of Emergency Management. Commonly called FIU-FAST, the all-volunteer squad deploys medical professionals to perform critical care medicine after disasters. The team comprises nearly 100 individuals including trauma surgeons, emergency medicine doctors, nurses and other support personnel.

Members deployed almost immediately after Hurricane Irma when the Florida Department of Health asked it to assist West Kendall Baptist Hospital in handling its surge of emergency room patients. Six physicians, six nurses and a paramedic arrived at the hospital at 1 a.m. to find 92 patients waiting in the ER. By 3:45 a.m., only 30 remained, thanks in part to the extra hands. They treated patients with lacerations, the flu and a possible stroke, among other ailments.

The following day, members again helped at West Kendall Baptist and also at Jackson South Community Hospital to reduce patient wait times and tend to those with less complex medical emergencies so that hospital staff could focus on acute injuries. 

Read more: FIU-FAST member Bridget Pelaez MA ’17 dedicates life to disaster response

While its main mission is to assist after disasters, FIU-FAST has deployed in other instances as well.

In February, the team made a mission to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, as part of Continuing Promise ’17, an ongoing military/civilian project led by the U.S. Southern Command that provides medical and veterinary assistance to its partner nations and organizations. In the course of the trip, a surgical nurse, a paramedic and six physicians treated approximately 1,500 patients in a makeshift clinic set up on an indoor basketball court with no air conditioning. They also helped distribute much-needed medical supplies to a local hospital and orphanages.

Last May, the team set up a 10-bed critical-care field hospital in Miami Beach for the Memorial Day weekend, marking the first time it partnered with local first responders.  

Michelle Otero Valdes ’89 of Chalos & Co. in Coral Gables received the “Women in Law 2017 Award” for practice in the area of admiralty and maritime law and was included in the “Women in Law 2017” publication of Lawyer Monthly.

1990s

Alex Cuello ’90 received the 2017 “Pro-Bono Attorney of the Year” award for excellence in volunteer legal representation to public guardians in Florida at the Florida State Guardianship Association’s annual conference.

Elizabeth Vento ’94 was hired by City National Bank of Florida as vice president and business banker.

Sean Kramer ’95 was appointed senior vice president and chief development officer at the Parkinson’s Foundation.

Roy Hawkins MS ’99 was appointed senior vice president and CEO of Jackson North Medical Center, a 382-bed hospital serving north Miami-Dade County.

2000s

Jessica Nieves ’00 was promoted to associate vice president, personal banker and lending assistant at Marquis Bank.

Daniel Salgado ’08 was hired as clubhouse manager and director of food and beverage at Mizner Country Club.

2010s 

Karen Cantor (Riggi) MBA ’10 served as chairman of the board for the 2017 Air Carriers Purchasing Conference, which took place in August in San Diego. The professional development conference highlighted standards of excellence in the aviation industry.

Natalee Collazo (Gil-del Rio) ’15 and current student Christopher Collazo welcomed the birth of daughter Mckayla Rose on June 23, 2017.

Christopher Cummins ’16 joined FIU’s office in Washington, D.C., as a governmental relations associate, where he will support advocacy efforts for the university.

Ina Thakur MS ’16 moved to Seattle after being hired as a business analyst for Amazon.

Elizabeth Lytle ’17 joined the award-winning public relations firm Curley & Pynn as a communications specialist.

Marcus Norris MA ’17 was awarded the prestigious Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship at UCLA, which includes tuition and fees to pursue a doctorate in music composition and a $100,000 stipend.

“4… 3… 2… 1…”

A crowd of a thousand-plus fans packed into the bleachers at FIU Soccer Stadium on a cool November night counted down the final seconds of regulation and soon the celebration began.

The FIU men’s soccer program fought to a 2-0 victory over Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After the game, players and coaches lingered, making their way over to the stands to greet and thank the fans for sharing this moment with them. Nobody was in a hurry to get to the exits.

“To experience that in front of the FIU community is an experience none of us will ever forget,” said first-year head coach Kevin Nylen, who was named Conference USA Coach of the Year. “It was a great night.”

The win was the culmination of a special season. For the first time in program history, FIU completed the regular season undefeated and peaked with a No. 8 national ranking – its highest mark since 1996 when the Panthers went to the national championship game.

It had been a long time since the Panthers hosted a game this important on their home field. Thirteen years, to be exact. But the wait was worth it.

Despite losing on the road in the second round of the tournament to Duke, bringing FIU’s final record to 12-2-4, the 2017 season serves as both the culmination of a long process to bring the Panthers back into the national spotlight and a springboard for what is to come.

“It was a great journey,” said senior midfielder Paul Marie. “I enjoyed every step of the way and we built something pretty incredible over the years. Everyone who comes here loves to be part of this team because it’s all about soccer and family. I’m grateful to have been a part of it.”

A new plan

By the time Marvin Hezel arrived on campus from Germany to play for the men’s soccer program in 2013, the memories of FIU’s glory days were all but forgotten.

The program’s colorful history includes two Division II national championships, a magical run to the Division I finals in 1996 and alumni who have gone on to become stars in Major League Soccer and in international competition.

After moving to Conference USA in men’s soccer in 2005, the program hit a brick wall. Going into their first year as a C-USA member, FIU had earned three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and regular season conference championships in the Atlantic Soccer Conference.

After a modest first season in C-USA, the Panthers failed to crack a .500 record in eight of their next nine seasons. During that same timeframe, they never finished a season with more than two wins in conference play.

There was a new plan in place, however. A process that Hezel and his teammates were able to see to completion.

“It just took time,” says Hezel, a 6-foot-3 defender. “From year to year we improved, and got better and better. It’s rewarding and fun and very satisfying to see how far we’ve come.”

The plan to breathe new life into the men’s soccer program began when Kenny Arena, the son of two-time U.S. Men’s National Team and Los Angeles Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena, was tabbed as FIU’s head coach in 2012.

In July 2012, Arena brought in Kevin Nylen, an up-and-coming coach, to be his top assistant. Arena left FIU after two seasons, but Nylen stayed and continued laying down the foundation that would pave the way for the success the program enjoyed under Scott Calabrese – Arena’s successor – and now Nylen himself.

Under Calabrese in 2015, the Panthers surprised everyone and stormed through the conference tournament to capture the program’s first C-USA title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years. It was a validation that the process was working.

“We always thought this place could be very good. We knew we could get there, but it would take time. We went out and we got good players and we kept moving forward,” Nylen said. “After that hot streak in 2015, now there’s that belief.”

Chasing perfection

The Panthers fell one win shy of back-to-back C-USA titles in 2016 after losing in the conference championship game. Shortly thereafter, Calabrese left for another coaching position, and Nylen – who spent 2016 as a head coach in Orlando City SC’s (MLS) Developmental Academy – returned to take over and continue the process he helped start.

“It was a no-brainer to come back,” Nylen said. “I knew every single guy on the team, I knew this place, I care these players and the program and to get that opportunity was special for me.

“I knew we were going to be good, it was a question of how good can we be? I challenged the guys in the preseason, I said ‘Let’s be the best version of us.’”

The team answered the call in a big way.

After racking up some early wins in the season, the Panthers encountered the first major obstacle to their season: Hurricane Irma.

The storm postponed one game and cancelled another as the team was forced to relocate to Birmingham, Ala., for more than a week. What appeared to be a setback and hindrance on the surface wound up being a formative moment for the team.

“Being together almost every minute for those 10 days, it builds chemistry and when you’re winning games everything is good. It made team stronger,” said junior forward Santiago Patino.

In October, riding a winning streak and climbing the national rankings, the Panthers faced another defining moment in Fort Myers against in-state rival FGCU.

Down by a goal in the final minutes and playing with a one-man disadvantage, the Panthers’ undefeated season was in serious jeopardy. But with 25 seconds left in the game, Hezel delivered the equalizing goal with a header to force overtime and Alessandro Campoy scored the game winner in the 110^th minutes to secure a 4-3 win for FIU.

The season-defining victory was part of an eight-game winning streak and showed the Panthers that they were capable of anything.

“We knew when we beat FGCU that we were not a regular team; we were something different,” said Patino, who scored a conference-best 15 goals en route to being named Conference USA Player of the Year.

With the Panthers returning many of their key players in 2018, this season may just be a prelude for what’s yet to come.  ♦

Pictured above: The team stands in front of a packed stadium at the NCAA Tournament game versus Omaha.

FIU researchers and students are investigating new methods to further increase the amount of time people have to get out of harm’s way. They are developing new modeling techniques and searching for signals embedded within storms that could offer clues to a hurricane’s path, projected intensity and probable impacts.

There’s only one problem—rapid intensification is unpredictable. FIU meteorologist Haiyan Jiang hopes to change that.

Using passive microwave satellite observations, Jiang has developed an algorithm that can help predict the onset of rapid intensification of major storms. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center and the Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center are now using her data throughout the hurricane and typhoon seasons to improve storm modeling.

Jiang’s former student Brad Klotz, who earned his Ph.D. from FIU in 2017, is in search of the strongest winds in hurricanes. As a Ph.D. student, he studied how ocean surface winds interact with characteristics of hurricanes including strength and speed. If forecasters can use surface winds to help identify the location of the strongest winds in a storm, they may be able to better predict the location of the most devastating landfall impacts.

Read more: Extinction looms for two rare bird species after devastating hurricanes

In addition to better forecasting before a storm, this information could also help map out recovery efforts well before damage has even occurred. As a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center, Klotz is continuing his research.

Storm surge is another issue. Coastal communities and island nations are highly vulnerable to the surge often created before, during and after tropical storms and hurricanes. The impacts can be deadly. Better predictions can save lives.

Researchers from FIU’s Extreme Events Institute are working with the National Hurricane Center to develop a storm surge database for Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Led by Earth and Environment researcher Keqi Zhang, their efforts are improving storm surge forecasting for the shared island of Hispaniola. The information could help local governments make more informed decisions when hurricanes approach, including when to evacuate.

With most natural disasters, nature is rarely the problem. The devastation is caused by people living in the direct path of nature. Ignoring potential disasters until they are a clear threat to people is no longer an option, according to geologist José F. Longoria, who researches earthquakes, volcanic hazards and floods. Educating people about their vulnerabilities as early as elementary school, he said, will help them better understand the actions that must be taken to mitigate disasters.

“When nothing happens, no one worries,” said Longoria, who teaches a course on natural disasters at FIU. “Look at us when we are not in hurricane season. Nobody talks about it, nobody prepares.”

But FIU is talking about it. Talking about it and trying to do something about it. Before 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, the university did not offer a class focused solely on disasters. Today, there are more than 25 and the Extreme Events Institute and Sea Level Solutions Center are leading research and community outreach programs to prepare Florida for the challenges ahead.

Accurate predictions may be the most powerful tool people have to mitigate the wrath of hurricanes.  ♦

Senior Director of Community Relations, Walmart

Q: When FIU requested bed sheets to cover cots in a campus special-needs shelter for Monroe County hurricane evacuees, you and Walmart came through. Why?

A: At Walmart, we work every day to offer meaningful support to the communities we serve. Helping my alma mater was not only an opportunity for my company but also for me on a personal level. I did not hesitate to do a small part for an institution that has done so much for me and our community. Partnerships like this speak to the amazing things that can happen when people come together and focus on the greater good.

Q: Did you have any FIU experiences that drove home the value of a community-oriented approach to living?

A: Days after graduation, I started an internship at what is now FIU in D.C. I left the familiarity and comfort of home in Miami and took a blind leap of faith in Washington, in the middle of winter. I thought I would have to navigate a new life alone but I quickly realized I was in very good company. I found myself surrounded by an amazing and talented group of FIU alumni who did not hesitate to lend a hand. For me, that experience defined community. We had FIU in common and that was enough to build camaraderie, a support system and friendships.

Q: Is there someone in particular who encouraged you to work on behalf of others?

A: My father recently passed away and at his funeral I delivered a eulogy centered on selflessness. It is the best lesson my father taught me. His life’s work was driven by a passion to help people, especially those less fortunate. I strive every day to personify his legacy by putting others first.

Q: Your degree in mass communication led you, eventually, to the directorship of FIU’s Governmental Relations and, today, a position as spokesperson for Walmart. Which lessons best prepared you for this work?

A: Much of my success, both personal and professional, I owe to FIU. Every step I’ve taken and every corner I’ve turned can trace back to FIU, but it was actually the lessons outside of the classroom that best prepared me for the real world. The internship opportunities, the campus involvement, and the interactions with administrators, faculty, staff and alumni all shaped who I am today. At FIU, I was constantly reminded that my true self is the best one, dreams are limitless and challenges are meant to be overcome.

Q: You are mom to 1-year-old Matthew. What will you teach him about finding satisfaction and happiness?

A: My mother always taught me that an education and knowledge are two things that can never be taken from you. I want my son to appreciate that and spend his life learning. I also want him to be prepared for life’s curveballs. You can plan all you want, but always be ready for the surprises, and embrace them!  ♦

–Video by Carl-Frederick François

FIU students had a chance to both help the extended community after Hurricane Irma as well as gain practical experience in their chosen fields when they helped out alongside professionals working in the campus shelters. Students in the social work, nursing, athletic training and physician assistant programs, among others, used their skills to improve the lives of elderly and special needs evacuees in the aftermath of the storm. Under the direction of the United States Public Health Service, the opportunity proved both an important learning experience and a chance to provide meaningful assistance. Jennifer Restrepo, an associate professor in the department of athletic training, coordinated the students’ involvement with an eye to enriching their educations with hands-on work.  ♦

A team of researchers from the FIU Center of Children and Families (CCF) have been awarded a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the effects of e-cigarettes, vaping devices and other electronic nicotine delivery systems on adolescents. Led by Elisa Trucco and Matthew Sutherland, the project is one of the first studies to examine the impact of e-cigarette-use on the developing brain.

“Although there is convincing evidence that these products may be useful tools for adults who regularly smoke cigarettes to cut-down their use, adolescents are vulnerable to adverse effects of nicotine because their brains are still rapidly developing,” said Trucco, an assistant professor of psychology at CCF and the director of the Research on Adolescent and Child Health (ReACH) Lab.

The team is also investigating whether e-cigarettes are gateway drugs that could lead to use of other substances including regular cigarettes, marijuana or illicit drugs. Although cigarette smoking has declined among Florida youth in recent years, use of electronic nicotine delivery systems has sharply increased among high school students — as much as 410 percent since 2011.

Approximately 300 teenagers will be recruited and followed over three years to determine risk and protective factors associated with e-cigarette-use; identify factors promoting the shift from e-cigarette products to cigarettes and illicit drugs; and determine negative health effects of these products on the brain using magnetic resonance imaging.

“Scientific evidence regarding the onset, potential transitions, and negative consequences of e-cigarette-use on the brain is critical to help clinicians improve prevention programming and assist policy makers in deciding how to continue regulating these products,” said Sutherland, an assistant professor of psychology and co-director of the Neuroinformatics and Brain Connectivity lab who oversees the brain imaging aspects of the project. “The results of this study will hopefully help health care professionals improve routine screenings, substance-use counseling and preventive interventions.”

The grant is part of a $13.1 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work. For more information about the ACE-Project at FIU please call 305-348-8426 or email etrucco@fiu.edu and masuther@fiu.edu.

FIU psychologists Elisa Trucco and Matthew Sutherland are in a race to find answers about the impact of e-cigarettes on the adolescent brain. Calls to the FIU Center for Children and Families have been increasing as concerned parents are trying to understand the effects of e-cigarettes. Trucco and Sutherland are leading one of the first studies to examine decision-making as it relates to vaping devices.

E-cigarette use, or vaping, among teens has skyrocketed in recent years. According to the surgeon general, vaping among high school students increased by 900 percent from 2011 to 2015. The nation is now scrambling to find effective ways to discourage vaping and educate misinformed teens and their parents on the dangers of e-cigarette use in what the FDA is calling an epidemic.

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of nicotine because their brains are still rapidly developing, according to Trucco and Sutherland. Research is critical to help clinicians improve prevention programming and assist policymakers in deciding how to continue regulating these products, they said. Their current project — Antecedents and Consequences of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ACE) — is funded by the National Institutes of Health as part of a collaborative research study between the FIU Center for Children and Families and the Research Center in Minority Institutions. They are studying what influences an adolescent’s decision to use or not use e-cigarettes, vaping devices or other electronic nicotine delivery systems and how that decision may affect other risky behaviors and the developing brain.

While Trucco and Sutherland are currently recruiting participants for the study, there are some facts they want parents to know.

Most e-cigarettes contain the highly addictive drug nicotine

Most types of e-cigarettes, including the most popular brand Juul, contain nicotine, the addictive drug found in traditional tobacco cigarettes. One Juul pod contains roughly the same amount of nicotine found in 20 cigarettes (or one pack). Nicotine is highly addictive and can cause brain changes leading to compulsive use of e-cigarettes.

Long-term effects of vaping are unknown

Although e-cigarettes were developed in part to help adult smokers cut their tobacco-use and to provide a “healthier” alternative, no study has yet been conducted that can provide information on the long-term effects of e-cigarette use. Due to the recent dramatic increase in e-cigarette use, preliminary findings are now showing that there is a negative effect on heart and lung function associated with e-cigarette use. However, there is still no definitive answer on whether these risks outweigh the benefits of switching from traditional tobacco cigarettes.

Vaping leads to higher risk of cigarette smoking in teens

Teenage e-cigarette users are actually at a higher risk of smoking tobacco cigarettes compared to non-users. More than 30 percent of adolescent e-cigarette users start smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes within six months.

Vaping can produce second-hand effects

Although e-cigarettes do not produce smoke, breathing in the second-hand vapor is not harmless. The aerosol from e-cigarettes contains many potentially harmful chemicals, including lead and other heavy metals. It also has flavorings including diacetyl, which has been linked to lung disease. The second-hand vapor can also contain nicotine, which when inhaled by non-users can increase their risk of becoming nicotine dependent. There is also the danger of third-hand exposure, which occurs when residual nicotine from the second-hand vapor remains on surfaces and is absorbed through unintentional ingestion or through the skin via contact.

For   FIU Magazine

Jacqueline Crucet MPA ’16 looks over the railing of a pontoon boat meandering past the mangrove-lined shores of Boca Chita Key. This is a place she knows well. After nine years working for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), she’s been on this educational tour through Biscayne National Park a dozen times.

The captain steers the boat into a keyhole on the adjacent key, an inlet of calmer water that serves as a safe haven for crabs, sponges and other marine life.

Crucet stoops to point out a Cassiopeia jellyfish to a young boy, no more than 4 years old, sitting next to her. Soon the boat is surrounded by hundreds of the striped, mushroom-shaped jellyfish, which make their home in the shallow, warm waters. The tour guide gestures to a white egret perched on the roots of a red mangrove and then spots a treat for guests: two manatees floating just below the surface near the boat.

A faint view of the Miami skyline sits on the horizon, a reminder of the constant struggle between developing South Florida land for human consumption and the need to preserve natural habitats like this one for future generations.

Connecting Miamians to the nature that surrounds them

Flanked by Big Cypress National Preserve and the Everglades to the west, Dry Tortugas National Park to the south and Biscayne National Park to the east, South Florida is surrounded by more than 3,800 square miles of protected habitats – and Miami is the only city in the United States bordered by two national parks.

Crucet serves as senior program manager for the Sun Coast Region at NPCA, a nonprofit that supports and advocates for national parks across the United States. She oversees community engagement and education for the region’s 23 parks spreading across Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Crucet helped facilitate the dialogue between Miami-Dade County Parks & Recreation and the National Park Service that created the Biscayne National Park boat tour, which opened for the organization’s centennial celebration in 2016. She also led a local effort to instate a free trolley service in Homestead that transports South Florida residents to Biscayne and Everglades national parks on the weekends in November through April.

“We needed to make these parks that are right in our backyard more accessible,” Crucet says. “My job is to connect citizens to their national parks so they have a direct relationship with them and understand the value.”

Remembering the pioneer Joneses

The tour guide tells the 15 tourists on the boat about the famous Miami families who once owned the keys in the area: the Sweetings, known for cultivating pineapples in the once-fertile key soil; and the Honeywells, who earned their fortune making thermostats, who bought Boca Chita in the mid-1900s for a vacation home and built the 65-foot ornamental lighthouse that stands there today.

The keys in Biscayne National Park, he says, were once considered frontierland and were given by the federal government under the Homestead Act to families willing to live and work the land for five years.

Later, atop the lighthouse, Crucet glances past boats docked and tents pitched at Boca Chita’s popular camping grounds and points south toward Porgy Key. She tells the story of Lancelot Jones, an African-American whose family lived there from the 1890s. They made millions through the years, first as key lime farmers and then as fishing guides to high-profile tourists after a hurricane wiped out their crop and the inundation of saltwater spoiled the fertile ground.

Long after his family died, Jones continued to live on Porgy Key alone, taking countless dignitaries who visited Miami, including five U.S. presidents, on fishing trips. Eventually he sold his land to the National Park Service with the caveat that he be allowed to live out his days on Porgy Key. It wasn’t until the day before Hurricane Andrew hit Miami that he was finally convinced to leave.

But after arriving on the mainland, watching as Andrew made landfall on Porgy Key and leveled his childhood home, the 90-something-year-old man faded into the shadows, his family’s rich history seemingly forgotten.

“It’s amazing how little the local history books tell us about the Jones family,” Crucet says, noting that archival records of the Jones family tell us nothing of the end of his days. “We don’t even know where he’s buried.”

She’s made it her mission to honor their memory by telling Jones’s story to the community groups with whom she works – an effort that sparked an idea to create a commemorative Sir Lancelot Jones Day, which has since been recognized by Miami-Dade and Monroe counties and is observed on the second Monday of October.

FIU communications student Saige Raymond was part of the group that advocated for the holiday. He met Crucet through a lesson she coordinated to help young people develop their civic voices and was inspired by Jones’s story.

“Things weren’t easy for black men at the time, and still he did something pretty monumental,”  Raymond says, noting that Jones could have made millions selling Porgy Key to developers but instead decided it should be preserved. “He deserves something to remember him by, because South Florida would be completely different if we didn’t have Biscayne National Park. People needed to know about the park and how it came to be here.”

Raymond has a background in public speaking but hadn’t before ventured into advocacy. With Crucet’s help, he stood up in front of the Monroe County Commission to propose Lancelot Jones Day.

“She really has a fire in her, and she sees things in people,” Raymond says. “To get young people to really care about issues these days is unreal.”

Increasing environmental awareness, accountability

Crucet loves to spend time outdoors in the parks under her purview. She and her husband, who share an appreciation for the outdoors, were even married at Virgin Islands National Park in 2002. But most of her days are spent in meetings devising new plans for community engagement, education and collaboration.

“It’s very fulfilling to turn people on to where they live, because then they want to get involved,” says Crucet, who serves as regional head for youth engagement as part of her role at NPCA.

She’s just come from one such meeting with an inner-city church youth group looking to get involved in beekeeping and urban farming. She plans to bring them to Boca Chita in the fall to learn about Lancelot Jones, and from there she hopes to get the children in front of elected officials to exercise their voices in conservation advocacy.

“We try to teach kids skills on how to enjoy nature and advocate for its protection,” she says. “From there, they can advocate for anything that’s important to them, from stop signs in their neighborhoods to Stand Your Ground.”

Turning east, she points just offshore of the docking area on Boca Chita to long, white gashes in the seagrass. They’re “prop scars” – damage done by engine propellers when a boat navigates improperly into shallow water, destroying seagrass beds that are home to Key West pink shrimp, baby lobsters and other creatures important to Florida’s multibillion-dollar fishing industry.

In response, NPCA worked with the local government and the National Park Service to create an awareness course for boaters. It teaches them how to properly navigate in shallow waters and emphasizes the importance of preserving the public land and water in South Florida.

“It’s easy to forget that you’re camping in a national park when you come to Boca Chita,” Crucet says, noting that many Miamians grew up enjoying the waters of Biscayne National Park without knowing it was a national park. The course is just one way her team’s community education efforts have positively influenced the environment.

Helping veterans continue service

Crucet also helps lead NPCA’s national veterans engagement initiative, connecting military veterans who wish to continue serving their country through community service to the parks.

In one such program, soldiers returning from overseas provide manpower for park maintenance projects that have been deferred due to lack of resources or personnel. Another program puts veterans with diving experience to work monitoring Biscayne National Park’s underwater Maritime Heritage Trail.

“They work hard for their national parks, they sweat, and they leave the park better than they found it,” she says. “It connects our heroes to their heritage.”

Marine Corps veteran and FIU alumnus David Riera ’15, MS ’17 met Crucet through a fellowship from The Mission Continues, a nonprofit that pairs veterans with organizations like NPCA. Together, Crucet and Riera have coordinated volunteer opportunities for veterans at Dry Tortugas and Everglades national parks. They’ve also advocated in Washington, D.C., for protection of the parks, an opportunity that, as a graduate of FIU’s agroecology master’s program, expanded Riera’s horizons.

“I already knew how to be an environmental scientist. I just didn’t understand that I could also be an advocate for the environment,” Riera said.

Read more:   FIU’s agroecology program prepares veterans to succeed in the farming business

Putting a master’s to work

Crucet graduated from the Executive Master of Public Administration program in 2016. She says the program challenged her to explore how other governments approach and place value on their public lands.

She studied how industry demand plays a role in determining the future of the environment. For instance, she explains that in Biscayne Bay, there is a decrease in fish populations, but an increase in fishing. As environmental advocates push local governments to limit the activity, marine industry interests are pushing back.

“Our economy depends on healthy fisheries. That’s a sustainable economic factor,” she says, looking over the channel that separates Boca Chita from the coast of Miami-Dade. “So it’s in our best interest to protect this habitat.”

The program emphasizes collaboration, and because of this, Crucet grew close with fellow student Ashlee Thomas MPA ’16, the president of Miami Urban Contemporary Experience (MUCE305), an organization focused on preserving heritage through the arts.

“We were able to find intersectionality in our work. We wanted to find ways to connect art to public land use,” Thomas says.

The two are planning a collaborative effort between NPCA and MUCE305 to bring people from underserved communities out into the parks to go camping and discuss conservation. They’re also working together to preserve the story of Lancelot Jones by introducing it into Black History Month.

“I’m excited to see how our collaborative partnership continues to grow,” Thomas says. “She’s really dedicated to advocating for our environment and its history.”

* * * * *

On the ride back to the mainland, Crucet glances back over the rail of the pontoon at the mangrove-lined shore of Boca Chita. Less than a year after opening, this educational tour of an area that was once only accessible to people with boats has become so popular that the park had to expand the service.

It’s this kind of interest from the community in learning about the environment that keeps her going.

“This is America’s park,” she says. “This is for all of us.”   ♦

In 2016 Nicholine Azirh came to FIU as part of the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ six-week Mandela Washington Fellows program, which aims to develop young African leaders through coursework, site visits and networking opportunities. FIU has for four years running served as one of about three dozen host universities across the country and the only one in Florida.

Azirh chose FIU’s public management track because she was in the process of starting a nonprofit that would enable young African girls to establish themselves in the maritime industry and help close the existing gender gap.

“I was looking forward to forming partnerships and collaborations with shipping companies in the U.S. that would provide onboard training to the young girls I want to recruit through my NGO,” Azirh said.

At FIU, Azirh shared her story with guest speaker Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO of Celebrity Cruises. That fateful meeting has led to an opportunity that can directly help Azirh achieve her life’s dream of one day serving as a ship’s captain. On Aug. 27 she began sailing to the Caribbean on the Celebrity Equinox as a deck cadet.

The Cameroon native recalls watching television as a child and seeing a woman dressed in captain’s regalia. She told  her mother, “I decided to be the first female ship captain so I can model the way for other young women into the industry.”

With her sights firmly set on becoming a ship captain one day, Azirh completed a four-year degree in nautical science at the Regional Maritime University in Ghana and was awarded the title “best student”  in the university’s Nautical Science Department in 2010. Eventually, Azirh packed her bags and moved to Sweden where she received a scholarship to study for a master’s degree in maritime safety and environmental administration at the World Maritime University. For her dissertation, she drew inspiration from her own experience and wrote about women seafarers, specifically about how to empower West African women to go to sea.

“The findings of the research revealed that there are few women seafarers in West Africa and in Africa as a whole. This is due to lack of awareness, insufficient training facilities and lack of gender equality legislation,” she noted.

Shortly after arriving at FIU, Azirh began making the most of the opportunity. She expressed her interest in meeting someone that worked in the maritime industry to Susan Webster, FIU’s director of training and international research initiatives and Mandela Washington Fellow program director. Webster invited Celebrity Cruise Line’s Lutoff-Perlo to come and speak to the fellows at the end of their six weeks.

“We jumped on the opportunity [to invite Perlo]. I knew of Nicholine’s background, of her interest in maritime, and I knew of her struggle. But what happened next with Mrs. Perlo was unexpected.”

At the end of Perlo’s talk about leadership, the fellows had a Q&A with the CEO. That was when Azirh stood up and shared her struggle of finding a job with a shipping company or a cruise line in Africa. 

“When I met Nicholine, she shared her story and her credentials, along with the obstacles that she was facing. Not only was she the kind of candidate that we search the world for, but what was standing in her way seemed like something that needed to change for those in her part of the world to have the chance to achieve their goals,” said Perlo.

Perlo reached out for help to Celebrity’s Senior Vice President Patrik Dahlgren, who quickly hit a roadblock. Dahlgren had to work to get Azirh’s credentials from Sweden and Ghana recognized through Malta, where Celebrity registers its ships. Dahlgren spent a year building bridges between the three entities to create a partnership that allowed Azirh to work on board a Celebrity ship.

“It was quite a moment within our company when Patrik shared the news that Nicholine had been cleared to accept a position on our team. If it were not for FIU and the Mandela Fellows leadership team inviting me to speak, this would not be possible today. I’m grateful that I was there on that fateful day,” said Perlo.

Nicholine echoed the sentiment: “I am so grateful to have been part of the FIU group of Mandela Washington Fellows 2016. Most importantly, I am grateful to Dr. Susan Webster for arranging a meeting with the CEO of Celebrity Cruises. That meeting is what is making it possible for me to be a role model for other women who want careers at sea.”  ♦

 

Kicking cancer to comfort others

Gisenia Reyes, 34, smiles brightly as she proudly identifies herself as a cancer survivor.  In the fall of 2015, she was diagnosed with an aggressive type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia. Reyes withdrew from her courses at FIU Modesto Campus to undergo emergency chemotherapy treatment and ultimately a stem cell transplant. She is now cancer free and credits her twin, Lucy, with saving her life as she served as her stem cell donor. Now, the sisters have partnered up again and created “We Care Chemo Kits.”

We Care Chemo Kits provides pediatric and adult cancer patients with a kit filled with useful items to ease the chemotherapy treatment process. The items are found at the dollar store and are donated by the community. The chemo kit includes items such as coloring books, word searches, handheld games and arts and crafts to name a few. Each delivery includes a colorful foil balloon and a heartfelt get well card written by a child.

“I spent over 100 days collectively in the hospital, so I understand firsthand what a chemo kit like this does for a cancer patient. It gives us joy, faith and endurance to keep fighting knowing that there is hope on the other side,” she said.

As her initiative has expanded, so has the outpouring of support. One woman sent handmade hats to help patients cope with hair loss and another had her child’s entire martial arts academy send in handmade get well cards to include the chemo kits.

“There are many creative ways to get involved with the organization. You can volunteer your time, your talent, donate the items, make a monetary gift donation, create your own fundraiser, send in ideas. The options are endless,” she said.

The Center for Leadership and Service at FIU, which recognizes and supports student-led initiatives, provided the Reyes sisters with a $1,000 grant to purchase startup items.

Reyes emphasizes an important aspect of the program is the delivery of the kits by cancer survivors.  “I want each patient to see hope face-to-face,” she said. She also wants to create a network of survivors to come together to exchange coping tips and celebrate life after cancer.

“There are many residual effects from chemotherapy treatment,” Reyes said. “I gained 20 pounds due to the steroids, I lost all my hair and some days I suffer from extreme fatigue. I am faced with so many questions about what life looks like after cancer and having to come to terms with the new version of myself. It really is all overwhelming.”

But, she says, the struggle is worth it when she sees a smile on a cancer patient’s face. To date,  some 150 patients in the local community have received the kits, and Reyes plans to expand to Broward and eventually nationwide. In the meantime, the English major has plans to reenroll at FIU in the spring and, fittingly, is working on a book documenting her experience as a survivor.

FIU earlier this year launched an incubator to help new food and beverage entrepreneurs grow their companies. In collaboration with FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Biscayne Bay Campus and with a grant from Citi Foundation, StartUP FIU FOOD provides workshops, mentorship and assistance with securing financing. It is part of FIU’s larger effort to boost entrepreneurship in a variety of industries.

The program is completely free to participants and even furnishes access to commercial-grade kitchens at BBC at below-market rates. The target audience: entrepreneurs from low- and moderate-income communities who are within two years of starting their companies and committed to scaling up and creating jobs.

“Some have a product and they’re selling it, but they just haven’t figured out the next step,” says Michael Cheng, an associate professor, director of the school’s food and beverage program and a driver of the incubator. “They can sell it to friends, but if they want to sell it retail or wholesale or nationally, they don’t know how.”

So Cheng and Program Director Anna Etienne deliver personalized attention based on entrepreneurs’ individual needs. Etienne focuses on business principles and marketing. (She most recently served as program manager for the South Florida branch of the national Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.) And noted food scientist Cheng provides critical assistance in technical areas, such as establishing a product’s nutritional information and overcoming problems such as, for example, a liquid product’s separating after being bottled.

“We go at the pace of the entrepreneur,” Etienne says, “whatever he or she is ready for.” That includes Etienne’s introducing participants to FIU faculty with expertise in specific areas as well as to businesspeople with successful food enterprises to their credit and a desire to encourage and guide others within the community.

The first cohort brought together bakers, brewers, ice-cream and gelato crafters, ice tea makers and the producer of a rum drink. The program accepts applications throughout the year.

From homestyle foodie to professional confectioner

“Are you the lady who bakes those fabulous strawberry Moscato cupcakes?”

When Sherronda Daye started hearing that question more and more, she realized she had a chance to establish a business. Today, Sweet Jalane’s is doing well, but Daye admits she still knows a lot more about baking than she does about business. Fortunately, StartUP FIU FOOD has supplied her with that “missing ingredient,” a combination of information and training to move her small enterprise to the next level.

Daye’s path to baking entrepreneurship followed a rocky time in her life. In 2010, she lost a six-figure salary overnight when her employer did not win re-election. “I had just bought a house and was the mother of a 10-year-old and a newborn,” she recalls. “It was a horrible blow. I baked to keep my sanity.”

Word began to spread about her delicious cupcakes, and in 2012 she was hired to make desserts for a music festival in the city of Miami Gardens.

Two years later, however, Daye suffered another devastating blow, this time the loss of her beloved mother. She again relied on pastry to pick herself up and eventually rebounded to officially launch Sweet Jalane’s, named in honor of her mom. Within a year the company landed a contract to craft desserts for suite events and club-level ticket holders at the Hard Rock Stadium. With continued success, however, came the need for more room. That’s where the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management facilities came in.

“This kitchen is absolutely incredible,” Daye says of the space now at her disposal. The 3,000-foot facility has ten food-prep stations—including four dedicated to baking—in addition to an ice-cream lab, a brewery and a variety of specialized equipment.

“The support, expertise and exposure I’m getting from StartUP FIU FOOD is tremendous, more than I ever thought was possible,” says Daye, who hopes to one day open her own store. “For instance, because of them, I was able to be in the South Beach Wine and Food Festival,” she adds of the annual extravaganza sponsored by the Food Network and Cooking Channel in support of FIU scholarships. “Best of all, I’m learning about business planning, strategy, marketing and other essentials—the tools I need to succeed.”

Brewing up a whole new business

Michael Hall and Dante Fillyau are go-getters. The two used their lean childhoods as motivation to mow lawns and wash cars for cash as youngsters and together have done marketing work for Coca-Cola, Nike and the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association.

Their latest venture, a microbrewery, involves aspects totally new to the duo. Like perfecting recipes, figuring out distribution and finding the ideal spot in which to make beer.

“In the state of Florida, as a company, you can’t do anything until you have a location and buy equipment,” Hall explains of what it takes to secure a license to manufacture an alcoholic beverage in Florida. “So you have to almost have everything in place before you can start the process.”

Enter StartUP FIU FOOD, which offers a host of free resources to food and beverage entrepreneurs. The program also makes available access, at a minimal cost, to purveyors in need of a commercial-grade kitchen or, in the case of Hall and Fillyau, a bona fide brewing space in which to craft their specialty while continuing to scout out their own space.

Their niche: beers that pair with soul food. The partners have created Brown Sugar Ale to drink with pork ribs, Summertime Ale to wash down fried catfish, Big Papa to chase beef dishes and an as-yet unnamed mango-infused concoction to complement lighter seafood. The response has been good.

“Most people say I don’t drink beer, I don’t like beer, but I would drink this,” Hall reports.

In addition to getting help finding a location—StartUP FIU FOOD works with local Community Redevelopment Areas and keeps an eye out for spaces of possible interest to its entrepreneurs—the pair have been connected with mentors as well as potential investors.

“It’s always good to have people that have seen companies grow and fail to verify your idea,” Hall says of the mentors who have given him tried-and-true, real-world advise. Without such help, the two would be “still hustling but not doing the business.” Instead, they are methodically working their way forward with the intention of hiring a brew master as they continue to devote themselves to the business end. They have spoken with mentors and peers about purchasing required insurance and the process of getting FDA approval.

The ambitious pair have plenty of other ideas up their sleeves, but for now their efforts are focused 100 percent on a segment of the market they believe they can fully own. “Our goal is to be the first to say we’re doing a soul food brewery, attract a certain culture,” Hall says. Only time—and taste—will tell.

Lady on a mission

Negativity can spell the death of innovation. Natacha Armbrister, however, used it as a springboard to success. New York-born of Haitian immigrants, the 40-something-year-old had finally had enough of family and friends laughing at her every time she mentioned opening a tea shop. It drove her to pursue her dream once and for all.

Some saw her as misguided and counseled that coffee, not tea, ruled customers’ tastes. Others suggested that hot tea appealed only to those feeling under the weather. Even her beloved husband, her biggest fan, admits that getting started on her project didn’t come easily to him. “I’m a naysayer with good intentions,” explains the practically minded Demico Armbrister. “It took a while for me to actually say yeah.”

Both employed full-time—she as a representative in a hospital’s patient finances department, he as an aircraft dispatcher—the pair rode Natacha’s vision all the way to the business office of a weekend farm stand in Hollywood, Florida. There they took money Demico had saved for a new car and instead made a rental down payment on a booth within the bustling covered marketplace. The spot served as a relatively safe way to dip a toe into the waters of entrepreneurship.

Natacha, who for years had kept a notebook of ideas and even a sketch of her longed-for tea shop, wasted no time in setting up her space bar-style, complete with stools and a counter. The concept attracted plenty of interest from both locals and tourists, and soon her warming teas took off during South Florida’s limited season of cool-ish winter weekends.

The pair soon recognized, however, that cold tea might make a better overall fit with the general climate, and Natacha got cracking. Today she bottles and sells no fewer than 11 original handmade creations with ingredients such as turmeric, ginger, pineapple, lychee and—in their best-selling product—star anise.

A StartUP FIU staffer approached Natacha at the market about participating in the food incubator, and the timing could not have been better. Reluctant entrepreneur Demico tepidly agreed to participate in the various workshops and other meetings as his day job gave him the flexible schedule Natacha lacked.

“This is out of my comfort zone,” he explains of the program that guides food startups through the process of scaling up. His first assignment was to describe the business and its goals to “a crowd of successful-looking people.”

Since then, those “successful-looking people”—businesspeople-turned-mentors who themselves have stood in the Armbristers’ shoes—have worked alongside the StartUP staff to help the couple move their company forward. Number one among the pair’s needs: surveying and marketing to customers.

From the very start the business enjoyed an ideal corner-booth location at the market, but the two had not promoted themselves other than by sharing free samples with passersby. While that strategy has worked—sales reach as many as 200 bottles per weekend, clearing the pair a cool $2,000 in profits monthly—a mentor has already shown Demico ways to increase traffic and start building a brand that should soon expand to additional farmers markets and, eventually, a free-standing shop.

“It’s been a journey for both of us,” Demico says. “We’re both growing, still have a lot of growing to do. The school is an amazing help.”  ♦

The light-gray abode at the center of it all nearly disappears into the foliage.

David Rifkind and Holly Zickler like it that way. The associate professor and adjunct lecturer, respectively, set out to design a dwelling for themselves and their two teenagers that reflects what they know of sustainable building and living.

“We were really lucky to have this opportunity,” says Rifkind  of a project that began in 2011 when his wife came across a 10,000-square-foot corner lot across from a public park in South Miami, just minutes from busy U.S. 1. “The relationship to the site, the resources and the ability to help sustain community, all three of those are going to be treated differently on different sites,” he explains of what mattered most when getting started. “Every building is an opportunity to shape the public realm.”

From theory to reality


That level of consciousness undergirding every detail of their plan, the pair took advantage of the private endeavor to put into practice what they have taught in the classroom for years—something that “ FIU architecture students pick up on immediately when they visit,” Rifkind says. “It’s like, ‘Oh I get it, all the stuff you showed in class.’”

That includes lessons from Rifkind’s history survey. “I’ll go from ancient Egypt all the way up to the 1950s in the United States, and they’ll see things like the  Case Study Houses in California”—late-1940s residential experiments designed by major architects to be inexpensive and efficient—“which are one of the sources of influence on our house.”

The home embraces industrial design and leans heavily on steel, with no wood components whatsoever. (Most South Florida homes have roofs supported by a wooden truss, a big reason for the ubiquitous termite tents.) All of the couple’s decisions have revolved around reducing their family’s carbon footprint.

For example, the steel construction—most South Florida homes rely on concrete block—makes use of plates fabricated from recycled Cadillacs, refrigerators and other junk rescued from landfills, Rifkind explains. In the concrete foundation and slab floors—an “absolutely horrific” source of carbon emissions at the time of their production but a necessary evil in all building construction—the steel-making byproduct slag replaces a portion of the cement, thereby offsetting some of the environmental damage.

Reducing the use of non-renewable resources: the floor has been polished but not topped with tile or anything else, drywall has been restricted to a few key areas, and the kitchen cabinets—handcrafted by an FIU alumna—feature sustainable bamboo.

On the rooftop a solar array converts sunshine into electricity, and during the wet season a cistern collects rainwater that is then purified for drinking, cooking and washing.

Bringing the outside in


The house exudes an almost-farmhouse feel, the corrugated-steel wall panels resembling wooden slats, and the muted colors and clean lines of both the design and modernist furniture evoking a simplicity often associated with living in harmony with nature—which this family does.

The courtyard, around which three sides of the house converge, serves as an extension, an “extra room” that faces northward, an orientation that floods the house with abundant natural light for most of the day but contributes no direct heat gain from the sun.

Seen from indoors, the park across the street appears to merge with the couple’s own property through the precise placement of contiguous windows. Someone seated in the living room or dining area sees no sign of the road that runs by but instead enjoys a completely different experience.

“We end up borrowing the view of an acre park,” Rifkind says of a trick that is actually a principle of landscape architecture that goes back hundreds of years. “It makes you feel like we’re on a big estate.”

Another quirky nod to nature: a back room (one of five bedrooms in the 2,700-foot home) given over almost exclusively—save for the storage of old books and trophies on shelves—to the housing of wild rabbits. The surprise residents, four of them, appear more at ease with the arrangement than does Rifkind, who chalks up the unusual circumstance to the kind-heartedness of his other half.

In addition to a landscape that invites attention—Rifkind believes the lushness of his urban jungle has encouraged parents to walk with children past the house on the way to school, and he doesn’t mind if a stranger helps him- or herself to a bit of what grows there—the couple made a few other strategic choices to encourage neighborliness. They built a 150-square-foot side porch that puts them in view of anyone who passes by, the easier to engage. And their garage was intentionally  not placed on the street corner so as to present an “open” face at the intersection.

A greener future?


An oasis, the home represents a culmination of Rifkind’s and Zickler’s professional interests as well as their values and shared personal dream.

And yet, there are regrets.

“It’s been really rewarding because it’s, on one hand, an affirmation of what we’ve learned over the years,” Rifkind says. “At the same time, there was something that we realized almost as soon as we were done with it: That it was all wrong.

“We realized that if we really wanted to make an impact in terms of the environment, we should have never built a single-family house, that we should be living in denser housing, like an apartment, something more close to public transit. The big problem is that I still drive eight miles each way to get to FIU. And even driving a Prius, there’s still a carbon footprint involved in that.”

A better option, he contends, would have been “a net-zero apartment building right across from FIU,” where others might have joined the family in sidestepping the daily commute. His hope now is that students and faculty will one day find new living options closer to campus, something the university supports through the  UniversityCity project.

And there are other ways to effect needed change, Rifkind adds.

On campus, for example, FIU has pushed for environmentally responsible construction that meets a minimum  LEED Silver standard for every new building. Additional measures have for the past eight years earned the university recognition as  the most energy efficient in the state.

“There are a lot of other things we should do, but that’s a good start,” Rifind says. “I give a lot of credit to FIU.”

Video by Doug Garland ’10

For decades, the United States has faced the world’s largest and costliest environmental cleanup project: restoration following the nation’s Cold War legacy resulting from nuclear weapons production and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. And FIU is here to help.

Researchers at the Applied Research Center (ARC) are developing four robots for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) to help with remediation of radioactively contaminated sites across the nation, where aging nuclear storage infrastructure risks further damaging surrounding ecosystems.

The cleanup, which began in the late 1980s, is projected to take another 50 years and could cost the United States government upwards of $200 billion by the time it’s complete. Providing for the safety of workers during environmental cleanup is a major challenge and one of the reasons it has taken so long.

The solution: robots designed to navigate through disposal tanks and waste sites that allow humans to work remotely, protecting them from radiation. ARC researchers are developing robots that can crawl into small pipes and scale tank walls to transmit video to scientists and engineers surveying sites in search of leaks and other problems that need immediate attention.

Students in the College of Engineering & Computing have the opportunity to participate in the lab’s research, designing platforms for video surveillance that allow them to employ the theories learned in the classroom in real-world situations.

Since 1995, ARC has researched environmental remediation, nuclear waste treatment and disposal, and more under a cooperative agreement with DOE-EM. The agreement, renewable every five years, funds studies conducted by a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and students. It also supports FIU’s Department of Energy Fellowship, which provides students in STEM fields with professional development, hands-on research opportunities at ARC and summer internships at cleanup sites and DOE labs across the nation.

Watch the video above to see ARC’s robots in action.  ♦

Video by Doug Garland ’10

Miami’s famous South Beach has always been home to colorful people.

Every workday for more than 40 years, Irene Williams dressed in a vibrant, handmade piece from a collection of more than 100 hats and outfits she crafted using unconventional materials like fake-fur toilet seat covers and bath mats. Then she walked to her small stenography office on Lincoln Road – she often referred to herself as “a call girl with a typewriter.”

Before computers, businesspeople needed stenography services and “snowbirds” like Orson Welles would hire Williams as a temporary secretary to handle their correspondence while they stayed in South Beach for the winter. 

Williams delighted locals, tourists and even some celebrities touring Lincoln Road mall. During the early 1990s, Gianni Versace stopped her to compliment her unique fashion. 

One morning in 1995, Williams was spotted by filmmaker Eric Smith, a New York designer who would eventually capture her on film in his award-winning documentary, “Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road.”

“Our initial meeting felt like kismet, given my endless fascination for eccentric older ladies,” Smith said. “I was wowed by this tiny lady who stood just a little over four feet tall and always dressed herself impeccably.”

In 2000, Williams posed for renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz wearing an outfit she designed from vintage Pierre Cardin towels Smith had given her as a gift. But the self-described “tourist attraction” demanded Leibovitz pay her a day’s stenography fees in exchange.

When Williams died in 2004, she left her colorful collection of hats, photos and letters to Smith, which are included in an exhibit on display at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU through Nov. 5.  ♦

By Joel Delgado ’12, MS ’17

After falling one game short of winning the Conference USA title in May, the FIU softball team returned to Miami with its postseason fate out of its hands. It was now in the hands of the NCAA Division I Softball Committee.

One day after their return, the players took over a local sports bar and grill, eyes glued to the television screens, which would reveal in moments if they were going to the NCAA Regionals or staying home for the rest of the summer.

The air was thick with nervousness and excitement.

The question weighing on their minds:  Would a program-record 45 wins in 2017 be enough to send FIU to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in history?

Turns out it was.

As the television commentators listed FIU among the teams headed for the Gainesville Regional, the student-athletes went from a state of nervous excitement to pure jubilation. A goal that had been set years before was finally realized.

Although the Panthers did not make it out of the Gainesville Regional, beating FAMU but losing to Oklahoma State twice in the double-elimination tournament, it will never dim the memory of that night in the Hole in the Wall tavern in Kendall.

“In that moment, it felt we finally did everything we said we would do,” said Sammi Green, a senior infielder. “I felt confident that we could beat anybody we played. That’s how much faith I have in this team. We’re strong enough to do anything we set our minds to.”

It was a breakout season for Green – both on the field and in the classroom. A utility infielder with only a handful of starts throughout her collegiate career, she carved out a niche for herself her senior year at third base, setting career highs in games started (28), hits (23) and runs batted in (13) while hitting .261.

Green, a Georgia native, graduated cum laude with a physics degree in May. She was the only person accepted this year into Vanderbilt University’s Professional Doctorate in Medical Physics program. She will work in the diagnostic track with plans to eventually become a medical physicist at a hospital.

“My first year here, I saw the field maybe four times total. It was a struggle, but it made me stronger,” Green says. “Having to deal with that, trying to succeed in school and find out who I was and what I wanted to do with my life, all in four years, it wasn’t easy.”

A BANNER YEAR ON (AND OFF) THE FIELD

The softball team’s trip to the NCAA regionals capped a wildly successful 2016-2017 athletic calendar for many of FIU’s women’s sports programs:

• The swimming and diving team claimed a third consecutive conference championship and sent a school-record five Panthers to swim at the NCAA Championships.
• The women’s tennis team made it all the way to the conference championship final while Andrea Lazaro was named Conference USA Player of the Year, earning a trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship tournament.
• The No. 10-ranked women’s beach volleyball squad made it to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championship final for the first time in program history.
• And in track and field, Clarissa Cutliff competed in the NCAA Championships and finished 12^th overall in the high jump.

The success of these women student-athletes in the classroom has been just as impressive.

The release of the NCAA’s 13th-annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) in May also highlighted the strong academic record of FIU women’s sports programs. The APR uses a series of formulas related to student-athlete retention and eligibility to measure the academic performances of all participants who receive grants-in-aid on every team at every NCAA Division I college and university.

Women’s golf and women’s cross country were recognized by the NCAA for registering a perfect multi-year score of 1000, ranking in the top 10 percent of their sport nationally. It marked the third-straight year women’s golf was recognized for its academic success.

FIU’s student-athletes – both men and women – posted the highest FIU Athletics spring semester grade point average on record (3.22), marking the seventh-straight semester in which FIU has posted an aggregate GPA of 3.0 or better.

“As student-athletes, we want to win. We want good results not just on the field but in the classroom as well,” says FIU tennis sophomore Marina Wexler, a computer engineering major.

TRANSFERRING SUCCESS

Success in the classroom has transferred to the playing field. FIU Tennis Head Coach Katarina Petrovic considers herself one of the strictest coaches when it comes to academics, requiring her players to report to her directly about exams, assignments, attendance and everything in between.

Her players posted a team GPA of 3.82 during the Spring 2017 semester – the highest in program history – and a trip to the conference finals.

“In sports, the formula is the same on the court as it is in a classroom,” Petrovic says. “When you are on the tennis court, it’s like you are taking the test. When you are prepared, whether it’s taking a test or for a tennis match, you can fully believe in your abilities.”

Wexler, who is interested in pursuing a career in aerospace engineering if professional tennis does not work out, attests that discipline – staying on task and maintaining a balanced schedule – has attributed to success in both arenas.

“[Coach Petrovic] tells us that it’s not just about what we do on the court, but also what we do outside of the court that will help us be successful in life,” Wexler says.

Student-athletes and coaches point to the Student-Athlete Academic Center (SAAC) as a key factor in driving their academic success. The SAAC provides tutoring, academic counseling and collaborates with coaches and academic advisors throughout the university.

Working with these student-athletes on a daily basis, SACC staff are not surprised to see the level of success FIU’s women’s sports programs have enjoyed in recent years, not just in Conference USA but at the national level as well.

“These ladies grind every day to improve their craft – no matter if it is engineering or accounting – and then transfer that same energy to the competitive arena. They are laser focused and bring an intensity and maturity that you do not often find in 18- to 21-year-olds,” says SAAC Director Wesley Maas.

He adds: “Our student-athletes are wonderful ambassadors for FIU. You have students from all across the globe with different nationalities and socioeconomic backgrounds competing for our FIU. They do so with integrity and with the best interest of their peers at heart.”  ♦

Excitement is contagious in a science classroom and could lead to greater interest in science careers, a new study has found.

This infectious trend can also help improve grades. When students see their science classmates as very interested in the class, they are more likely to develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers, according to the national study led by FIU professors Zahra Hazari and Geoff Potvin and published recently in Science Advances.

“People have been found to readily catch the emotions of others and we see this happening in science classroom environments,” Hazari said. “This really emphasizes the importance of having engaging environments to hook students to science and motivate them towards learning.”

How a student perceives the level of their peers’ interests has a significant effect on their science career choices even after accounting for differences in their prior interest in STEM classes, their level of family support for science, academic achievement, gender and quality of teaching. Hazari and Potvin led the project, which included researchers from Oklahoma State University, Northwestern College, Purdue University and the University of Virginia. They surveyed more than 2,000 students at 50 randomly selected colleges and universities across the United States.

This positive effect was consistent across biology, chemistry and physics classes and was seen for both students’ career interests and, in most cases, their grades.

Even students who had little prior interest or support in science showed greater interest in science careers when they saw high levels of interest in their classmates.

Hazari and Potvin, members of FIU’s STEM Transformation Institute, plan to follow up on their research with studies geared toward understanding how teachers can better create classroom environments where students feel motivated and confident in tackling more complex problems or experiments.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is looking for passionate alumni volunteers to help encourage the next generation of proud Panthers.

Graduates considering a way to give back to their alma mater may find a perfect fit with the Panther Alumni Recruitment Team (PART). With opportunities for long-distance Panthers or those who may not have a lot of time, PART makes it easy for all alumni to contribute by inspiring newly admitted students and staying connected to FIU.

Team members can choose any number of ways to get involved, including representing the university at local and regional college fairs by answering questions and sharing FIU’s Worlds Ahead vision with prospective high school students; serving as a speaker on an alumni panel at special events and information sessions; and hosting or attending local receptions for admitted students and their parents.

Another way to participate that requires very little time but packs a powerful punch: writing notes to admitted students to offer them a unique Panther perspective and welcome them to the FIU family. Hospitality alumna Marla Oliu ’09, MS ’13 has been writing to incoming students for the past two years. “I understand the importance of keeping students engaged from day one,” she says. “This program does a fantastic job reaching out and connecting them with industry professionals early on in their college career.”

While PART offers students a great way to learn about the university and begin networking within the FIU community, alumni also enjoy the benefits that come from cultivating these relationships.

“It’s a great feeling to know that students appreciate our support and look up to us for guidance,” says Oliu, who has received email follow-ups from grateful students. “I even had one student call my work phone to verbally thank me and connect. This is a great opportunity for students to interact with professionals as well as for us to connect with students who may potentially apply for our training programs in the future.”

Interested alumni should complete a contact form at go.fiu.edu/part. Ideas and suggestions for new ways to get involved are welcome.  ♦

“My first encounter with a camera was way back in the 7th grade in my first television production class. Now approaching my second year in college, my passion for video production has only grown, and I staunchly aspire to never lose touch with my inner video nerd. Today, I am beyond grateful I’ve gotten the opportunity to put my passion to work and continue learning in a professional setting alongside an amazing group of people, whom I feature in my very “Apple- esque” behind the scenes video. Apple’s genius ‘Don’t Blink’ commercial left me with a burning desire to recreate it. I used it as a model to show what goes on behind the scenes all the videos the FIU team turns out. Making the video challenged my editing skills and was truly fun to shoot. I’m proud of the final!”

Katherine De Jesus
Video Intern
Divison of External Relations

Editor’s note: Katherine de Jesus is currently a sophomore marketing major at FIU with emphases on marketing and social media analytics and digital media studies.

Watch the other videos in the FIU Magazine summer online issue
From homelessness to hope      Capturing cancer research on campus     The essence of Pantherness
South Beach soirée   A novelist shares his secrets    A spotlight on the deserving   A riff on “Friends”   Most viewed: An April Fools’ joke

In response, then-Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education (CASE) Kenneth G. Furton received a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Education aimed at increasing course pass rates. Over the next two years, 11 individuals came together to rethink the way college algebra was taught at FIU.

“The redesign wasn’t about ‘fixing’ the students. They’re not broken,” says Leanne Wells, director of Technology Innovations and Learning Architecture and former director of the Math Mastery Program. “It was about improving the way we teach our students.” An education researcher who specializes in how best to teach math, Wells helped keep the momentum moving forward throughout initial attempts to retool the course and along a sometimes-bumpy road.

By the Spring 2012 semester, 50 percent of the students were now passing. At that point, Wells says, “The university went all in.” The first Math Mastery Lab opened in fall 2012. A critical component of the course redesign’s success, the lab is a high-tech, high-touch approach to improving student performance. It’s equipped with more than 200 computers and staffed full time with undergraduate learning assistants and serves as a meeting place for faculty office hours. It has been such a success that a second lab opened recently.

Today the pass rate for college algebra hovers in the 70 percent range, and universities from around the country visit FIU to learn more about the extraordinary transformation. Instructors in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics now meet weekly to go over what’s working and what’s not in all of the lower division gateway math courses, not just college algebra.

“That is remarkable,” says Wells, “and extremely rare in a university setting.”

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The redesign of the college algebra course is part of a broader university initiative called the Gateway Project that involves the redesign of 17 lower division courses characterized by large enrollment (there are approximately 40,000 enrollments annually in these courses) with a high failure rate, a high attrition rate for students that do fail the class, or both. These gateway courses, as they are so called, include lower division math, general chemistry, general biology, intro to economics, English composition and some history and religious study courses. So critical is the Gateway Project to the future of the university that it was written into the university’s FIUBeyondPossible2020 strategic plan. A multi-year project, it’s expected that all of the gateway courses will be redesigned by 2018.

How students perform in these courses is a strong predictor of how they’ll do in the rest of their academic journey. Little emphasis was put on these courses historically. That has changed, says Isis Artze-Vega, assistant vice president for Teaching and Learning.

“The faculty teaching these courses provide the first impression of our institution,” says Artze-Vega. “Let’s support the faculty who do this really difficult work of teaching gateway courses so that those courses can be as effective as possible and a catalyst for student success.”

Artze-Vega points out that most faculty are trained in their discipline, not in teaching, and the teaching models they’re familiar with are primarily lectures. “We’re suggesting to them that’s not enough. We have a whole body of literature telling us that students have to be active in those courses.”

The Center for Teaching and Learning offers a variety of professional development for faculty such as summer institutes and reading groups and conducts student focus groups and surveys. In addition, center staff make classroom visits to observe faculty and the students they are teaching.

“We’re really drilling down,” says Artze-Vega. “Our faculty realize how much they don’t know about their students, so we help them collect data.”

Early results are promising, with most of the redesigned gateway courses showing improvements in passing rates, student dispositions toward the discipline and/or in meeting learning objectives. Several improvements in passing rates are in the single digits while others have improvements of 30 or 40 percent. On average, improvement in gateway course passing rates is approximately 15 percent.

“In higher education, we’ve never really thought of faculty as agents of student success,” she says. “They were looking at whether students learned their material, whether they performed well on their tests. I think most faculty didn’t have an awareness of drop rates. The data hadn’t been shared with chairs, and chairs hadn’t sought it out either. That was not an outcome they were held accountable for, so this is really a new day.”

Read more about the Math Mastery Lab

Much is riding on the success of the Gateway Project.

In the fall of 2012, the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) began implementing its own transformative policies — in this case, changes to the way higher education in the state is funded. Comprising 17 members from across Florida, the BOG is the governing body for the State University System (SUS) of Florida, which includes Florida’s 12 public universities. The move by the BOG has forced institutions from Tallahassee to Miami to rethink the way they educate students.

“We are at an inflection point in human history with the current decade likely to be the most disruptive period in higher education since the Academy was created by Plato 24 centuries ago,” says Furton, who became FIU provost and executive vice president in 2014.

Education funding at the state level has been driven historically by enrollment and previous funding levels. With the exception of anxious parents, no one paid too much attention to how long it took students to graduate, what they studied or the cost of earning a university degree. But times have changed in the halls of state government and state leaders are intent upon improving educational outcomes.

Tennessee became the first state, in 1979, to introduce performance-based funding metrics into its higher education system. More than 30 states have since adopted this model, which rewards institutions financially for positive outcomes in specific areas. Florida introduced the model in 2014, and in 2016, Gov. Rick Scott signed it into law.

SUS institutions now compete against one another in 10 performance goals tracked by the BOG (see below). The funding formula is complicated, but basically, universities that score in the top three receive additional funding for their good performance and institutions that wind up in the bottom three lose all or a portion of their performance funding for one year (see below).

“We have a responsibility to make sure that we stay on the edge of responsiveness,” says FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “The funding will not arrive unless we perform, and we have to perform in a way that is even more remarkable than our fellow institutions in the State University System.”

While the performance funding model is complex, Rosenberg is delivering a simple recipe for success: “Our message to our students is this — 30 credit hours a year for four years,” he says. “Reach out to your advisor, take advantage of internship opportunities and you will be in the best position to earn a job upon graduation.”

Critics of the model say it pits universities against one another and forces institutions with fundamental differences (student demographics, for example) to be measured against the same criteria. It is patently unfair, they say. But even those individuals acknowledge it has improved the educational journey for students by forcing universities to become more focused on student success.

Since 2014, student graduation and retention have been on the rise across the state. Florida now boasts the second highest graduation rate among the 10 largest states in the country. The number of both undergraduate and graduate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees awarded annually is also up. In March, Florida was named the best state for higher education by U.S. News & World Report.

The winners in all of this are the more than 350,000 students who attend a public university in Florida.

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One year after the BOG introduced its new funding model, FIU created a Student Success Initiative (SSI) office to provide intense coaching and support to first-year students. Student Success Manager Bridgette Cram and a team of four work together to create retention and graduation interventions. There are three interventions that have already demonstrated success: the College Life Coaching program, the Strategies for Success course, and the retention and completion grant program.

The College Life Coaching program targets students who are on warning or probation after their first semester. Students in the program meet one-on-one biweekly with a college life coach.

“We don’t tell the students what to do,” says Cram, who has spent her career working with struggling students. “This is more about helping them grow as individuals.”

The strategy is working. For the fall pilot phase of the College Life Coaching program, 71 percent of the students who participated experienced a positive increase in their GPA and 43 percent moved from academic warning to good standing.

“I believe it’s safe to say that it gave me relief as well as gratitude to talk about my goals and ways to accomplish them,” wrote one student in an anonymous evaluation. “[The coach] gave me feedback which is 10 times better than the usual ‘you should do this’ talk.”

The newer Strategies for Success class was piloted in the Spring 2017 semester.

“My gut tells me this course is going to make a difference because it encourages students to reflect on why they didn’t do well,” says Cram. “I don’t think those conversations took place before systematically.”

The SSI team is big on the personal touch. Students in danger of being dropped from their classes are contacted via phone calls and emails. Cram recalls the day she discovered a student was going to be dropped because she hadn’t accepted her Pell grant. Cram looked up the student’s schedule, went to her class and asked the professor if she could speak with the student while attendance was being taken. When they got outside the classroom, Cram handed the student her laptop that she had queued up to the page with the prompt to accept the Pell grant. The grateful student accepted her grant and remained an enrolled student in good standing.

SSI awards retention and completion grants and develops policies to reduce obstacles; more than $50,000 was awarded in grants this past spring. Grant recipients are students who are typically close to graduating but, in many cases, have exhausted their financial aid. Rather than have those students postpone their studies, FIU now steps in to help. Approximately 84 percent of the students who received a grant graduated in the same semester the grant was awarded, and another 5 percent graduated within one semester.

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Charlie Andrews, assistant vice president for Undergraduate Education, can appreciate how dramatically the educational experience has evolved. An FIU alumnus, he earned a math degree with an emphasis in education in 1994. Unlike when Andrews was a student, today’s freshmen are required to declare a major because research shows that students who declare a major early in their college career are more likely to graduate.

“Gone are the days that you can take two years to figure out what it is you want to be in life,” says Andrews.

That makes academic advising all the more critical for students like Irene Delgado.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Delgado went to Pittsburgh in the 1990s at the age of 18 to study communications. Soon she was married with a baby on the way; school was not a priority. She returned to school — this time to FIU — in 2002. “I picked hospitality management because I liked people,” she says. Once again, it didn’t work out.

Now that her daughter is in college, she came back to FIU in 2015, choosing early childhood education as her major. Delgado, who is on track to graduate in Spring 2018, credits advisor Cynthia Perez with helping her “feel at home.” This time around, she says, her FIU experience is different.

“She’s a good sounding board. She’s not making the decisions for me, she’s making me think. That’s empowering.”

Approximately 75 new advisors have been hired since 2010. Collectively, advisors interact with all undergraduates both in person and online using university software that tracks a student’s academic progress. If a student fails the first test or never attends class, his or her faculty member can send an alert to both the student and advisor. The advisor then schedules an appointment with the student to discuss resources that are available to help. A low GPA will trigger an alert as well.

When students finish their freshman year, they are contacted by their advisor or a member of their department with a message: Continue your sophomore year of studies with no interruption in enrollment. This term-to-term enrollment from freshman to sophomore year is called the second-year retention rate. It’s another key indicator of whether a student is likely to graduate on time. Says Andrews, “We’ve realized that the front end of our students’ education is critical to their success at the back end.”

The alerts get more strategic the more hours a student completes. With a BOG metric that measures how many students graduate within six years (that metric is changing in 2018-19 to track a university’s success at graduating students within four years), FIU now requires students who have earned 90 of the 120 credits needed to graduate to meet with their advisor to create a graduation plan. Not only does it help students, Andrews says, it helps the university with its course planning.

Andrews says that today’s methods are more effective than previous ones.

“I don’t think anybody tried not to be helpful in years past,” he says, “but what I would say is that our efforts were less intentional.”

FIU’s efforts to improve graduation rates and prepare students for high-paying careers translated into $25 million in performance funds for the 2016-2017 year (see left). The university made the most gains in areas that included the six-year graduation rate for first-time-in-college students, academic progress rate and median wages for bachelor’s graduates working full-time in Florida. (FIU alumni earn the highest median wage among SUS graduates.)

The funds are being poured back in to university initiatives that improve performance success for students as well as post-graduation success.

No one professes to know what the future holds for higher education, but optimism remains high for the way FIU is handling this sea change.

“The performance funding model has caused introspection about what we are doing to help our students be successful,” says Andrews. “The good part about that is that now, more than ever, we are making strategic decisions about where to allocate resources.”

FIU has designated five university programs as “preeminent,” a recognition of high-caliber, collaborative work that generates unique learning opportunities, pioneering research and meaningful engagement with the external community while expanding the university’s financial base. This is the first in a series of articles that explores these programs in greater depth.  Click here to view an interactive chart explaining each preeminent program.

When Atorod Azizinamini stood in the White House in 2015 to be honored as a “Champion of Change,” he formally accepted a title that many agree has described him for years. With four patents and more than 200 articles to his credit, the chair of the  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering boasts a long history of impacting his field, first by working in industry and then spending two highly productive decades at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, before landing at FIU in 2011.

His expertise: building bridges fast.

“The best way I can describe him is as an innovator,” says Monica Starnes, a senior program officer at the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She worked with Azizinamini when Congress established a $232 million highway research program in 2006. Azizinamini was the principal investigator leading an initiative that resulted in his developing the definitive government guide for enhancing the service life of bridges through design, construction and maintenance.

Nebraska’s state bridge engineer Mark Traynowicz praises the past work between his professional staff and Azizinamini as key to “[elevating] Nebraska as one of the leaders in bridge design and bridge engineering in the country. With his help, through research, he put us on the map.”

Azizinamini shows no sign of slowing down in his drive to make impactful changes that benefit society — nor can the nation afford to let him.

More than 25 percent of the country’s 600,000-plus bridges are older than the 50 years for which they were optimally designed. Data from the 2016 National Bridge Inventory indicates that nearly 56,000 bridges are “structurally deficient” — deemed safe for travel but in need of renovation or replacement — and another 74,000-plus are “functionally obsolete” — inadequate for current traffic demands or unable to accommodate oversized or emergency vehicles.

Full speed ahead

Azizinamini arrived at FIU with the goal of establishing a federally funded center to make aging infrastructure safer. The university quickly provided $50,000 in seed money to jumpstart the effort. Fellow faculty, industry professionals and a growing number of graduate students signed on.

Then in 2013, the U.S. Department of Transportation put out a call to universities in a move to build increased collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

“We heard that the secretary of transportation wanted new ideas, new innovations, something that can solve the problems and the challenges we have with the transportation system,” Azizinamini says. He prepared a winning $4.5 million proposal (and earned the federal designation “University Transportation Center”) around “accelerated bridge construction.”  ABC, as it’s known, uses cutting-edge techniques that minimize onsite construction to produce environmentally friendly bridges that are safer and longer lasting than those built under traditional methods.

Azizinamini understands well the negative impacts associated with traditional bridge construction: traffic delays, decreased mobility and work zone fatalities (resulting from more than 67,500 related crashes in 2013 alone), not to mention financial losses to local businesses and commuter frustration.

“If you didn’t have alternative technology, that would be something,” he says, “but we have the solutions.”

New ways of doing business

Those solutions include alternatives to what has been, until recently, standard construction practice. Instead of closing down a major artery for months at a time to demolish an existing bridge and erect a new one in its place, state departments of transportation are increasingly looking at ABC. Options include constructing an entire bridge off-site and transporting it whole to its designated location for installation; building a bridge alongside an existing one and then, following demolition of the older structure, sliding in the new one; and a modular approach that combines factory fabrication with minimal construction on site.

The research coming out of FIU supports, and even drives, the use of ABC nationwide as well as addresses myriad issues related to contemporary bridge making in general. Re-funded in 2016 (with $7.5 million over five years), the center continues to serve as the lead institution of a consortium that includes four other universities (Iowa State University, the University of Nevada-Reno, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Washington), each of which Azizinamini invited to participate based on a particular area of strength.

At FIU, researchers are working on dozens of projects, among them studies to develop prefabricated concrete bridge railings; to establish best practices and guidelines for demolition; to evaluate the feasibility of using sensor technology to monitor corrosion; and to develop a sensing system to monitor soil erosion around abutments and piers subjected to storm surge and sea level rise.

From research to practice

From his years of working with Azizinamini in Nebraska, state bridge engineer Traynowicz understands the value of getting such research out to those who can best run with it.

“You can come up with these great ideas, but if you can’t get them built in the real world, they don’t really go anywhere,” he says of research that doesn’t leave the halls of academia. “I think why things worked so well [in Nebraska] is because the university came up with these great, new, innovative ideas and we were able to implement them on real projects.”

In addition to working with the state of Nebraska on several bridges, Azizinamini actively shared with officials and engineers the knowledge he and colleagues had gathered.

“He went so far as to train us in what’s going on in research not only at the university but across the country,” Traynowicz says. “We knew what we were doing, but he had the latest advances and some of the most current techniques.”

Today Azizinamini uses a bigger bullhorn to reach a larger audience. He hosts monthly webinars that attract as many as 4,000 participants at a time, including folks in both the public and private sectors. In many cases, whole departments huddle together to hear state engineers and project managers share their experiences on specific projects. (The titles of recent presentations include, among others, “West Virginia’s Basnettville Bridge Lateral Slide,” “Ontario’s Rapid Installation of Single-Span Bridges” and “PennDOT Replacement of Route 581 Bridge during Weekend.”) For those listening in, the chance to ask technical questions of the presenters, whether live or after the fact, is priceless.

“One of the biggest things that Dr. Azizinamini has done,” Traynowicz says, “is really put together a team of experts. He reached out to people across the country that are the best at what they do. I’m always impressed by that,” he says, referencing those who contribute as presenters as well as the professional staff who help run the center. “It’s just the way that he can get people together. You don’t have to be the one smartest person in the world or have all the answers, but when you can bring people together like that, you can get all the answers.”

Azizinamini also gathers together federal highway administrators, state engineers, contractors, representatives of fabricating companies and academics in his role as chair of the Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference, which is cosponsored by no fewer than 30 state DOTs and several federal agencies. The next conference takes place in December and will host more than 600 attendees who participate in workshops, listen to technical presentations and visit more than 50 exhibitors in downtown Miami.Script if it is disabled in your browse

A profitable patent

His long experience has given Azizinamini unique insight into areas of need within the field. Work he began at the University of Nebraska has led to his own inventions.

Noting that for decades state transportation officials gravitated almost exclusively to the use of concrete for spans of 100 feet or less — a size range into which the majority of bridges fall — he started looking for a potential alternative. “That gave me a little bit of a challenge,” says Azizinamini. “The motivation was to come up with something that costs less to society, is more efficient, more economical, lasts longer.”

By 2009 he had something — a folded plate steel girder system — that industry publications have predicted will revolutionize the short-span bridge market.

The genius lies in bending a single steel plate into a trapezoid-shaped girder (several girders comprise the support on which a deck, or the driving surface, rests), thereby eliminating the conventional use of multiple plates that have to be joined by welding (the welded seam being a potential source of bridge weakness). The system uses less steel than do traditional steel girders, making it less expensive, and the innovative open-bottom construction allows for easy maintenance inspections, another cost savings. The girders are fabricated in a plant and delivered to the bridge site, where they are conjoined in preparation for the pouring of a concrete deck or the laying of precast concrete panels.

CDR Maguire, a Miami-based engineering firm owned and run by FIU alumnus Carlos Duart ’94, MS ’99, markets and distributes the steel plate girder system.

“The contractors absolutely love it,” says Duart, whose company will have overseen production of 10 bridges using the system by the end of 2017. “What they love about our bridges is that in three hours they have the segments already in place.”

The unique design is key.

“What Dr. Azizinamini has been able to do is basically standardize bridge design, which of course reduces the cost,” Duart explains. “It’s 99 percent pretty much standard, which is what’s really ideal and innovative about this particular product.”

Duart expects to see the folded plate girder system used to build 500 bridges by the close of 2022 and anticipates cornering 20 percent of the short-span market — or erecting 10,000 bridges — within the next decade. FIU holds a patent on the system developed specifically for bridges longer than 60 feet, and Duart says that will translate into a financial boost for the university in the tens of millions of dollars.

Workforce of the future

While spearheading research and getting it to those in the field, Azizinamini is at the same time preparing the next generation of professionals. Currently eight Ph.D. candidates work in his busy lab.

Azadeh Jaberi Jahromi is one of them. She spent a year as a Ph.D. student in the civil engineering department at a university out west before recognizing that her lifelong interest in bridges made that program a poor match for her career goals.

Determined to take the risky and unorthodox step of changing programs midstream, she scoured academic journals and trade publications for inspiration. One name cropped up more often than others: Atorod Azizinamini. She sent him her research papers and made a visit to Miami. The strength of her commitment and the quality of her work earned her a spot on his team, and she has been getting her hands dirty ever since. (She studies deck and slab connections.) Jahromi revels in the comprehensive nature of her education under Azizinamini, who has an unparalleled grasp of how industry works. Upon graduation, she hopes to find a job with a private firm.

“Some people think that civil engineering is only working with software and PCs, that they cannot go into the field, they cannot go [talk] to the project manager,” she says, thrilled that her mentor believes otherwise. “He teaches us how we can work as a civil engineer in the field, in industry.”

And critical to making that leap: access to Azizinamini’s cutting-edge structural lab, where Jahromi and her fellow students can take experimental concepts from the drawing board to another level.

“You don’t just work on the computer,” she stresses of the practical training she is getting. “Whatever I can model on the PC, we can later see it in the lab using real materials [such as] real concrete, real foam board, real rebar. We can construct [bridge] elements in our lab to see how they work in reality.”

That full-spectrum, hands-on experience gives graduating students a real advantage, a number of whom have scooped up high-level positions at top engineering firms, some even choosing among multiple offers. And would-be graduate students continue to apply at an increasing rate.

That growing interest from young people bodes well at a time when Azizinamini is accelerating the pace of the center’s work, and the current U.S. administration considers directing greater funding to update the nation’s infrastructure.

“It has become part of my DNA,” the changemaker says of the boundless cache of ideas he plans to trot out. “I just have to do something continuously new.” 

When FIU hired Butch Davis last November to take the helm of its football program, the move sent a buzz through the college football landscape.

The 65-year-old was one of the hottest coaching commodities in the country when he led the University of Miami football program in the late 1990s into 2000.

Now, after six years away from the sidelines — he spent the last two as an analyst for ESPN — Davis is taking over an FIU football program that has gone through a number of fits and starts.

“It’s great to be back on the field,” Davis said during the first week of spring practices. “I love being around the players, I love watching practices and I love seeing them get better and better every day.”

Blue & gold connection

Davis had a connection to FIU in his old friend and colleague Pete Garcia, executive director of sports and entertainment for FIU Athletics. The two knew each other from their days together at the University of Miami and the Cleveland Browns.

Having just let go of the head football coach mid-season, Garcia in the fall of 2016 was looking for a permanent replacement and gave Davis a call. 

By then the program had had its share of struggles throughout a 15-year history. Outside of two bowl game appearances in 2010 and 2011 during the T.Y. Hilton and Mario Cristobal era, the program could not break through and had suffered five straight losing seasons. Would Davis be interested?

“I’d always wondered if FIU wasn’t a potential diamond in the rough,” Davis admits today, “an untapped potential because of its tremendous location that is close to a lot of athletes,” he says of the state of Florida’s prowess as a leader in turning out high school football talent. “But there’s a lot more to it,” he continues. “I wanted to know about the vision for the school and what [school leaders] want out of the football program.”

Davis took a tour of campus and learned more about the university in meetings with President Mark B. Rosenberg — “He’s a good recruiter,” Davis says of Rosenberg, who “convinced me that this was a great opportunity” — as well as members of the FIU Board of Trustees. Before long, he agreed to become FIU’s fifth head football coach.

Rebuilding

There has been no time to waste for Davis since taking the job. From building a coaching staff to assembling his first recruiting class, he hit the ground running.

Walk into the coach’s offices and you will find a large dry-erase board loaded with 48 projects — a few completed, others ongoing and some still pending — on Davis’ to-do list.

“It’s been pedal to the metal from day one,” says Davis, who had to build his first recruiting class in approximately six weeks. “Little by little, trying to erase the projects on the board. There’s no shortage of things we need to get done.”

The team’s first week of spring practices in March were held at the FIU Soccer Stadium while a state-of-art playing surface was being installed at FIU’s football field at the updated and recently renamed Riccardo Silva Stadium. New football practice fields have since been constructed on campus.

In the few months Davis has been on board, the program has added a nutritionist, established a new dining hall for the players, hired a sports psychologist and made renovations to the strength and conditioning room.

And that’s just the start.

“We see that the university cares and wants to help us win,” senior quarterback Alex McGough says. “We know we’re not alone and that the school is behind us.”

The changes go even further.

Davis is bringing to campus guests to speak with his student-athletes about a wide range of topics. One of the first was sportscaster Rachel Baribeau, who addressed success and leadership and led a discussion about sexual violence on college campuses around the country.

“You have to put people in front of the [athletes] that help change the culture, the expectations and the environment of the program,” Davis says. “Part of my responsibility is to help educate and provide information to help our players become knowledgeable about that and sensitive to those topics.”

On the field, the players feel the atmosphere changing as well.

“There’s just a lot of great energy when we come out to practice every day and we’ve all grown closer together as a team,” says senior defensive end Newton Salisbury. “You can really feel it.”

Wide receiver Julian Williams, a redshirt junior, adds: “[Coach Davis] came in right away and promised us X, Y and Z, and we went to work. He has kept his word. Coach Davis makes sure that we are coming together and care about each other, love each other and build things up together.”

Davis’ goals extend far beyond winning football games on Saturdays. He wants to make sure his student-athletes leave FIU with a degree and are prepared for life off the field.

“I have spent a significant amount of time coaching in football and one thing I know for slam-dunk certain is that football is not a career,” Davis says. “I want to have a team that is highly respected in the community, [so that] when someone says ‘I am a football player at FIU’ they know what kind of person and what kind of qualities come with that.”

Perfect for the job

The totality of Davis’ career has prepared him for the challenge of rebuilding FIU’s football program. He’s been part of rebuilding college teams — not once, but twice.

Few coaches have more experience or have had more success in recruiting student-athletes in Miami than Davis. He arrived in the city in 1984 as a defensive line coach for the University of Miami and served in that role for five seasons under famed coach Jimmy Johnson.

In 1989 Davis followed Johnson to the Dallas Cowboys, where he served as defensive line coach and later defensive coordinator during back-to-back Super Bowl wins. In 1995 Davis returned to UM as head coach. He inherited a Hurricanes program marred by several violations of NCAA rules during his predecessor’s tenure. In the midst of sanctions, probations and loss of scholarships, Davis found himself tasked with leading UM through a painful rebuilding.

Davis helped change the culture of the program and amassed a 51-20 record over six seasons, including an 11-1 record and a Sugar Bowl victory in his final season at Miami. In 2001, the year after he left to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, the Hurricanes won the national championship with many of the players he had recruited.

“Almost everything that has positively happened in my coaching career is rooted in lessons I’ve learned as an assistant coach and as head coach at the University of Miami,” Davis says.

Those lessons come from coaching against some of the highest profile programs in the country, from Florida and Florida State to Notre Dame and Penn State, and learning how to recruit in a diverse major metropolitan area.

He returned to college football in 2006, this time with the University of North Carolina. Davis took over a program that had had only one winning season in its past six. After a slow start, he led the Tar Heels to three consecutive eight-win seasons and three bowl game appearances.

But his tenure ended in a shroud of controversy. Davis was fired in 2011 with the UNC football program embroiled in two investigations involving improper benefits for players and academic misconduct.

Davis was completely cleared of any involvement in the scandals, but the damage was done and for years a head coaching job in college football eluded him. Until now.

Why not FIU?

As Davis weighed the FIU job, he asked himself, “Why? Why take it?” As he considered the offer, the list of reasons in favor began to grow: access to local talent; a beautiful campus with a stadium on site; an impressive, wide range of academic programs that would give potential recruits plenty of options and appeal to parents; a large alumni base within a two-county area that promised the possibility of, one day, large crowds in the stands.

He began to look at other programs that have accomplished great things on the field with budgetary resources no larger than FIU’s: Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Boise State, UCF and USF.

Inspired, he started asking the question that he has posed publicly ever since:  “Why not us?”

Davis hopes, starting now in his first year, that FIU football annually will be fighting for bowl eligibility and, eventually, perennially in the hunt for conference championships late in the season.

At that point, it becomes about looking to the next hurdle: breaking into the Top 25 the way many of the aforementioned programs have done.

“I want our players to buy into the idea that there should not be a ceiling,” Davis says. “In the months I’ve been here, I’ve yet to find a reason why not us.”

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With more than half of the world’s population living in urban environments, the school’s creation reflects a broader view of the industry and new approaches and methods for building a sustainable urban infrastructure.

The donation will create three endowments to help students succeed and access higher education. Earnings from the Moss Endowed Chair in Construction Management will be used to recruit a nationally distinguished director for the school.

Another endowment will be dedicated to helping students through scholarships. Each scholarship is inspired by and named after outstanding colleagues and professionals from Moss & Associates. The Sasha Seco Women in Construction Scholarship and the Kevin Love Fostering Success Scholarship are both namesakes of alumni now working at the company.

The other endowment will support key areas that will expand the school and the students’ learning opportunities, such as faculty and post-graduate research and technology resources.

“Chad Moss has shown incredible vision and entrepreneurship in Miami and across the country,” President Mark B. Rosenberg says. “This generous and history-making donation will help us educate a new generation of construction professionals who will have an impact on our community and beyond.”

Moss says his motivation is simple: “It’s about the future, the students and providing them with the very best that they deserve. There’s a lot of ingredients to success. But giving back is the most important one.”

Moss is currently the executive vice president of Moss & Associates — a billion-dollar national construction management company with extensive experience in a variety of sectors. The company has received more awards than any Florida-based construction services firm and has worked on numerous large-scale projects.

Laying the foundation

Moss serves on the construction management school’s industry advisory council and on the board of the FIU Foundation. With an earlier $250,000 gift, Moss and his family helped establish the Moss & Associates Built Environment Informatics Lab (BEIL) at FIU, which houses state-of-the-art virtual reality systems that offer numerous educational and research opportunities.

Moss regularly teaches a variety of construction management and real-estate courses at FIU. He has also given to FIU’s Fostering Panther Pride program, which supports former foster care and homeless students. His $50,000 donation was matched by the state, resulting in $100,000 to the program. He also served as a mentor to a student in the program.

Creating bridges to the community

Moss serves on the board of a Broward nonprofit organization called Helping Abused Neglected Disadvantaged Youth (HANDY), which assists youth in foster care.

Several years ago, he led a collaborative initiative between FIU and HANDY that resulted in a scholarship program: FIU provides first-generation scholarships to qualifying HANDY students pursuing higher education.

Civil engineering alumnus Kevin Love ’15 arrived at FIU through this program.

During Love’s junior year at FIU, he met Moss, found a mentor in him and landed an internship at the company. After graduation, Love joined the company full-time as project engineer at the El Paso branch.

“I can’t make up a word to describe the way Chad has impacted my life,” Love says. “He plays the elder brother role. He’s always there for me.”

Love says earning a college degree means a lot to anyone — but especially to former foster care youth.

“It’s bigger than career and money,” he explains. “It’s being perseverant. Knowing
that I had the support system and the opportunity from HANDY through Chad…It made it realistic.”

For Moss, being able to help Panthers find employment is a double blessing. FIU grads find great jobs and his company gets some of the best employees in the business.

“Moss & Associates is proud to be affiliated with FIU,” he says. “I encourage all FIU alumni and South Florida business leaders to solidify your relationship with FIU. If you want success in South Florida, you need FIU grads to make it happen. About 10 percent of our professional workforce at Moss comes from FIU. They are well-prepared, many of them are from the community and they work hard.”  ♦

Pictured above: Chad Moss ’94, center, seated, is joined at the table by President Mark B. Rosenberg and Senior Vice President for University Advancement Howard Lipman as his proud family stands behind him. From left, parents Bob and Sandra Moss and brother and sister-in-law Scott and Katherine Moss. Beside them is Associate Vice President for University Advancement George Corton.  

Humberto “Burt” Cabañas ’76

• Founder and Chairman, Benchmark Hospitality International
• Bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management
• Director, FIU Foundation Board
• 2015 Alumnus of the Year
• 2006 Torch Award Recipient

What is your secret to success? 

I have a sixth sense about people, and in the hospitality industry it’s all about people — your guests, your employees and the owners of the properties you manage. In general, you are only as good as the people who work with you. They must feel good about what they do, support their team and know that they will be held accountable.

You have been in the same industry for 54 years. How does one remain enthusiastic and relevant for the long term?

Love what you do. It is not a nine-to-five mindset. It is a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week commitment. As soon as you finish a task, think about how you can make it better next time. Do not measure success with money. I see my success in how I impact others.

Was there someone who influenced you early on? 

I have had many mentors. Having lost my father when I was 7 years old, mentors served a key role in my life. At FIU, Professor Michael Hurst, who taught several food and beverage management courses, was a big influence on me. When I took his advanced course, I was an assistant manager at a hotel in Miami, and he referenced my experience in class to help other students understand the industry. He also made clear that he had very high expectations for me. We lost a great professor when he passed away in 2001.

You were among the first students to graduate from FIU. What changes have you most appreciated about your alma mater?

My pride in the changes that have taken place does not come from the buildings FIU has built, but a commitment to being the best at everything FIU does.

You serve on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management as well as the FIU Foundation Board. Why stay connected?

I continue my involvement to support any and all activities that help take FIU to the next level of accomplishment, both domestically and internationally.

What do you do for fun?

I enjoy golf. I try to play 50 rounds per year. Fishing in the Keys with friends gives me great peace of mind. And constantly thinking about how to give back keeps me energized.  ♦

1. Why does the university promote campus involvement as an important complement to academics?
We know that certain types of experiences contribute to student learning and success, and so our programs and services are designed with that in mind. Students who are connected to the university and feel a sense of belonging and community are more likely to stay. So, our efforts really focus on engaging students, creating communities and providing opportunities for students to develop.

2. Describe the programs that help students get the most out of their time at FIU.
We offer many! Students can join one of several hundred student organizations, including fraternities and sororities, and participate in service projects within the local, national and global communities. They can go out for intramural sports and fitness programs, take leadership roles within various groups and even serve as peer educators, tutors and resident assistants. The possibilities are truly endless, and we try to help students find what will be most meaningful and enjoyable to them. 

3. Why does the university emphasize what takes place outside of the classroom?
Traditional approaches assumed that knowledge was acquired in the classroom and personal development occurred outside of the classroom. We now understand that student learning is much more integrated. When we provide students with co-curricular experiences such as service learning, leadership development and campus engagement opportunities, we are often helping them to develop competencies such as leadership, teamwork and communication skills that they will need to succeed in their careers. These experiences help students make greater meaning of what they are learning in class.

4. When students encounter serious life challenges, how does FIU help?
We have many resources within the Division of Student Affairs. Our Panthers Care initiative invites concerned students to look out for one another, and so we often learn of someone who is struggling personally, financially or in other ways. We reach out and connect the student with resources such as Counseling and Psychological Services, the Victim Empowerment Program, the Disability Resource Center or our Food Pantry. We want to help students address the obstacles that could become barriers to achieving academic goals.

5. What do alumni tell you about their time as students at FIU?
We hear from alumni all the time. They recognize that many of the experiences they had outside of class helped prepare them for real-life workplace challenges. In some cases, that involvement helped shape their career choices. In others, it taught them how to work in teams, manage projects or give large presentations.  ♦

Startup fever is in the air and growing in Miami. The 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity named it the top city in the country for new companies, outpacing hotbeds such as Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas. And FIU, for years, has contributed to preparing South Florida entrepreneurs for success, even formally launching StartUP FIU in June 2016. Now comes the latest business incubator ­­at FIU, one exclusively for students with dreams of establishing social enterprises: the GOJA Social Innovation Challenge and iChangeFIU competition within the Center for Leadership and Service.

It was the downside of the startup trend that sparked the interest of successful businessman Walter Gonzalez Jr. ’96. He knew that while startups were becoming more common, the number that don’t make it was also very high. (As many as 90 percent fail, as reported by Forbes in 2015).

“Something’s not working,” he recalls thinking. “There’s an environment that pushes you to open a business, but there’s something that’s not helping keep those businesses open.”

Eight years ago, Gonzalez was himself embarking on an e-commerce startup, so he knew something of the hurdles. Today, his company GOJA has transformed into a 21^st century operation, with a successful brick and mortar location and thriving online business. Beyond just selling products online, the company mines its data and has a dedicated team of engineers building smart software that enhance the customer experience, improves efficiencies and allows GOJA to create its own brands. His staff of 75 in South America and Miami help fill approximately 110,000 orders per month, which makes him one of the top 100 sellers on Amazon.com.

With the statistic about startup failure stuck in his head, Gonzalez reached out to Larry Lunsford, vice president for Student Affairs, to see how he might help entrepreneurial students.

“I don’t want to be on a board,” Gonzalez recalls telling Lunsford. “I want to actually work with students. I want to get involved in something positive. I’ve seen a lot of good ideas die, not because the idea wasn’t good, but because they didn’t have support behind it. So, I want to know, how can I work with students? How are they failing?”

Lunsford was happy to oblige. He has worked with students for more than 30 years—among them Gonzalez, who was a student leader on campus in his day—and has always touted the importance of giving back to the community. Now, he was witnessing that in action.

“He’s a phenomenal success,” Lunsford said of Gonzalez. “He got much out of FIU – the spirit to be innovative and to challenge himself. He’s really a humanist. He wants to share what he’s received from others with students who are still growing and developing to make a difference in the next generation.”

With that in mind, Lunsford approached Patricia Lopez-Guerrero, director of the Center for Leadership and Service, to develop an idea.

“FIU students come with a very civic-minded attitude,” said Lopez-Guerrero of what would become the foundation for the new program. “They understand that the world has a lot of problems to fix. They see themselves as global citizens and want to be able to do something to fix the problems. A program like this will give them the resources and tools to know how to get started with that.”

A few months later, the GOJA Social Innovation Challenge and iChangeFIU competition was born with a $50,000 contribution from Gonzalez. It offers a platform for students to present their ideas and vie for the resources. Three finalists receive a $500 mini-grant and mentorship for six months, which will help turn those ideas into viable businesses. From there the finalists go before a final panel of judges who select the winner of a $7,000 grant.

The program includes time for the finalists to be mentored by faculty and others in the field. Gonzalez himself also spent several hours a month meeting with them to go over financial projections and share his own experience of how to run a business.

“When I was 8 years old, I would sell my Halloween candy,” he said of his early introduction to entrepreneurship. “I found my 7^th grade yearbook and it said ‘good luck being an entrepreneur.’ I don’t know where that came from, but, I guess at 12 years old, I was talking about it. I just had that thing in me.”

It’s that thing that he’s hoping to cultivate in young entrepreneurs at FIU.

In March, the inaugural grant was awarded to Andrea Saladrigas ’17 for her idea of training low-income women to become beekeepers. She calls Gonzalez a procedure man, and credits him with giving her guidance to successfully build her social impact company, Master Honey.

“Walter went from being a lawyer with a corporate career to being a successful entrepreneur,” Saladrigas said. “One of the most valuable [things he can offer] are those views. He’s able to help me with that transition of becoming an entrepreneur myself.”

In just the past few months since winning the competition, Saladrigas has been able to grow the business and add partnerships. She’s even crossing state lines, looking for beekeepers as far as Michigan, to expand her network.

It’s that kind of drive and potential that Gonzalez admires. “FIU is a special place,” he said in recognition of what students can do when given the chance. And he is hopeful that, working together, important things will happen.

This year was the first of five years that the GOJA Social Innovation Challenge will take place. Thanks to Gonzalez’s gift, future students will have the ability to learn and grow from the program and mentors like Gonzalez himself.

“I want to help make successful FIU entrepreneurs,” Gonzalez says of the future. “I think we will. But I still have to learn how.”  ♦

Alumnus Emilio Vazquez ’95 is not alone in his love for FIU. He and his wife, Cynthia Vazquez ’95, are both alumni of the university. And now their son Brian, a junior sports management major, and their daughter Emily, a freshman pursuing the medical field, are Panthers, too.

The four – all big FIU sports fans – enjoy spending time together at baseball, football and basketball games. This bond, sparked by a mutual pride in their university, has transformed into their family legacy.

“We’re all Golden Panthers,” Emilio said. “It’s a privilege to be able to say that the entire family has attended Florida International University. I’m going to be tied to FIU forever.”

The university’s desire to cultivate and encourage family legacies, like that of the Vazquez clan, inspired a new initiative by the FIU Alumni Association to get to know the children and grandchildren of proud alumni.

The Panther Legacy Program introduces the sons, daughters and grandchildren of alumni to the university at an early age. Once enrolled, legacy children ages 0 to 16 will receive gifts on select birthdays, event invitations, campus tours, opportunities to chat with FIU admissions officers and more.

Emilio and Cynthia attribute their success to their FIU education – he is senior vice president of Gibraltar Bank and she is a project manager at AvMed – so Emilio is proud to share this university connection with his children, and he is confident in the education they are receiving.

“Thanks to FIU, my wife and I have long-tenured, successful, rewarding careers. This education helped us provide a wonderful life for our family,” he said. “A degree from FIU is an investment that always provides great returns.”

Sanyo Mathew ’04, MS ’08 and his wife, Jency Mathew MS ’05, met as students at FIU. Their Panther pride inspired a blue-and-gold themed wedding in 2009.

The Mathews, pictured above, have two young children – Ethan, 4, and Emma, 1 – and the idea that they might one day follow in their parents’ footsteps at FIU is an exciting prospect.

“I love the university. I’m indebted to the university for my professional and academic endeavors,” said Sanyo, who now serves as senior director for the Graham Center at FIU. “So for me, to have my children take the same path and be part of the institution I’m part of would mean the world to me.”

Sanyo noted that, already at the age of 4, Ethan is eager about the university – he once told his daycare providers that he wants to work on computers at FIU when he grows up, just like his daddy.

Sanyo feels the program is a good way to get children excited about going to college and about FIU, in particular. “I’m glad we’re cultivating these relationships early.”

Brian and Emily Vazquez think the program could help reduce the stress of choosing the right university; and as legacies, they feel a special connection to FIU and their parents – a bond they hope other families, like the Mathews, can develop, too.

“Helping kids learn about FIU – their parents’ or grandparents’ alma mater – makes the university part of your family’s history, like FIU is for us.”  ♦

Click here to sign your future Panther up for the Panther Legacy Program.

Additional reporting by Clara-Meretan Kiah

The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU has opened a traveling exhibit that addresses the many faces of inhumanity.

“Evil: A Matter of Intent” displays works by more than 35 artists and depicts atrocities such as genocide, torture and slavery. Among the works on display: a photograph of the smoldering Twin Towers, a bronze-and-glass sculpture symbolizing the anti-Jewish pogroms of Kristallnacht and sketches of the homeless. Scattered between the professional pieces are crayon drawings by children who directly experienced the terror camps in Darfur.

“Evil is not a cosmic accident,” said the New York-based curator of the original exhibit, Laura Kruger. “It does not just happen. Evil is a deliberate action or inaction. Evil is the violation of our common humanity.”

Themes of indifference and denial surface alongside those of bullying and cruelty. Handcuffs and a costume used by the KKK are among artifacts that establish a chilling atmosphere for what should be an uncomfortable experience for the viewer.

“This exhibition is timely and powerful,” said Susan Gladstone, the museum’s acting executive director. “These artists tackle issues we are all confronting right now, at this juncture in history. They bring evil to light from a multitude of shadowy angles, capturing historical events and expressing outrage. They leave us, the viewers, to our own responses – and possibly to our own personal calls to action.”

On loan from the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, the Miami version of “Evil: A Matter of Intent” was created by Jacqueline Goldstein, the curator at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, 301 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. The exhibit runs through October 1, 2017.  ♦

The catalyst for His Holiness’ stop was Nathan Katz, then a professor of religious studies and now a distinguished professor emeritus, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. As a young man in the early 1970s, Katz studied in India, where the Dalai Lama had established a training center and personal base after the 1950 Chinese invasion of his Tibetan homeland. There began a lifelong friendship with a man that, as Katz puts it, “was just the Dalai Lama, not a rock star yet.” (His celebrity would grow in later years, first with the very public devotion of actor and activist Richard Gere and, in 1989, his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize.)

In 1995, Katz got a call at home from someone asking him to meet, almost immediately, with the Dalai Lama during a layover at Miami International Airport. Katz grabbed his wife and toddler son and headed out the door. An hour-long discussion about science and religion in a hotel room ended with Katz suggesting that his former teacher plan a trip to campus to receive an honorary degree. The Dalai Lama said yes.

As Katz recalls, the next morning he sheepishly phoned President Modesto A. Maidique to apologize for having broken protocol by extending an invitation that was not his to make. The news was greeted with delight, and four years later the vaunted and beloved guru captivated the commencement crowd as he accepted a Doctor of Divinity and delivered words of wisdom in a packed FIU arena.

In the midst of much pomp, circumstance and a luncheon gathering with FIU donors, trustees, administrators and faculty, attention turned briefly to Katz’s seven-year-old son, Rafael “Rafi” Katz, as he sweetly greeted one of the world’s most famous men.

“I remember everything,” about that special day, says Rafi Katz, currently an FIU senior majoring in parks management. From dressing in the little Nehru suit to presenting a traditional white scarf to the Tibetan leader—the item was returned, over the neck, with a blessing—he says the experience had a profound impact.

And his study of Tibetan Buddhism in subsequent years “made a huge impression on how I think and my belief system,” says Rafi Katz, who follows his family’s Jewish faith but feels “a big connection” to the other religion. Attracted to the emphasis on meditation and ideals such as compassion and patience, which his upbringing reinforced, he has incorporated those aspects into his own life.

Today a framed copy of the above photo hangs in the Katz family dining room, having been signed years later by the DL himself, who also inscribed a short prayer.

Adds Nathan Katz, of his friend, with whom he maintains ties, “I have never in my life met anyone that comes close to him, his presence. When he looks at you, he sees the depth of your soul. He is loving, kind and curious.”  ♦

Pictured above: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, is greeted by Rafael “Rafi” Katz in 1999 at FIU. The boy’s father, Nathan Katz, stands to the far left with then-Provost Mark B. Rosenberg and security personnel looking on. Photo courtesy of FIU Special Collections & University Archives

FIU has implemented new teaching methods resulting in double-digit pass rate increases across introductory math courses.

Throughout higher education, math courses have some of the highest failure rates nationwide. Even though math is a skill nearly every person uses on a daily basis, it has become a significant impediment to degree completion. FIU is not immune to this reality. It is what led to the creation of the Math Mastery program in 2010 — a high-tech, high-touch approach to improving student performance in College Algebra. FIU’s Math Mastery Program, which utilizes evidence-based teaching techniques including peer mentoring and a state-of-the-art computer lab, has since led to other projects that are reversing course on this trend.

“Students often have difficulties in reproducing the work they see in lectures. In lectures they are watching someone else do the math rather than generating the mathematical ideas on their own,” said Leanne Wells, director of the Math Mastery program. “The math lab provides students with support for when they are trying to do the math on their own and get stuck.”

With the implementation of new approaches to teaching this past academic year, nearly 900 students who were at-risk of failing were able to successfully complete their lower division math courses. This is in addition to more than 1,300 students who successfully completed College Algebra — but would have likely failed using previous teaching methods — since the inception of the Math Mastery program.

The transformation included onsite and online versions of Precalculus Algebra, Trigonometry, Finite Math and Social Choice Math. Prior to this intervention, the combined average pass rate in those four courses was just 37 percent. During the 2014-2015 academic year, pass rates increased to 52 percent while the rigor of the curriculum remained intact.

Faculty engagement was a key component. A team approach was devised, allowing for cross-collaborations on common issues and challenges. Special workshops were offered to arm the professors with new, evidence-based teaching methods.

In addition to new teaching methods and peer learning, technology is also playing a role. High-tech components include personal response devices, such as iClickers, which provide real-time feedback for students and instructors. But ultimately, the success is tied to the relationships between students and the course content.

“Part of what’s exciting is how engaged faculty are getting in the intellectual development of teaching,” said Suzanna Rose, executive director of the School of Integrated Science and Humanity and associate dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. “Twelve new hires joined the department. All lower division professors meet weekly to evaluate the criterion based on what students have to know to perform well in the class and be prepared for the next course in their academic plan.”

Read more: Higher education gets a reboot to help students succeed

In addition, an important component to the changes being implemented in FIU’s math classes is the use of Learning Assistants. The Learning Assistant (LA) program was pioneered in Physics as a teacher preparation program during a time when enrollment numbers were steadily dropping for physics majors. Today, the peer-mentoring program is being implemented at a much greater scale. In addition to physics and math, FIU has deployed LAs in chemistry, earth sciences and biological sciences. FIU currently has the largest LA program in the country, with 178 Learning Assistants supporting more than 6,700 enrollments in 110 sections of STEM courses in nine disciplines.

Additional lower division courses that will undergo instructional transformation at FIU include Introduction to Statistics for Behavioral Science I and II, and Geometry for Educators — all are important gateway courses critical to improving student success.

“With full implementation, this transformation has the potential to positively impact the nearly 12,000 students who take undergraduate math courses each year at FIU,” Wells said.  ♦

FIU Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth G. Furton (pictured above, right) and Abuzar Kabir of the College of Arts, Sciences & Education (above, left) led the discovery. Furton, an analytical chemist and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors who has five patents to his name and another six pending, and Kabir, a materials expert, collaborated on a way to simplify and enhance the chemical testing conducted by technicians in medical labs and coroners’ offices, as well as by environmental scientists in the field. Specifically, they wanted to improve the sample preparation process.

Currently, to test for an illicit drug in urine or a pollutant in waste water, for example, the component to be analyzed must be separated from the sample in a complicated, multi-operation process that involves solvents and expensive devices. Depending upon a sample’s physical and chemical properties, achieving the required level of component extraction can take 24 hours or longer, and that time does not include the actual chemical testing.

Among the materials the two scientists considered as a base for their portfolio of new chemical coatings was the same cotton muslin used to make apparel. The team of researchers experimented by applying a different coating to several postage stamp-size swatches and putting them in direct contact with various liquid samples. They were shocked by the result: Within 15 minutes, each of the targeted components was extracted in a quantity suitable for analysis.

The FIU extraction method absorbs a greater amount of a component than currently available methods, which reduces the chances of false negatives and thereby improves the conclusiveness of test results. It also requires the use of little or no solvents, many of which are toxic, making testing environmentally friendlier.

Already, researchers at 30 universities worldwide have devoted extensive time and effort to validating the patented technology, and more than 20 related peer-reviewed journal articles have been accepted for publication.

“It’s exciting to have so many laboratories around the world demonstrating the advantages of our technology,” Furton says. “We hope this will be a game changer for the industry.”

The university is currently working to commercialize the invention for widespread use in a variety of applications.  ♦

Someone with a keen eye, an exhaustive knowledge of world history and the means to purchase pretty much whatever he deems a valuable artifact needs more than a closet to hold his treasures.

Mitchell “Micky” Wolfson Jr. has devoted a lifetime to collecting objects—180,000 and counting—that reflect the design as well as the social and political upheaval of the era that spans the height of the Industrial Revolution through the aftermath of World War II. Today many of them live at the Wolfsonian-FIU.

The Miami Beach museum, library and research center focuses on North American and European decorative arts, architecture and industrial and graphic design from 1850 to 1950. It houses furniture, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, paintings and more. The collection, including books and documents, serves as a resource for scholars investigating topics such as the impact of media and other activities used to promote the New Deal in the 1930s and attitudes of the Russian imperial family toward its subjects of non-Russian stock. The galleries offer an unprecedented opportunity for amateur historians and casual visitors alike to view such disparate work as modernist clocks and radios, art nouveau coffee pots, an English sideboard in the Arts and Crafts style, World’s Fair posters and Nazi propaganda.

In 2017 the university celebrates the 20^th anniversary of Wolfson’s philanthropic contribution of his unique trove and the magnificent Art Deco building in which it resides. (He also donated a second building that stores what is not on display.)

“The Wolfsonian-FIU is a jewel and one of the most fascinating museums in the country,” FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg says. “It teaches us something about a time that continues to impact our own.”

The museum is open to the public, with free admission to FIU students, alumni and employees. It is located at 1001 Washington Ave.  ♦

On a quiet, 30-acre property near West Palm Beach, Fla., 19 Florida grasshopper sparrows are starting to sing.

These tiny songbirds bask in the breezes that flow through their custom enclosure. They know the nesting season is near. Named for their song, which resembles the sounds of grasshoppers, the sparrows are blissfully unaware that they are among the last of their kind. These birds share the property with a motley crew of endangered wildlife. There are the east African bongo antelopes, living far from the poachers and habitat destruction that have pushed their species to the brink of extinction. Golden lion tamarins can be seen across the way, part of a 40-year breeding program that has helped restore the species in the forests of Brazil. Large birds and tiny primates make up the rest of the residents of the property. They are part of a broad initiative in the Tropical Conservation Institute (TCI), a collaboration between FIU and the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF).

The Florida grasshopper sparrows are the newest addition to the RSCF property. Less than 60 breeding pairs remain in the wild today, according to Karl Miller with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Some say it could be fewer than 25. At about an ounce, the bird’s tiny size makes it difficult to find. Their cryptic coloring of brown feathers with flecks of gray works like camouflage. They’re also very elusive, so keeping tabs on them is difficult. Yet, scientists know it is one of the most imperiled birds on the planet. FIU conservationist Paul Reillo is more blunt.

“This bird is going to go extinct in the wild. There’s no question about that.”

Reillo is the director of TCI and founder of RSCF. For 35 years, the biologist has fought to save species through field-based conservation and, when necessary, captive-breeding programs. The team of researchers that make up TCI is working across the world to protect and restore populations of birds, land animals and marine species. The institute has received core funding support from the Batchelor Foundation to help sustain its programs. Nearly every species the researchers are working with are fighting for survival. Many are winning.

In the 1980s, populations of the red-browed Amazon parrot were falling to desperately low numbers. The species, with its distinctive green feathers and striking red crown, appeared to be headed for extinction, nothing more than a footnote in the history of the planet’s biodiversity. Reillo and the RSCF team gave captive breeding a try.

They started with 11 birds. Today, nearly 30 years later, the red-brow’s numbers have grown to nearly 100 in captivity, and are making a comeback in the wild. Reillo thinks the same could happen for the Florida grasshopper sparrow.

“It’s a species on life support,” he said. “We need to pull out all the stops this year. There is definitely optimism around here, but this bird is facing its end. It’s scary.”

The Florida grasshopper sparrow has been listed as an endangered species since 1986. It is not a migratory bird and historically was only known to nest in the dry prairie grasses of central and southern Florida. As much as 90 percent of the sparrow’s natural habitat has been developed, and today there is only one area left in the wild where the sparrows are known to reside — a swath of land not far from Walt Disney World. The sparrow population in that area has experienced a brutal decline in the past five years.

In 2015, seven young hatchlings, some abandoned and the rest from nests expected to fail, were put into the care of Reillo and his team — the first time the species was brought into captivity. Reillo was expecting a slow start, but the captive clutch shocked everyone when two birds mated and produced four hatchlings in the first year. The team had little time to celebrate because, soon after, heavy rains flooded the prairie. State and federal wildlife officials recovered as many eggs as they could and brought those to Reillo for incubation and rearing.

“This little bird is doing everything to stay on planet Earth, but the odds are against it,” Reillo said. “We have problems on every front. Financial. Disease. Habitat.”

When asked if the Florida grasshopper sparrow can elude extinction, Reillo doesn’t have an answer. But with so few left on the planet, he says captive breeding is the difference between this bird being here and not.

Listen to these tiny songbirds sing

Sandra Sneckenberger, an endangered species recovery biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says the Florida grasshopper sparrow is a tough species to take on. Few were willing to be involved in a captive breeding program, she said, but federal officials knew Reillo and his team could give the sparrow a fighting chance.

The species presents unique challenges for scientists. The bird’s size makes it difficult to handle and nearly impossible to examine. No long-term captive-breeding program exists for similar sparrow species, so the team has no template to follow. Little is known about their immunity or to what diseases they are susceptible. Scientists often recover remains of animals to investigate cause of death and determine if populations suffer from parasitic diseases, bacterial infections or other illnesses. But just as their size and secretive nature make them difficult to locate while alive, it’s nearly impossible to find the bodies of Florida grasshopper sparrows when they die. Since first being placed into captivity, a few were discovered to be carriers of a disease from the wild population.

Reillo says it is now fair to presume that, along with habitat loss, disease has played a part in the species’ decline. The team is investigating this and other health issues while the breeding program continues.

“We don’t have enough time to resolve all the disease questions right now,” he said. “It would take us more time to investigate the diseases than this bird has left. Everything has to happen concurrently.”

The team includes a handful of avian keepers and husbandry specialists. This summer, two FIU undergraduate students will also join the program for internships. This team will enjoy little rest now that the nesting season has begun. They will watch over any eggs, help rear hatchlings and conduct round-the-clock feedings. Because the 19 captive sparrows all arrived as young birds or eggs, they didn’t learn from their parents how to nurture their young or live in the wild. The team hopes to discourage domestication of the captive sparrows, keeping them as wild as possible, so their descendants might someday be able to return to the wild.

Sneckenberger said U.S. Fish and Wildlife anticipates more sparrows will be taken into captivity this year through emergency interventions due to flooding, fire ants or other threats. There may also be some collections of family groups to introduce wild birds into captivity that exhibit natural behaviors, helping to teach those reared in captivity.

The RSCF facilities are an ideal fit for the 19 sparrows currently residing at the property. But if the breeding program continues its success and more wild sparrows are introduced into the captive setting as planned, TCI will need to expand the facilities and deal with the rising costs of sustaining the delicate species. The project is currently supported by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, dedicated funds from RSCF and donations. The annual cost to maintain the current birds exceeds $65,000, a figure that is expected to increase as the number of sparrows increases. Of all the challenges faced by the Florida grasshopper sparrow, this may be the most welcomed.

For many species, the FIU Tropical Conservation Institute is the final hope. This is especially true for Florida’s tiny grasshopper sparrow where the fight for survival will be difficult, and the odds long. But because of TCI, there is hope — hope for survival and hope for many songs to come.  ♦

Floridians clambered to prepare for the impact of the fall 2016 storm, eyes glued to the news as it devastated Haiti and Cuba. Schools closed, and families living along the coast were encouraged to evacuate.

All the while, Castell and his team were preparing to implement a hurricane response-and-recovery plan.

Castell’s training in FIU’s Master of Disaster Management program, combined with 19 years’ experience on the force, made him perfect to lead the city’s emergency management team.

“When I was approached for this position, it’s because it had come to the attention of the captain that I was finishing up FIU’s program, and he had heard a lot of good things about it,” Castell said. “It really catapulted me into this position.”

As Matthew drew closer to the Florida coast, Castell advised the police chief — who made the ultimate decisions — on key strategic moves to ensure citizens’ safety and a smooth response-and-recovery period post-storm.

“It was quite the pressure cooker, but fortunately everything worked out very well,” Castell said. In the end, Matthew left Miami-Dade County relatively unscathed, but made landfall in northern Florida and destroyed much of the coast into North Carolina.

At FIU, disaster management students learn that preparing for the worst is an ongoing process, much of which occurs when there is no threat.

“This is a profession where you can make a difference in people’s lives, not just after a disaster, but often before — to better educate, train and prepare them, and strengthen the community so the impacts are so much less,” said Ruben D. Almaguer, FIU’s assistant vice president for disaster management & emergency operations and executive director for the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness.

Ahead of the curve

In the fall of 2015, FIU became the first university in the state to offer a dedicated master’s degree program in disaster management, joining a shortlist of universities nationwide that offer programs preparing professionals to handle large-scale emergencies, including the University of Chicago and Georgetown University.

Program directors sought advice from top employers in the field on the coursework and experience they would want to see on graduates’ resumes. The result was a 12-month-long professional program that trains students in planning, media relations, hazard analysis, public health, mitigation, response and recovery, critical decision-making and more. Classes take place on Saturday to accommodate students’ full-time work schedules.

The federal government’s slipshod response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 highlighted the need to develop such programs.

“Katrina really sent a message to emergency managers. ‘What if this was my state? How would I have responded?’” said former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator David Paulison, who spoke to the 2015 and 2016 cohorts about lessons learned following the New Orleans disaster. “After that, we saw a great interest in people preparing themselves for major events. It’s about preparing employees and preparing your system.”

The impact of disasters worldwide is growing. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, disasters have caused $1.4 trillion in damages worldwide since 2005, killing 700,000 and affecting 1.7 billion people.

At FIU, diverse student cohorts bring together police officers, firefighters, military, lawyers, doctors, nurses and others — many of whom have worked in their fields for years  — to transform their professional experience to help people on a larger scale.

“Many of our students are in six-figure professions today working in great jobs,” Almaguer said. “They want a master’s degree because they want to be the next police chief, the next fire chief, the next CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, the next surgeon general for the state of Florida.”

Throughout the semester, students hear from a variety of guest speakers, including Mike Marx, a senior civil-military coordination advisor for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. And professors offer their firsthand insights into the field, preparing students with insider knowledge.

“The faculty do so much. They bring a sense of reality to the field,” said current class president Bridget Pelaez. “They’re visceral in the sense that they are not here to show you a superficial layer of anything. They are here to peel back the onion layer by layer. They even tell you personal mistakes and personal goals.”

The program emphasizes collaboration and networking among students — relationships that will prove useful in the field as organizations often must work together to respond to emergencies.

“I’m sitting in a room with a guy who used to disarm bombs, and to the right of me is a fire marshal and in front of me is a U.S. Marshal, so the conversations are bigger and more global than they would be at another table,” said Pelaez, who is a disaster response nurse. “It’s 100 percent inspiring.”

Pelaez, a member of the FIU-Florida Advanced Surgical Transport team, the university’s all-volunteer team of medical professionals trained to respond to disasters, came to FIU after working in disaster response for years. She has deployed to multiple national and international situations, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, during which she tended to rural victims at a clinic set up in an orphanage. Having taken on leadership roles throughout her career, a degree that would boost her management capabilities was a natural choice.

“I felt like I wanted to help more people around the world, and that if I tied myself to a corporation or a hospital, I wouldn’t be able to still fight and go after that global compassion I knew I wanted to achieve. Every time I was deployed to a disaster, that’s where I really felt like a nurse, and I really felt like I naturally just stepped up to operations level.”

Castell found his way to FIU after six years in the Army National Guard and nearly two decades on the force, where he led the bomb squad and supervised the intelligence and terrorism unit.

“I always wanted to transition my career into the realm of emergency management, and I felt this was in line with those career goals.”

China Walker MA ’16 chose FIU for its location.

“I was interested in South Florida because it’s [so] impacted by hurricanes. It’s a great community to learn about disaster management.”

An emphasis on experience

As an employer, Paulison looks for people who have both an educational foundation and solid experience in the workforce.

“We want someone who is a go-getter,” Paulison said. “It’s not an easy job. It’s a lot of work before a disaster and a significant amount after. You don’t get a lot of sleep. You need someone willing to work and who has a real interest in disaster management.”

Students at FIU are encouraged to pursue internships in the field before graduation to boost their resumes and give them a realistic idea of the job.

Walker interned in the planning section of the Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management. There, she had the opportunity to help with preparedness projects, emergency evacuation plans and public outreach.

“It gave me an insight into the incident command structure and helped with writing documents for response, which was one of the most important things I could learn. I saw how the final product presented to the public was formed,” said Walker, who now works in Washington, D.C., at an IT company that contracts with the federal government. “It was definitely an important experience and probably the reason I have the job I currently have.”

Pelaez also interned at the Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management. During her time there, she assisted in creating plans to contain communicable diseases on cruise ships and to more efficiently staff medical evacuation centers by potentially using FIU medical and nursing students as volunteers.

“That would give back to the community, and it would also allow FIU students to add emergency response to their resumes,” Pelaez said. “I look at it as, ‘How can I help my community, and how can I help people who want to help?’”

Student Pedro Duran Padovani currently interns at FIU’s Department of Emergency Management, where he helps devise emergency plans. A 26-year-old physician who earned a medical degree from Universidad Americana in Santo Domingo, he hopes to use his background in public health as an international humanitarian, perhaps working for the World Health Organization.

“In my internship, I’m taking what I learn in class and applying it to the real world,” he says. “When I started the program I thought it was going to be a lot of fieldwork, but no. The process of applying and implementing plans, learning what we can do with what we have and how to do it, is the most important part.”

A final that challenges students’ limits

In July 2016, the imperiled (and fictitious) country of Bockistan, situated in the Himalayas, was rocked by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. Students were flown in by helicopter to assist first responders. For 48 hours, the cohort lived in tents on a makeshift base camp they set up themselves, eating military rations and fighting the heat and mosquitoes of Bockistan (staged at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Urban Search & Rescue Team and Air Rescue).

Their mission: Devise and implement a plan to coordinate governmental and non-governmental organizations’ aid to Bockistani people.

There’s no multiple choice involved in this final exam. The field simulation puts students’ knowledge of course content and decision-making skills to the test in an environment designed to mimic the physical and mental stresses of managing a real-life disaster.

“It puts you in the mindset of what to expect if you were to deploy to a rural or international location,” Walker said. “It was very realistic.”

It’s an enlightening experience that helps students — like Walker, who was new to the field when she enrolled in the program — determine where they ultimately want to end up in this line of work.

“I think the field exercise really put things into perspective. There’s tons of work done behind the scenes, and I realized that’s where I fit. It was a really good learning experience and drove my career goals.”

Adds former FEMA administrator Paulison: “I think this is an excellent program. This profession is about taking care of families, and I think they’re taking those lessons very seriously at FIU.”  ♦

Stories of violence, pain and innocent lives lost headline local and national news daily. These same grim headlines, however, set the opening scene for a community-driven effort to counter violence with theatre.

“The R+J Effect,” an adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” featuring the talents of ten local high schoolers and four FIU alumni, challenges audience members to think critically about how rash decisions made in the name of honor or passion can change entire communities forever.

The hip-hop-themed production, set in modern day, opens with the death of a child in a drive-by shooting, wracking onlookers with grief over a fast-growing trend of violence in the community. The play then follows the iconic, feuding houses of the Montagues and the Capulets – this time portrayed as African-American and Hispanic families, respectively.

Rap interludes between scenes – adapted from the original prose by the performers with the help of FIU theatre alumnus and upcoming rapper ToBy – foreshadow the tragedy that most viewers know awaits them at the end of the play.

“Because of the constant news, I feel like people have become so numb to this topic of violence that they sometimes brush it off. But merging the issue with theatre is something that will help people connect to it more because they can relate to the familiar ‘Romeo and Juliet’ story,” said Coral Reef High School sophomore Sofia De La Grana, who played Juliet.

Shakespearean language mingles with “Spanglish,” slang and pop culture terms like “selfie” throughout the play. The verses were adapted by “R+J” director Phillip Church, with input from the actors, into “parabethan,” a blend of modern English with original Elizabethan language that helps make the play more accessible to a young audience.

Though the topic of “translating” Shakespeare into modern English is heavily debated, Church, a theatre professor at FIU, said the idea behind his adaptation is to ensure the anti-violence message is not lost in language that teenagers can have difficulty understanding.

“I think if Shakespeare knew the 21st century and the difficulties we have with communication, he would want his plays to be adapted and moved into a place where young people could really get ahold of them.”

Three shows in total, held at Coral Park High School, Miami Senior High School and Seminole Theatre in May 2017, entreated audiences of high school students and their parents to advocate against violence in the community and work together toward a brighter, safer future.

Production meets mentorship

The play was produced by What if Works Inc., an acting company led by Church and manned partly by his standout former students. The company provides community-based, paid acting experience to build the budding actors’ resumes. The production represented a collaboration with the Miami-Dade Police Department, from which officers participated directly in the show, Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Together for Children task force, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, which funded stipends paid to the alumni.

During rehearsal, which ran from October to May, the FIU actors coached the high schoolers on things like technique, projection and putting emotion into their lines. It was a mutually beneficial opportunity – the alumni gained experience as mentors, and the high schoolers, some of whom had no prior acting experience, were able to build their skills by working with experienced actors.

Fine arts alumna Juanita Olivo ’16, who played Lady Capulet, served as one of the mentors, a rewarding experience for her as someone who didn’t get into acting until she was a junior at FIU.

“I never studied drama or theatre in high school, so this project got me really excited to help inspire young people to pursue theatre. I got to help mold them and train them. I got to be in this position where kids looked to me for guidance and to be able to help build their skills, and it was incredible,” Olivo said.

For theatre and English alumna Adele Robinson ’17, who played Lady Montague, the opportunity to mentor the high schoolers gave her a first taste of her dream to teach drama.

“Theatre education is really near and dear to my heart, so working with these high school students has been a really cool process,” Robinson said. “It was a learning experience for me to work on getting them to focus and develop their skills. It helped me grow in terms of patience, and it was cool to see them grow as well.”

Coral Reef High School sophomore Brandon Hastick, who played Romeo, felt the one-on-one interactions with Church and the FIU alumni were invaluable. Having only gotten into acting as a freshman, he was able to hone his technique, which will help him excel in the drama program at Coral Reef.

“We’re up-and-coming actors, and in this business you need to learn from people who have already experienced the realm of acting and landed professional roles,” Hastick said.

Said Church: “It’s very challenging on these young actors, especially for the high schoolers, who have been thrown in the deep end. But they’ve done very well.”

Engaging viewers on social issues

What sets this production apart from other modernized adaptations of “Romeo and Juliet” is that the actors pause four times throughout the show to hold audience discussions on topics like parental authority, emotional impulse and drugs and escapism. The discourse is designed to make viewers, most of whom are young adults, think critically about what they’ve witnessed.

Once such dialogue takes place while Lady Capulet argues with Juliet about her arranged marriage to Paris. The actors freeze when Lady Capulet grabs Juliet’s arm to stop her from turning away, and the audience is asked to talk about times when they’ve had difficult conversations with their own parents concerning conflicting plans for the children’s futures.

“This discussion could be hard for the audience because the topic of a mother-daughter relationship is something very tender within, for example, the Hispanic community,” said Olivo. “It isn’t socially acceptable to talk about the gritty details of your relationship with your mother, and I drew on my own life experience and that of my friends to prepare for this scene between me and Juliet.”

Other discussions occur after Tybalt kills Mercutia (Mercutio is a girl in this version), leading Romeo to kill Tybalt out of revenge for his friend. The audience is asked to think about how the boys’ rash decisions, made based on skewed notions of family honor, ended in pain and loss for both houses.

“The cycle of violence in the play is ongoing. It’s not just one person with a hatchet they can’t bury. That’s the cruel irony of the play. It’s an ancient grudge. They want to keep the fight alive even though everyone has forgotten the original reason the hatred existed,” Church said.

“How could things have ended differently?” Coach Lawrence, played by performance alumnus Zachary Myers ’15, asked the crowd of teenagers. Coach Lawrence is a combination of a modern Friar Lawrence and the Apothecary. He teaches the kids’ history class in the play and also happens to be the dealer who supplies Romeo with the drug that kills him in the final act of the play.

“Unfortunately the popular thing is to turn to drugs and violence in vulnerable moments,” said one of the Miami-Dade police officers who was on hand during the performance to help facilitate the discussions. “Young people think it’s a quick solution to their problems, maybe because they’re not talking to the right person or the right mentor who can guide them in a different direction.”

“Young people do a lot of things impulsively, without thinking about the repercussions, and that’s definitely the overall theme of the play,” added Coral Park High School junior Maximilian Guerra, who played Paris, a returning soldier and the Capulets’ favored suitor for Juliet.

Outside of rehearsal, the high schoolers visited local town hall meetings on behalf of Together for Children to speak to parents and students about the growing issue of violence in the South Florida community.

“It’s a way to get the message across to the people who are going to grow up and be the change,” said Guerra. “As a teenager, it’s easier to hear something I need to hear from a peer than from an adult just giving me a lecture about it. The play sparks the conversations that need to be had.”

In the future, Church hopes to take “The R+J Effect” on the road. He hopes the show will inspire other high school theatre programs to mount similar productions that incorporate dialogue on social issues, creating a domino effect that reaches as many communities as possible.

“This project in Miami is only the beginning.”  ♦

1970s

Carlos Migoya ’74, MBA ’76 received the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s most prestigious honor, the Sand in My Shoes Award, which recognizes a community leader who has made significant contributions to the South Florida area.


1980s

Don Slesnick MPA ’80 is the new president and chair of the Orange Bowl Committee.


1990s

Omar Lopez-Chahoud ’90 curated an exhibition, “The Fire Theory,” at Prosjektrom Normanns, a nonprofit art organization in Stavanger, Norway, in April. The exhibition featured the work of four Salvadoran artists.

Rick Fernandez ’93 was promoted to managing director of a wealth advisory team at Northern Trust.

Biana Murnane BS ’95, M. Acc. ’01 was named executive vice president and chief financial officer at BrightStar Credit Union. She started there in 1997 as a controller.


2000s

Janet Henfield-Green ’00, MBA ’07 was promoted to senior vice president and Aventura market manager at Marquis Bank, where she is responsible for developing the bank’s presence in northeast Miami-Dade and south Broward.

Cisely Scott ’00 was named the 2017 Assistant Principal of the Year by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Scott serves at Lenora B. Smith Elementary.

Cristina di Mauro ’01 was promoted to senior executive vice president at BankUnited. She is a member of the College of Business’ Dean’s Council.

FIU legal eagles soar: Ela Hernandez ’06, Maria Piva ’10, Karim Batista JD ’13 and Charles Kondla JD ’13 were honored among the Hispanic National Bar Association’s “2017 Top Lawyers Under 40” in March. The designation recognizes accomplished lawyers who have demonstrated professional excellence, integrity, leadership, commitment to the Hispanic community and dedication to improving the legal profession.

Emma Pacetti ’06 joined TotalBank as senior vice president and director of banking centers. She was previously vice president and sales manager at Citibank.

Hugo Mojica MPA ’07 joined the Houston Astros as a coordinator for community relations and the Astros Foundation.

Kantesh Balani Ph.D. ’07 was awarded 2016 “Metallurgist of the Year.” The award is given by the Indian government to the most promising materials scientists. Balani is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology. 

Lourdes Cortizo-Acevedo ’07 is special legal counsel to the director for field legal operations at the office of the principal legal advisor within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She previously earned recognition as an asylum officer with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Yasin Daneshfar MBA ’09 joined Becker & Poliakoff, a commercial law firm, as an associate focusing on complex litigation and bankruptcy.


2010s

Ana-Paola Capaldo ’10, associate general counsel for global ethics and compliance at Laureate Education Inc., was featured on the cover of the February 2017 Compliance & Ethics Professional trade magazine.

Ana Cristina Cash ’10 in March 2017 released “The Tough Love,” an extended play recording made at the famous Cash Cabin Studio.


Joseph Goldberg JD ’11 and Amber Kornreich JD ’15 were among “40 Under 40 Outstanding Lawyers of South Florida” honored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Katherine Smith ’12 was hired as an artist manager for Columbia Artists Management in New York City.

Robert Colom ’13, a longtime staffer of the Miami Film Festival, facilitated a partnership between the festival and Google to create a seminar series in 2016 that addressed gender and racial gaps in the film industry.

Lynne Wideline Gassant MS ’15, Mrs. Palm Beach County 2017, competed for the title of Mrs. Florida United States in April. Currently working as a talent acquisition recruiter, Gassant runs the nonprofit Scholar Career Coaching, which mentors students in after-school programs and has awarded 10 scholarships.

Jeremy Thompson MS ’10, JD ’16 published “Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline: South Florida’s Approach” on February 2, 2017, in Harvard Law and Policy Review. 

A recent Alumni Association-sponsored trip to Chile brought together dozens of FIU graduates, their spouses and new friends for wine country tours and stops at historic sites. Among those enjoying the scenery, from left, Senior Vice President for External Relations Sandra Gonzalez-Levy, Margarita Villacampa ’90, Angela Martinez and Irene Rodriguez. For information about upcoming trips, click here.

FIU Professor Emeritus of Art History  Juan A. Martínez  is a leading scholar on Cuban and Cuban-American art. Martinez will be honored at an  upcoming conference  on Cuban art hosted by FIU’s  Cuban Research Institute  June 23-24.

FIU News sat down with Martínez to learn more about his work and his journey as an art history educator and scholar.

Much of your research and work has been dedicated to shedding light on Cuban art and artists. What is it about Cuban art that captures your attention?

I am attracted to Cuban art for various reasons. First, I like the look of it, and I relate to its subject matter – the Cuban landscape, the city of Havana, the island’s people, its traditions and culture. I also realized in the early 1980s that there were important collections of Cuban art in Miami and no one was studying them.

Can you tell us about some of the Cuban/Cuban American artistic movements or artists that interest you the most?

I have followed the art of quite a few Cuban Americans over the past 40 years. I am most interested in and have written about the so-called Miami Generation, a loose group of about a dozen artists who emerged in Miami in the late 1970s and 1980s. I am attracted to their work because it touches areas of my own experience as a Cuban-born person who came of age in Miami. The Museum of Art of Fort Lauderdale had an exhibition a couple of years ago, which included most of them. It published a beautiful catalogue: The Miami Generation Revisited.

You taught numerous art history classes at FIU for more than two decades, impacting countless students. What was your favorite part about teaching?

I began to teach at FIU in 1989 and taught courses in European, American and Cuban modern and contemporary art. My favorite part of working at FIU was the students. Through my enthusiasm and interest in art history, I was able to get their attention and keep the majority interested in a field that was new to most of them. I was also lucky to work with fine colleagues who strived to make the curriculum relevant, set high standards and cared about their teaching.

What role do you think art plays in maintaining or transforming cultural identity for Cuban Americans and Cuban immigrants in the United States?

Art is information. I believe that Cuban art can help Cuban immigrants and Cuban Americans to know more about their cultural identity, history and maybe even something about themselves as individuals. Like all art, it also provides visual pleasure.

Are there a few recurring themes you’ve discovered in Cuban/Cuban American art?

There are some general recurring themes in Cuban art up to the 1950s: the countryside, Havana, Afro-Cuban traditions, the Spanish heritage and music.

Your book on renowned artist and FIU alumna Maria Brito won first place in the Best Arts Book category at the 11th Annual International Latin Book Awards in 2010. What did it mean for you, on a professional and/or personal level, to write about an artist as accomplished as Brito?

I was delighted to hear that a national panel of art historians who study Latino art chose to publish a monograph on Maria Brito and asked me to write it. I had known Maria for many years and I am a fan of her work. She is a versatile artist who works in ceramics, mixed media sculptures and painting. Her work is one long, sincere and highly imaginative quest for self-knowledge and realization.

One of your most acclaimed works is  Cuban Art & National Identity: The Vanguardia Painters, 1927 – 1950. Can you tell us a bit about this book and what you find most fascinating about Cuban art during this time period?

Cuban Art and National Identity deals with the first generation of Cuban modern artists back in the 1930s. I became interested in these artists because of their unique styles, renovation of Cuban themes and the fact that they were underrepresented. The book was published in 1994; it was the first monograph on the Vanguardia generation in and outside of Cuba. Today, there is quite an interest in these artists in the Americas and Europe, as seen in collections, exhibitions and publications.

The upcoming conference on Cuban art hosted by the Cuban Research Institute (CRI) will feature panels of experts discussing Cuban art during various time periods. How important is it to discuss this history in Miami, especially given the city’s strong Cuban roots?

It is important to have conferences on Cuban art in Miami not only because of demographics – it is the city with most Cubans other than Havana – but because it is a major repository of Cuban art. There are large quantities of Cuban art in this city of every period. They are in private and public collections.

The conference is dedicated to you and your contributions to FIU and your field. How meaningful is this for you?

It is an honor to have a conference on Cuban art in FIU dedicated to me. I guess it acknowledges my many years of work on the subject. I am thankful to FIU and particularly CRI, the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center and the Department of Art and Art History for their financial and moral support of my research. I could not have done it without their help.

Throughout the years, you have remained active on the art scene writing books and helping curate exhibitions. What are you currently working on?

I have continued to write at a slower pace since I retired in 2013. About a year ago, I finished a monograph on the Cuban modernist artist Fidelio Ponce (1895-1949), which hopefully will be published next year. I am currently writing a long essay on the Miami Generation.

  The conference,  A Moveable Nation: Cuban Art & Cultural Identity in the Perez Art Collection at FIU , will be held June 23-24 at the  Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum . Conference participants will explore the significance of Cuban and Cuban-American art, in particular the  Darlene M. and Jorge M. Pérez Art Collection , which includes works by many of the best-known masters of Cuban art. View the conference program  here . 

 Like many Cuban immigrants, music alumna Eva Reyes-Cisnero ’11 moved to South Florida with little resources and knowledge of the English language in pursuit of a better life.

While researching places and public transportation, Reyes-Cisnero made the public library an extension of her home, not knowing this would transform the course of her life.

“When I moved to Miami for the first time, I didn’t have a car and I didn’t have a family. I had nothing. So the public library was the place I used for internet and books. The library was always my point of reference and a place that helped me understand who I am,” she says.

In December of 2016, Reyes-Cisnero was appointed librarian of the  U.S. Library of Congress ‘ Iberia/Rio Office Section of the African, Latin American and Western European Division. She is responsible for acquiring and cataloging materials from the Iberian Peninsula, Brazil, Surinam and Uruguay. The position requires that she have knowledge and understanding of Spanish, Portuguese, Basque, Galician and Catalán.

Reyes-Cisnero studied classical guitar at FIU, earning her bachelor’s from the School of Music. A single mother at the time, her son, Noah, attended the university’s  Children’s Creative Learning Center , while she worked at the FIU Green Library in the cataloging department, audio/visual collections and digital collection center.

Later, she worked as a conservation assistant at the University of Miami Libraries’ Conservation Lab and interned at the university’s Cuban Heritage Collection.

Reyes-Cisnero also holds a certificate from FIU in Cuban and Cuban-American studies.

“The FIU Green Library was the turning point. The first time I heard about the Library of Congress was while working in the cataloging department. I was like, ‘Oh my God that place must be amazing.’ So, here I am,” she says.

She adds School of Music Professor David Dolata taught her how to research, which has been crucial to her career.

Her capstone project, which was a fully cited 30-page research paper under Dolata’s direction, sharpened her research techniques and dramatically improved her English skills.

“We’re really proud of Eva’s new position because she has found a place in one of the world’s most important institutions dedicated to preserving history and culture,” Dolata says. Eva is an example to FIU students because she came to this country with next to nothing, and she found a home at FIU. It was through her persistence and hard work that she was able to find and pursue her dreams.”

During last year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, Reyes-Cisnero presented a lecture at the Library of Congress Hispanic Division and the Hispanic Cultural Society on 19th century Cuba – using maps, census, newspapers and travel guides.

Despite her accomplishments in research, she continues to be engaged with music by participating in the Library of Congress Chorale.

“Music is always going to be with me. I breathe music,” Reyes-Cisnero says.

Reyes-Cisnero started studying musicology, guitar performance and art history in Havana, Cuba. She comes from a family of musicians. However, her grandmother also encouraged her to spend time in the city’s library, which she says is now bare.

“My grandmother planted the seed and said books are the way to go. Every time I go back to my old town, I cry. I’ve kept that part of my childhood with me because the library was a central part of my life.”

Although a long journey, Reyes-Cisnero says the secret to her success is focus. “Some people say I give them hope, being Hispanic, a black woman – and a single mom for many years. Nothing is impossible. When your goals are set, you can do anything.”

“People are the key to success or extraordinary success.”

—Azim Premji, businessman, investor, philanthropist

This past April, my niece graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from a Florida public university. My daughter and I joined several family members in cheering her on as she walked across the stage beaming, triumphant in this latest accomplishment in a university career filled with them.

Emily worked hard while at university, graduating in four years and hustling, always hustling, to gain the skills and experience that have earned her a coveted internship this summer with The New York Times.

Familial pride aside, my niece’s journey has brought into sharp focus for me Florida’s efforts to graduate young men and women who are prepared to meet the challenges of an adult life. How can our institutes of higher education and those who work for them best prepare today’s graduates for life after university? By supporting our students so they graduate sooner rather than later, with less debt and with real-life experiences in their chosen disciplines already under their belts. From the mentorship our faculty and advisors provide to university leaders who enact policies and encourage change, I am reminded that it all boils down to people. People willing to look at a problem from a different angle. People willing to step outside their comfort zone. People willing to give of themselves so that others might be lifted up.

As I was interviewing FIU employees and students for this issue’s cover story about the university’s efforts to transform the way we educate our students, it continually amazed me how the personal touch is all around us — despite our being one of the largest public universities in the country. Sending emails, calling students, letting them know that someone cares even as we remind them it is their responsibility to do what’s necessary to move forward in their journey from student to college graduate. President Mark B. Rosenberg continually speaks of FIU as being a “high-tech, high-touch” university. To the uninitiated, such a phrase may seem incongruous, but it has never been more true at our FIU. This issue’s cover story explores some of those efforts of FIU faculty and staff to be more intentional in the way we educate our students.

In other stories, we take a look at the latest changes in our football program, beginning with new head coach Butch Davis, and learn more about the man behind a transformational gift to FIU’s College of Engineering & Computing. These stories remind me, as Azim Premji said, that people are the key to success or extraordinary success.

Always Blue and Gold,

Karen Cochrane

The opportunity, a two-week summit on intercultural leadership in Azerbaijan offered by the  Aladdin Project  in 2016, afforded Muminat Kerimova the chance to partner with other students from Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom.

Now a graduate of FIU with a master’s degree in linguistics from the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, Kerimova recently reunited with her colleagues in Paris to be recognized for their work and share the research with dignitaries including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and leaders from the United Nations and European Union, among others.

Together, they found a combination of factors leading women to feel uncomfortable in Western society and IS propaganda were strong enough to entice certain women to travel to the Middle East and support the terror organization.

“It is strange, I must say, to see people travel to support the Islamic State,” said Kerimova, a Russian who was raised Muslim, but now doesn’t practice any religion.

“I don’t think this has anything to do with Islam – they are reinterpreting things the way they want it. This is terrorism. This is not real Islam and I’m ashamed by it,” she added.

Where IS succeeds is in romanticizing the experience of supporting the organization in its propaganda. Women are made to be heroines because they are portrayed as caring for injured soldiers and raising its next generation of fighters. Blogs also make it seem like IS supports opening schools that women can attend, but in fact those schools don’t exist, Kerimova said.

To counter the IS narrative, Kerimova said Western powers should embrace women who return after living in IS territory – not jail them. These women, she said, are in a unique position to persuade young women that joining the terror group is a mistake.

Education could also be a key tool in countering IS, she added. Schools could teach religion courses for any one that interested – not just people susceptible to radicalization – that explain what really is allowed under Islam.

Alumna Kamila Manzueta ’17 has been selected as one of 30 students across the country – and one of only 20 graduate students – to receive a prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. She edged out hundreds of applicants from more than 270 higher education institutions to earn the spot.

The Pickering Fellowship – managed and funded by the Department of State and administered by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars – offers students interested in pursuing a career in the U.S. Foreign Service an incredible opportunity. Fellows receive financial support for two years of higher education, while pursuing a degree in a field related to the Foreign Service. They also receive mentorship and professional development opportunities to prepare them for the field. And, they complete two internships – a domestic one at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., and an overseas internship at a U.S. embassy. Fellows commit to working in the Foreign Service for five years upon completion of their degree.

Manzueta, who earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations through the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, will begin her master’s degree in Latin American Hemispheric Studies at Columbia University this fall. For her, the fellowship and her future in the Foreign Service is a dream come true.

“I never thought I’d have this opportunity,” she says. “One of my passions is to give back to my country as much as possible. Through this fellowship, I get to experience that. I get to live my goal. A public servant is someone who gives as much as they can, who gives to the service of their country to make it a better place. For me, it’s giving back to everyone and everything that has been given to me.”

As a child of immigrants, Manzueta says she fully appreciates the United States. “This country has given me everything. Becoming a Foreign Services officer is a way of cementing that for me.”

Manzueta, who was named a Worlds Ahead graduate this spring, also looks forward to representing FIU throughout her fellowship.

“A lot of people at FIU taught me to go for it, and not let myself limit who I could be,” she says. “I’m forever going to be grateful for the opportunities and support I wouldn’t have received anywhere else.”

Also an Honors College student, Manzueta founded the HEARTbeats, an a cappella group that has performed at FIU commencement, as well as Honors College and Faculty Convocation. Most recently, she represented HEARTbeats at Carnegie Hall for the Total Vocal concert series.

She also worked with artist Randy Burman and the O’Miami Foundation to create “Poem to the Sky” at FIU’s Blue Garage, the only installation of its kind at any university in the United States.

Early in Manzueta’s career, Director of Scholar Development and Honors College Faculty Fellow Rebekah Schulze discussed the Pickering Fellowship with her and encouraged her to apply.

During the application process, Manzueta also spoke to the Department of State’s Diplomat in Residence for South Florida at FIU, Catherine Rodriguez ’88, MBA ’90, MAcc ’91.

Manzueta recalls Rodriguez’s heartening words. “She told me, ‘You are worthy of this.’ That helped me going into the interview process.”

“I am extremely proud that she obtained the Pickering Fellowship,” says Rodriguez, a three-time FIU alumna. “Kamila can use her love of the arts and culture coupled with her academic achievement to expand our people to people diplomacy efforts. By building on cultural affinity, she can show how culture can be the thread that binds us regardless of race, nationality or religion. She lives up to the university’s motto of being Worlds Ahead.”

Brian Fonseca, one of Manzueta’s mentors and the director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy – part of the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs – says that Manzueta’s dedication and commitment to continual growth sets her apart.

“She does everything with such passion and efficiency that it creates the opportunities for her to excel,” Fonseca says. “What she’s achieved so far is small in comparison to what she’ll achieve in her life.”

“In the communications industry, women are three times less likely than men to hold top management positions and earn significantly less money than men do working in similar positions,” says Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, founder and executive director of the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication housed under FIU’s College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts.

How can women in the field break the barriers and change tradition?

The Kopenhaver Center hosts a yearly conference addressing women’s issues in communications. This year’s conference, “Women in Communication: Breaking the Barriers,” featured keynote speaker Anne Vasquez ’96, chief digital officer for tronc, Inc. Vasquez was the former managing editor of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, which won a Pulitzer Prize under her leadership.

Drawing from her own personal experiences and struggles, Vasquez outlined six strategies for women working in the field.

1. Master self-confidence

Confidence will encourage women to not be afraid of speaking up and be part of important conversations within the organization. “Raise your hand [and speak up].”

Finding that confidence is key. It can be sourced from internal beliefs, family or something else entirely, but it must be created and held onto. “Hold on to it as though your career depends on it, because in some ways it does,” Vasquez advises.

2. Take calculated risks

Vasquez says the most important career decision she made in her professional life was to move across the country. It was that initial leap that showed her that risks have to be taken.

You may not always hit the target; job opportunities or promotions may not work out, but this can fuel a motivation to work harder to achieve goals.

3. Overcome “impostor syndrome”

Women can start to feel the symptoms of “impostor syndrome” after achieving success; they feel like they will be exposed as an “impostor.”

Vasquez says: “Do not listen to the voice that says you can’t do it […] go back and find your confidence.” It’s natural to have that voice that makes you feel insecure, but “learn to overcome those feelings.”

4. Work through “failure”

Failures do not exist; however, challenges do.

Certainly, we all experience moments of challenges and setbacks, but triumphs can only be experienced after overcoming some low moments.

“Work through them and learn from them,” Vasquez says. She recalls her mother always telling her that there is always a solution for everything, which she has found to be true.

5. Change the corporate culture

As women in communications actively pursue their career goals, Vasquez urges them to move forward and change the corporate cultures wherever they work. “We need you and we need more of you.” Vasquez envisions more women achieving executive-level positions in the communications sector.

6. Make use of the Kopenhaver Center

Take advantage of the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication. The center strives to empower both women professionals and academics in all the fields of communication in order to develop visionaries and leaders who can make a difference in their communities and their profession. To learn more about the center and annual conference, visit kopenhavercenter.fiu.edu.

A team of researchers from Florida International University’s STEM Transformation Institute including Zahra Hazari, Geoff Potvin and Laird Kramer will partner with Texas A&M University – Commerce, the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). They will unite 16,000 high school physics teachers behind a movement – a movement where each physics teacher will recruit at least one female student to pursue a physics major in college.

“We could accomplish something that’s never been done in history,” Hazari said. “We could change the face of physics in the United States.”

Today, the field is typically dominated by men in the United States. While women make up half of the students in introductory physics courses in high school, just 20 percent of incoming college freshmen that declare an interest in physics are women, Hazari said. In addition, only 8 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded to women were in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, according to a 2016 STEM index produced by defense giant Raytheon and U.S. News and World Report.

The first phase of the project, slated to start with the new school year in August, will involve 10 teachers from urban, suburban and rural schools who will pilot the program. They will ensure that the lessons and best practices such as recognizing students who solve difficult problems or having students request help from successful women in their physics classrooms can be adapted for students throughout the country.

By 2018, the campaign will expand to 24 teachers. If all goes as planned, there will be a nationwide rollout by 2019 with a targeted goal of reaching 16,000 physics educators – or about 60 percent of all high school physics teachers.

If only one-third of the nation’s high school physics teachers recruited at least one female student to pursue a physics major, the nation’s gender gap in physics careers could be sharply alleviated, Hazari said.

“We could achieve the largest increase of women in physics in any decade in history,” Hazari said. “It’s very exciting to encourage women to participate in physics when they might not have considered it before and they may be perfect, they might have a love for physics they never knew existed.”

At the conclusion of the project in 2020, researchers will have more data to determine how their methods might be applied to other STEM fields, including engineering, where women traditionally have been underrepresented.

The study, conducted by FIU post-doctoral researcher Justyna P. Zwolak and alumnus Remy Dou, was published recently in the journal Physical Review of Physics Educational Research and was listed in the Editor’s Choice section of Science magazine. It shatters the age-old stereotype of the typical scientist – that of a lone researcher clad in a lab coat and protective eyewear, toiling meticulously in a windowless lab.

“We know that as people, connections matter. Who you know matters,” Dou said. “Science is a process of getting to know others and working with others and connecting with others. Science is this interactive, collaborative process. I think that needs to come out when we teach students.”

Their research suggests increasing the interactions among students in introductory science courses may hold the key to increasing the number of STEM graduates — a chronic area of concern in the United States.

More than 230,000 STEM jobs go unfilled annually, and minorities and women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields, according to a 2016 STEM index produced by defense giant Raytheon and U.S. News and World Report.

FIU, recognized as the nation’s leader in producing STEM degrees for Hispanics, redesigned its introductory physics courses to help maintain students’ interests. Instructors no longer just lecture students. Instead, they introduce the day’s lesson and allow students to work collaboratively to discover which physics principles are at play.

Without the confines of a standard lecture hall, Zwolak and Dou were able to study how often students interacted, with whom and what kind of effect it had on individual students’s performance and their likelihood to continue studying physics.

Their findings show that students who sought out their peers and those specific students who were sought out by others were more likely to continue taking physics courses.

“How willing they are to interact with others, to reach out to others, that was telling us more about their chances of persisting to the next course,” said Zwolak, of FIU’s STEM Transformation Institute. “It doesn’t depend solely on doing well academically, but also on doing well socially.”

Professors who teach similarly designed courses, could institute a short 5-question survey students could complete on their phones at the end of class that will help them gauge whether students have enough interaction, and whether those interactions are meaningful.

“The best measure was how well connected within the entire network the person is,” Zwolak said. “For students who are really close to others, the access to information and its quality is going to be better because they could be connected to the smartest person in class through one or two others.

“For professors, analyzing the closeness of students gave us up to 75 percent accuracy in predicting whether a student would persist or not,” she added.

Dou enrolled in his second-choice school and stayed there for a semester but it wasn’t the right fit. He found a home at FIU. He finished his bachelor’s degree. He became a biology teacher in Miami. He wasn’t done.

School district leaders named Scott the Assistant Principal of the Year. This marks the fourth consecutive year an FIU alumnus has won this award.

“When I heard my name it was just surreal,” said Scott, who earned a bachelor’s in elementary education in 2000. “I was overcome with joy, there was just this energy from a whole room of people being excited for you that just overtakes you. I felt humbled. I felt proud. I was excited.”

Congratulations to our 2016/2017 Assistant Principal of the Year winner Cisely Scott from @LenoraBSmithES @MDCPSCentral #MDCPSPOY pic.twitter.com/GD3qxdKlA3

— Miami-Dade Schools (@MDCPS) April 6, 2017

For Scott, a good day at work means motivating all 420 students at Miami’s Lenora B. Smith Elementary to succeed. Scott and her teachers celebrate students with perfect attendance and they plan math and science nights where students learn while having a good time.

“They’re having fun competing in different mathematical contests, I was competing with children in the fraction competition,” she said. “They build airplanes and see who can go the farthest. They’ve even learned to make ice cream.”

Congratulations to Ms. Cisely Scott from Lenora B. Smith Elementary School on winning Assistant Principal of the Year! #MDCPSPOY pic.twitter.com/G98JPprso4

— Susie V. Castillo (@SusieVCastillo) April 6, 2017

Scott also ensures teachers are motivated. She has built tight bonds with her teachers, knowing when to reassure them and when to push them to accomplish tougher goals.

“They know we’re setting the bar high and I want to inspire them to move a little higher,” Scott said. “We’re producing leaders and we’re building the bench as we go along.”

Jump to:   Have a big idea? StartUP FIU may be right for you.

Jason Dettbarn, 39, stands in front of about two dozen other equally enterprising individuals and shares details about his early-stage company. In 2014, the two-time FIU alumnus founded a firm that provides a cloud-based platform to organizations in need of IT management for their Mac computers, and it’s attracting customers worldwide. With slides running behind him, he practices a short speech that he hopes to deliver soon to potential investors. A few minutes later, he clicks on a video.

Next up, Helene Wilson, 35, takes the floor to discuss her artisanal ice cream. In 2016, she walked away from a legal career after people went crazy for the small-batch treats she started crafting for herself in law school. Today she sells to a growing group of fans as well as the general public through a third-party sweets shop.

After each presentation, the others in the room—who themselves will shortly go before the group—ask questions and offer observations. Dettbarn and Wilson consider their peers’ comments and then wait to hear from Robert Hacker. The business strategist and financial consultant once built the second largest retail company in Asia. To those assembled, his opinion carries the kind of weight that would-be superstars ascribe to Simon Cowell’s judgments.

“You could have just showed your video,” Hacker tells Dettbarn. “[Your talk] did not add anything, which means all those words were wasted.” To Wilson, he says with a mix of exasperation and urgency, “I don’t see you separating from [the competition]. You have the ability to do that. You just have to figure out how.” He suggests she focus on her products’ premium ingredients and exotic flavors as she works toward establishing a national brand.

(For the record: Hacker’s feedback elicits no frowns or tears but, rather, is accepted as valuable advice from a seasoned expert.)

The scene comes out of an innovative new business incubator called   StartUP FIU. It aims to put the resources of a public research university—experts, instruction, facilities and connections to funding sources—behind entrepreneurs with the drive and the will to go the distance.

“We provide support for ideas, inventions and early-stage startup companies that can scale globally,” says Emily Gresham, an assistant vice president in the   Division of Research and Economic Development  and the co-founder, with Hacker, of StartUP. “We’re here to serve our community.”

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg and Provost Kenneth G. Furton have gone so far as to make the fostering of new businesses, and the complementary goal of bringing professors’ research to market, part of the university’s strategic plan. These endeavors feed a lofty mission: to impact the South Florida economy at the highest level.

Entrepreneurship as an equalizer

FIU already has a well-regarded small-business development center, which annually helps more than 1,000 companies overcome specific problems and identify the steps to expand. StartUP, on the other hand, is about entrepreneurship. It supports activity with the potential for exponential growth. In other words, game changers.

Hacker gives the examples of Seattle and Austin, Texas, to demonstrate how cities can be invigorated by a single transformational company. The two saw their fortunes rise mostly on the coattails of two startups. Seattle’s Microsoft and Austin’s Dell each served as “a magnet for really intelligent people. The ones that wanted to be entrepreneurs trained [at the companies] and then they spun out,” Hacker says. Consequently, that clustering of talent and new companies, “created a system, an environment, a community for entrepreneurship.”

FIU hopes to jumpstart a similar cascade effect. That the university has taken up the effort is promising, says Jaret L. Davis,   who   chairs the Miami-Dade economic development organization known as The Beacon Council.

“Every single place where there is a top innovation hub, there is a world-class research institution,” Davis says. “So to have a world-class research institution like FIU here, they’re providing the seeds of innovation.” (FIU’s research activity places it among the top 2.5 percent of higher education institutions in the United States.)

Davis gives the example of Stanford University and its relationship with Palo Alto, California, which expects job growth of more than 40 percent in the next decade and serves as the economic focal point of Silicon Valley. Likewise, he cites Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as drivers for the highly successful Research Triangle Park, which attracts IT firms from startups to multinationals.

“A properly structured innovation ecosystem enables anyone to realize their dreams without limit,” Davis says. “It’s a liberator. It makes it so that the average Joe can take an idea, take a dream and see it come to fruition. It’s wonderful that StartUP FIU is working with people to help them navigate the waters of innovation.”

These days, harsh reality demands focused encouragement in the interest of improving economic stability and resiliency in the region. “The prosperity gap is widening,” Gresham says of South Florida, where the chasm between the rich and the poor is among the nation’s widest. “We know that talent is equally dispersed and opportunity is not,” she continues. “Sometimes we have to create opportunity.”

A ready pool of talent

As has been well documented, immigrants to the United States are more than twice as likely as native-born citizens to start companies. South Florida’s population has the largest percent of immigrants within the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas.

Slightly more than half of Miami-Dade County residents are foreign born. The area is already a recognized leader in entrepreneurial activity, with a 2014 report ranking it second among 40 big markets.

Hacker sees a clear divide between the kinds of companies that provide a basic living for an individual or a family and the kinds of businesses that will ultimately attract investors and transform a city. “The problem is that someone here looks at his neighbor, and his neighbor has a   cafecitoplace. He doesn’t look at his neighbor and see someone who’s trying to send a rocket to the moon or develop a driverless car,” Hacker says. “The issue we have here is that people don’t think big enough.”

The reason? For all its startup enthusiasm, Greater Miami ranks 39th in access to capital. That alone poses a huge barrier to anyone with a larger vision. FIU hopes to change that reality by catalyzing local talent—which Hacker, Gresham and others see in abundance—and putting it directly in front of the folks with the money.

A place to think big

StartUP FIU formally began in the fall of 2016. Nineteen companies—representing     students, alumni and local residents with no affiliation to the university—were selected from more than 160 that applied. Together, company founders began a 14-week program, at no charge, designed to guide them to success.

They attended workshops on campus on topics such as leadership, networking and storytelling—the latter to help them personalize and perfect their investor pitches. They participated in weekly “deliverable” sessions during which teams address—methodically and, often, through extensive research—aspects such as understanding their specific markets and knowing the competition. And they received advice from an assigned mentor in addition to direction from Gresham and Hacker and other StartUP personnel, as well as introductions to movers in the community. In December, selected teams had the chance to seek financial backing by making presentations before a panel of venture capitalists à la “Shark Tank.”

The first cohort mirrored the diversity of South Florida, with almost half of designated company leaders born outside of the United States. More than a quarter of the companies are helmed by women and nearly 70 percent by someone under the age of 30.

The businesses also represent a range of industries and serve a wide variety of needs. Among the first cohort: a virtual reality physical therapy system; a cloud-based eye-disease screening system; an e-commerce marketplace for aircraft and engine parts; an online platform that serves the needs of e-sports competitors; a “virtual college counselor” mobile app; and an organic banana-juice distributor.

“It’s been really helpful to hear from older people in the field that tell us this is the process of becoming a business,” says Ali Qureshi, 30, CEO of Delta Design. The 2010 alumnus followed up his undergraduate FIU degree in architecture with a master’s degree from MIT. A few years ago he quit a job in his chosen field to join his brother, who is a current FIU marketing student, and another FIU alumnus to start the company. Currently they are focused on commercializing a 3D-printed prosthetic leg that could offer a low-cost option to amputees around the world.

Read more:   Florida SBDC at FIU helps established businesses level up

Focusing on individual facets of the business through a rigorous, disciplined approach kept them on track, Qureshi says. While the team possesses the needed design and engineering skills, their collective business skills were lacking.

“Before [StartUP], our methodology was more like shots in the dark. We didn’t really have a plan,” he says. “I feel like now we’re kind of restructuring ourselves and understanding that we have to think about this. If you want to get to a certain level, you have to do the proper steps.”

The team also benefited from existing university networks. Hacker connected Delta with Professor Wei-Chiang Lin of FIU’s biomedical engineering department and steered the group to a local microfinance company that could work with needy clients to help them purchase the prosthetics.

Andrea Saladrigas, 21, currently an FIU marketing student, entered the program with her father. Both already had successful businesses, he as a Southwest Florida-based beekeeper who rents out hives to farmers around the country, she as the purveyor of her own brand of local honey. They brought to the incubator a socially driven enterprise that aims to empower low-income women and others as backyard beekeepers whom the pair would outfit with hives at no charge and then pay an income through honey sales.

“What I found amazing about [StartUP] is that they’re giving us the framework, where to start,” Saladrigas says. “They’re teaching us how to do a scientific experiment. We literally start with a hypothesis and you finish up with a full-grown idea.”

Hacker is bullish on Saladrigas’ project, which he acknowledges as ambitious. (The goal is to onboard thousands of local beekeepers within five years.) Also in her corner: a handpicked mentor, FIU alumna Misha Kuryla-Gomez MIB ’04. The founder and owner of Misha’s Cupcakes has a chain of successful bakeries in South Florida and additional product distribution through more than a dozen other local retailers.

“I’ve been so impressed,” Kurlya-Gomez says of her mentee’s drive, and of the idea of the company as a viable business with a social impact. Kurlya-Gomez and Saladrigas agree that the older woman’s most important contribution to the startup has been her emphasis on operational issues, something that early-stage founders sometimes gloss over in their rush to get up and running.

Kuryla-Gomez can only sigh when she considers how StartUP FIU might have helped her avoid “so many mistakes and so many obstacles” when she was establishing   her company in 2005.

“This is going to sound terrible,” she says, “but if I could have traded my master’s in international business for assistance like this kind—with a mentor, with a Bob Hacker, with the program—I would. It would have been good for me.”

Perfect timing

Despite coming late to the party, South Florida’s embryonic startup ecosystem could well soar in the near future, say those in the know. Support efforts have reached critical mass as commercial organizations, other academic institutions and nonprofits increasingly have committed resources to guiding new and boosting existing entrepreneurs in the region. Adding the power of a major research university to the mix strengthens this work across the board.

And while risk taking is “normal” in places such as the West Coast, New York and Boston, explains Mark Crofton, the Miami metropolitan area has a few advantages. The global vice president for software company SAP, which has offices in Miami, Crofton sees the local startup community’s relatively small size and newcomer status as positives.

“I find a lot more cooperation than competition right now at this stage of our evolution,” Crofton says. For example, “If you go out to Silicon Valley, if you want to get some time with somebody, unless you know somebody who knows somebody, it might be hard.” In South Florida, on the other hand, Crofton has seen firsthand an interest in helping others build something new right at home.

“It’s a small enough community [that] you can pick up the phone, call people and say this is what I’m trying to do and I want to do it in Miami. As an entrepreneurial center, we’re still a little bit of an underdog,” says the Florida native. “When you’re an underdog, people are more willing to work together, and I think that’s a huge advantage right now.”

The willingness of local businesspeople to serve as mentors and guest speakers as for StartUP—Crofton himself has come to campus to address program participants as a group—reflects that general openness to lending a hand.

Gresham finds another advantage in South Florida’s relatively recent arrival on the innovation scene. In an era that many recognize as “the fourth industrial revolution”—characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres—Miami could well have the upper hand over older, more established cities when it comes to addressing contemporary concerns.

“Urbanization is going to be the problem of our times: sustainable agriculture, transportation, affordable housing, health, education,” Gresham says. “Miami is going through changes that every big city is going through. We should be thought leaders.”

As an emerging 21st century city, Miami has an international population with a global perspective that lends itself to disrupting the established way of doing things. It’s that spirit and energy that FIU hopes to capitalize on as it champions a new generation of entrepreneurs.   ♦

Think you’ve got what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Then StartUP FIU might be your way forward.

The incubator has plans to expand in 2017, with no fewer than four fully operational programs expected to be up and running within the year. Students, alumni, faculty and local residents with no university affiliation are all invited to apply. Participants pay nothing for the experience nor does FIU take company equity or otherwise expect financial gain. (Company founders do agree to report on their progress for at least three years.)

The secret to getting in?

“No secret,” says Robert Hacker, StartUP’s co-founder and director. In addition to communicating a business concept with the potential to scale up, successful applicants must show a high degree of perseverance and be “coachable.” That’s it.

Ready to get started?

Decide which program fits your needs and apply at   startup.fiu.edu.

Empower:  FIU’s flagship accelerator (see main article) is funded with a $1.25
million grant from the State of Florida and based out of a newly renovated 10,000-square-foot collaborative space at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. It welcomed an initial cohort representing 19 companies in fall of 2016 and a second started in January of 2017.

West End:  Funded with state monies, this technology-focused accelerator is based in a commercial building near Tamiami Airport in suburban Kendall. A study by the Metropolitan Center, FIU’s economic development think tank, indicates a strong potential to capitalize on the growing population center’s clustering of professionals with technology skills.

Food FIU:   Citi Foundation has provided a $500,000 grant to launch an incubator at the Biscayne Bay Campus. In partnership with the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Food FIU will offer food entrepreneurs access to state-of-the-art commercial kitchen facilities as well as technical expertise from faculty and students to innovate, test concepts and scale their businesses. It is intended to serve low- and moderate-income individuals.

Art + Design:   The Ratcliffe Foundation has provided more than $800,000 to fund an arts incubator in partnership with the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts. With the goal of turning artists into successful entrepreneurs, the program will offer monthly lectures, legal and accounting support, market research assistance and seed capital. Admission is currently limited to enrolled FIU students.

Albert J. Primo ’93 was named chief innovation officer at accounting firm Kaufman Rossin. Primo was also appointed to the advisory council at Xero, a New Zealand-based software company that develops cloud-based accounting software.

Marcos M. Brito ’94 joined City National Bank as a senior corporate banking relationship manager.

Patricia M. Siles ’94, MAcc ’96, a certified public accountant, is secretary of the Zoo Miami Foundation Board of Directors.

Elsa Jaramillo-Velez ’95 is the human resources director for the City of Coral Gables. She joined the advisory board for FIU’s Master of Public Administration program.

David E. Hollander MS ’97, a certified public accountant and principal at Morrison Brown Argiz & Farra, was named vice-chairperson of Florida Atlantic University School of Accounting advisory council, which provides guidance to the school to prepare students for accounting careers.

France-Luce Benson ’99 was named one of six winning playwrights at the 2016 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, the nation’s premier short play competition. The winning scripts will be published by Samuel French in the 41st annual edition of its Off Off Broadway Plays collection. Benson’s play, “Risen from the Dough,” was inspired by every Haitian bakery she had ever visited, from Flatbush Avenue in New York City to Miami’s Little Haiti.


2000s

Bernardo L. Piereck ’01 was made a partner at the law firm Dechert, LLP. He deals with clients on issues related to mergers and acquisitions, divestiture, joint ventures and securities.

Erika Maldonado ’02, MS ’04 was promoted to weekday evening news anchor at Univision WGBO-Channel 66 in Chicago after working 10 years as a general assignment reporter. “Erika is an outstanding, award-winning journalist who has covered some of the most important stories in Chicago for the past 10 years,” said Univision Chicago news director Teri Arvesu.

Rubi Hurtado ’03, ’14 participated in a global field course in India. Through the program, she explored sacred groves and forest temples of the Western Ghats; examined the multifaceted relationship between people and nature; and addressed sustainability for the future.

Edmond F. Kenny ’03 was appointed senior director of alumni relations at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

Sean P. Gazitua ’04 was promoted to president and CEO of WTDC, a foreign trade zone and logistics company in Miami. He is active in the FIU Alumni Association and Sigma Phi Epsilon Alumni Volunteer Corporation.

Apphia C. Campbell ’06 was featured in American Theatre Magazine in the December 2016 “Role Call: People to Watch” spotlight. Campbell has toured Europe and Asia with her one-woman play, “Black is the Color of My Voice,” inspired by the life and the music of Nina Simone. In the feature, Nate Jacobs, founder and artistic director of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, calls Campbell “a true professional, a God-given actress.” 

Richard A. Garcia ’06 joined City National Bank as vice president of the home association team.

Julio B. de Blas MBA ’07 is regional engineer for South Florida at Professional Service Industries in the geotechnical and construction services departments.

Viviana Jordan ’07 was elected first vice-chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women, on which she has served three terms. Jordan also serves as vice president of the FIU Young Alumni Council.

Hanadys Ale ’08, MD ’13 completed her residency at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and became the first to hold the hospital’s allergy and immunology fellowship.

Jose Ripol ’09 was named among the top 50 advertising creatives in the country by AdWeek.


2010s

Nalisa S. Saati ’10 helps at-risk students in Miami-Dade make strides toward success as program director of the Miami-Dade Urban Debate League. The league recruits students from lower-income neighborhoods and provides access to mentors, tutors and scholarships.

Sarena Bahad ’10, MBA ’13 launched the new Snapchat channel @WomenInTech, which profiles women in the field from around the world.

Antonina Kulchitskaya ’11 took second place in the social sciences category at the Florida Statewide Graduate Research Symposium for her presentation on “The Four Problems of Mind-Uploading.”

Jairo Pava ’11 is a software test engineer at the South Florida tech company Ultimate Software. He began teaching part-time at FIU in Fall 2016.

Maritza A. Haro ’11, JD ’15 is an associate at the Bercow Radell & Fernandez law firm, where she works on cases involving land use, zoning, and developmental and environmental law.

Tiffany C. Huertas ’11, a reporter for KGBT-TV in Harlingen, Texas, received the Lone Star Flag and a senate proclamation for her work in the Rio Grande Valley in October 2016.

Isa Maza ’12 and Silvy I. Revilla ’12 (now Maza) were married in New York City on Oct. 8, 2016, surrounded by family and friends, many of whom are also alumni of FIU. Isa, center-left, and Silvy, center-right, are pictured at their wedding with fellow graduates of FIU.

Nathalie Louie ’13 and Alexander Louie ’14 welcomed the birth of their son, Jacob Alexander, on Jan. 29, 2016.

Tatiana Pandiani ’13 directed Princeton’s Summer Theater 2016 opening show, Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins.” One reviewer called her production “smooth and assured.”

Jean-Baptiste M. Ramet MS ’14 joined Marcus & Millichap as a commercial real estate investment broker.

Hellen Rivas ’16 was hired as an associate producer at NBC Universal Media.

Founding faculty member Stephen Fain believes in the power of community.

When he first arrived on campus in 1971, only about 100 people worked at FIU.

“It was a family,” Fain says. “We were fused together by a vision of empowerment and service. Many of us worked closely together, although we represented very different aspects of the university. For me and many others, our home families blended with our newly formed FIU family.”

As the university grew and became the largest public university in South Florida, a bit of that initial tight-knit community feel started to fade. Today FIU employs more than 9,700 people.

In 2012, Fain found a way to bring back some of that closeness: With Senior Vice President of Advancement Howard Lipman, Fain helped found the  Ignite campaign so faculty and staff could contribute financially to the university in a personally meaningful way.

“I believed this was a way to rekindle that rich family spirit,” Fain says. And, at the closing of the campaign’s fifth year, he knows he was right. “Ignite has become a component, a cultural constant at FIU,” Fain explains. Great case in point: The annual Ignite pin that donors receive after making their pledges has become something of a collector’s item on campus.

Popular projects to which employees give include scholarship funds for students facing financial and other burdens, such as one that supports homeless and former foster students and another that assists students facing unexpected hardships.

“Over the years, the campaign has caused people to find ways to enrich their own lives and those of the university members,” Fain says. “We thought we’d be able to rally the community to come together.”

And they did. Faculty and staff answered the call to give back to their university, increasingly contributing more and more to the campaign. In the first year of the campaign, 31 percent of the faculty and staff participated and supported 99 projects. By 2016, 50 percent of the faculty and staff contributed to more than 160 projects through the campaign. Since its inception, the campaign has raised more than $11 million.

And just as Fain had hoped, that sense of kinship is growing stronger and stronger.

Creating community

Graham Center staff members don’t just write out a check for the Ignite campaign and call it a day. They go above and beyond the call of duty to co-host and produce a fundraiser: a lip sync competition that draws contestants from around campus and creates a unique team spirit within their own office.

“Ignite has brought us closer,” says Senior Director of the Graham Center Sanyo Mathew of his team. He adds that many staff members also contribute individually toward the Ruth Hamilton Make a Difference Fund, named for the center’s former longtime director, a woman who remains a friend and mentor to many. The Make a Difference Fund helps FIU students with living expenses while they are completing internship programs away from home.

“Giving in Ruth’s honor was a natural choice for the office,” Mathew says. “Ignite has made it very personal for us.”

And giving back to that fund, Mathew says, “is about helping students succeed. It’s the least we can do for students in need who have an opportunity to get an internship that could jumpstart their career.”

Excellence in success

The FIU First Generation Scholarship Fund, one of the most popular Ignite projects, is FIU’s response to the numerous first-generation students who need a scholarship to access higher education. Leading by example, FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg and his wife, Rosalie, donated $1 million to the first-generation scholarship fund through Ignite at the beginning of this year’s campaign.

“As a first-generation college graduate myself, I understand what it means to receive financial assistance to achieve the goal of obtaining a college degree,” Rosenberg said at the time. “Our hope is that this gift will support the next generation of researchers, leaders and entrepreneurs in preparing for the workforce and to help create good jobs.”

Fain says Rosenberg’s dedication has established the foundation for a culture of giving at FIU. “It’s not surprising that Ignite has been successful under Mark Rosenberg. His commitment to FIU’s growth is not only obvious, but contagious.”

“FIU changes lives,” Rosenberg says. That knowledge is at the core of his commitment to FIU. And it is also at the core of the enthusiasm with which faculty and staff across campus support Ignite.

“The Ignite campaign’s success shows that faculty and staff are not just here to work at FIU,” Rosenberg says. “They are here to work together to build up our FIU. The unrelenting dedication of the people who work here drives our FIU forward and fuels the Ignite campaign. Their unwavering faith in the university and in the life of the mind leads them to give of themselves every day during their jobs and also to give of themselves through the Ignite campaign.”

Investing in the future

“I give back to FIU because FIU gives to us every single day,” says Mercedes Rodriguez, an associate director in the Office of Research and Economic Development. “Not only is it an enriching place to work, but there are numerous opportunities for learning, workshops and classes for which you can sign up that are for credit and may be free. You can always improve yourself thanks to FIU.”

Among other projects, Rodriguez gives back to the Berta D. Villares Book Scholarship Award, which offers employees earning their degrees at FIU a scholarship to help pay for their textbooks.

In 2004, Rodriguez began a master’s degree program in comparative sociology. At the time, the textbook scholarship fund was not available. Today, Rodriguez, who graduated in 2008, is glad to help others going through the same journey she went through. She knows that through giving back, we can move forward.

Ultimately, she says, investing in FIU is investing in the future.

“You give back now, and your kids are going to benefit later,” says Rodriguez, whose son graduated from FIU in 2007. “The stronger we make FIU, the more we and our communities benefit. It’s on us to make this institution better in every way.” 

Read more: New graduates invest in the future of FIU

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

Sarah Payne ’14 and Laura Martinez Leon ’15 are living a dream many young opera singers only hope to experience.

After graduating from FIU’s School of Music, Payne with a bachelor’s in vocal performance and Leon with a master’s in vocal performance, they both were selected to join the Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program and have had the opportunity to perform at home and abroad in cities like Madrid and Salzburg.

For one night, they both returned to FIU, the place that helped launch their careers.

“It feels like home,” Payne said. “FIU was so instrumental to where I am now, opening up my eyes to what is out there and really giving me the tools I needed to start my singing career.”

Payne and Leon were welcomed back to campus along with several other alumnae with professional singing careers to perform recently in a special Alumni Vocal Concert at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

The concert featured eight vocalists who studied at the school, including internationally renowned soprano Adina Aaron ’93 and mezzo-soprano Misty Bermudez ’00 from the South Florida’s Grammy-nominated professional chamber ensemble Seraphic Fire.

“This experience is very exhilarating and inspiring,” Leon said of sharing the stage with fellow graduates. “It lets you know you can do it and you can make it.”

The event was part of the School of Music’s participation in the fourth annual Panther Alumni Week, a universitywide initiative that invites alumni back to campus to engage with students and faculty in and out of the classroom.

“We’ve sent out so many fine musicians for decades and it’s exciting to see them now well into their careers being very successful and coming back and performing for us, inspiring the next generation of singers,” said School of Music Director Robert Dundas.

Family, friends and current students came to watch the alumnae perform works by prominent composers – such as Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini – accompanied by alumna Maria Paulina Garcia ’08 on the piano.

Vindhya Khare, an adjunct professor of voice who graduated from FIU with a master’s degree in vocal performance in 2013, directed and performed in the concert.

“It was an amazing concert and a great reunion,” Khare said. “I hope as current students see alumni perform that they themselves will consider returning one day, remembering how much they were inspired by seeing them perform.”

Now just at the beginning of her career, Leon is already beginning to see how a diverse slate of classes at FIU has helped prepare her for any role thrown her way. She recently performed in a show where she had to sing while dancing with a hula hoop, highlighting that you never know when odd skills will come in handy.

“For a vocal performance career, particularly in opera, I would tell students to take courses in acting, dance, languages and anything else they can,” Leon said. “Nothing is going to be an extra course. You’re probably going to use everything.”

And, as with nearly any career, persistence and grit are essential.

“Don’t give up,” Payne said. “You’re going to get a lot of no’s in this career and the key is to stay strong and trust yourself and know you can do it.”  ♦

The musical about Gloria and Emilio Estefan, “On Your Feet,” debuts locally on Oct. 5 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. It marks something of a homecoming for FIU alumnus Andy Señor, who served on the show’s creative team and will be in town for opening night.

When the Broadway musical “On Your Feet” opens on Oct. 5 in Miami, the story of Cuban-Americans Gloria and Emilio Estefan will come to life in the very city in which their rise to superstardom began.

It will also mark another triumph in the career of FIU alumnus Andy Señor ’97. A member of the show’s original creative team, Señor played a critical behind-the-scenes role in the production.

“They called me the authenticity police. Anyone who’s from Miami and sees this says this is the real deal. And that’s all my hand,” says Señor, an actor and director who worked with writers to fill in details. (One example: “There’s a scene where Gloria and Emilio are hustling to get their songs played at all the different clubs. I was like, ‘Here are all the different clubs that they went to,’” he says, rattling off the names of now-shuttered meccas of disco.)

Señor’s intimate knowledge of the Estefans’ trajectory is real. “My dad was Gloria’s parents’ neighbor in Cuba,” he explains. “When Gloria’s mom’s water broke, my dad was the one who helped usher her to the car to get her to the hospital.”

That closeness between the families did not end on the island. In the 1960s, when hundreds of thousands fled its repressive communist regime, the relationship continued in Sweetwater, where the couple often visited the Señor house. “They were always there,” Señor recalls. “I spent my whole childhood with Gloria and Emilio.”

“Battle of the Glorias”

Those ties have had an important influence on Señor.

A few years ago, before a thaw in relations between the U.S. and Cuba, he received an offer to direct a musical in Havana. In weighing a decision—admittedly tough for a child of Cuban immigrants—he sought out the two Glorias in his life.

His mother, the first Gloria, wanted no part of it. “She was completely against me going,” recalls the son. Not trusting of leaders in her homeland and remembering the collective pain of her people, “She didn’t want me working with the Cuban government. She was afraid of what would happen to me, knowing that I’m really outspoken.”

Making the argument in favor of the trip was the other Gloria, the international recording star who shared a completely different perspective, one that spoke to the power of self-expression.

“Baby, you gotta go,” the singer told him. “This is for the artists.”

His way or the highway

Avowedly apolitical but eager to foster cultural exchange, Señor took Estefan’s advice and threw himself into the project. (Private entertainment company Nederlander funded the production—the first fully staged Broadway musical on the island in 50 years—and Señor brought in other professionals.)

Early on he made clear to officials at the Cuban Ministry of Culture that he would be doing things on his terms. (One example: He insisted that auditions be open to everyone and not just those “stamped” as actors.) “I was like, ‘Listen, you want Broadway? You want this to work out?’” he told them. “‘Then it has to be this way.’ There were a lot of rules that were changed for me.”

And he delivered. In late 2014, a three-month run of the Broadway hit “Rent,” in Spanish, debuted with a cast of 23 locals.

“It’s the hardest thing I ever did,” Señor says. The actors he directed lacked any helpful knowledge of American culture—the pop-rock opera, based on the Italian classic “La Boehme,” is set in Manhattan’s gritty East Village—and they had no background in performing musical theater. “It’s not like they have YouTube or the internet,” he says. “They didn’t have any of that stuff for a reference point.”

Dealing with deficits in knowledge and experience, however, seemed easy when compared to handling players’ unexpected absences during rehearsals. “Even though they were excited, there was a sense of indifference as well,” Señor says. “There’s a certain discipline that’s necessary,” he explains of what it takes to achieve successful staging, “and they didn’t have that training. They didn’t have that discipline.” For example, performers would often take odd jobs during scheduled practice time to earn a few bucks to feed their families.

“How do you argue with that?” Señor asks. “They come from a place of survival. I kept on saying to them, ‘Listen, we’re out to create something extraordinary. The theater is extraordinary.’ They just weren’t present to the opportunity.”

Five decades of communism had taken its toll on those Señor brought together: excited enough to participate in the experiment but, ultimately, unsure of where it might lead or what impact it might have in a country where meager rations and lack of employment are the norm.

And yet, it came together. The long-awaited production saw its curtain rise nightly to sold-out crowds in the Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht. Tickets cost the equivalent of 50 cents.

Uniquely qualified

No question Señor had the street cred to pull it off. Fluent in Spanish, attuned since birth to the repression and want under which most Cubans live, he had unique insight and sensitivity. Equally important to his success: the launching pad that FIU gave him years earlier.

In the early 1990s, Señor and several friends from Coral Park High School, just down the block from FIU’s southwest campus—including the actor Danny Pino (of TV’s “Cold Case” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”)—together found their way to the theater department at FIU.

“They brought with them this element that you can really only develop if you’re living in the same neighborhood and you’re actually connected through the same passion and love of something,” says Phillip Church, a longtime theater professor who worked closely with Señor and the others when they studied at FIU. He believes that back then—at a time when the Hispanic-American voice was still just rising and had yet to establish itself as the cultural force it is today—the actors found strength in feeding off their collective talent.

And they took advantage of every opportunity the university offered. Señor says, “One of the best things that I did that helped my career was being a peer advisor and fraternity and orientation leader.” Those experiences taught him “how to be with all sorts of people, how to lead.”

Also instrumental to his development as an actor: an FIU study abroad to London during which he saw more than a dozen shows. Waiting at the back doors of West End theaters to beg autographs and ask questions of professional actors convinced him to get serious about his craft and his future. A semester shy of graduation, in the fall of 1996—during which he and Pino starred in “Fiddler on the Roof,” the first performance in FIU’s newly completed Wertheim Performing Arts Center—he flew to California for a graduate school audition. There he was spotted by a director and soon after cast as Angel in the Los Angeles premier of “Rent,” a pivotal role that he would reprise on stages in Miami, London and Asia as well as on Broadway.

Other parts followed over the years before Señor had something of an epiphany. “I was doing a Shakespeare play at the public theater in New York, and I was standing there,” he says, remembering how he began to question himself. “What am I doing here? Why am I doing this right now? There’s so much more for me to use my creativity.’”

A bridge                                                                 

So for his next act, Señor has engaged in activities that, as he puts it, “serve my community.” That includes sitting on the board of Viva Broadway, an organization that nurtures Hispanic audiences, and serving as artistic director of the District Stage Company in Miami. He is also currently in the editing phase of a documentary film about his work in Cuba.

“That’s my thing, staying grounded and staying connected,” he says of what he finds professionally meaningful.

“I get crazy busy. That’s why I love this house,” he adds, pointing across the street from FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, toward his refuge, the home where he grew up and where his mom still lives. Even now, Señor rides his bike through campus when he returns to visit her, and he often shoots over to the Cuban memorial, on land adjacent to campus, for quiet time to think.

The Cuba experience still looms large for Señor, who plans to do another show there. “I’m clear that, culturally, I’m a bridge of sorts,” he says of his newfound bond with the island. “I’m connected there, and I never expected that.”

The connection was strengthened further when, in July of 2015, the U.S. government invited him to sing the American anthem at the first flag raising at the newly reopened U.S. embassy in Cuba (not to be confused with the official opening ceremony a month later, at which another Cuban-American FIU alumnus, Richard Blanco, delivered an original poem). Señor’s voice rang out on the historic occasion.

And among those assembled, his mom stood by proudly.  ♦

Shop after shop was overflowing with fins from species unknown. The marine biologist knew many were sustainably fished. He suspected others were from endangered species on the brink of extinction. It made him angry. It made him sick.

That was in September 2013, right before the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was set to convene in Bangkok. There, nations would decide whether to regulate the fins and other products of five commercially important shark species. Chapman was on his way to Bangkok but stopped in Hong Kong — the shark fin capital of the world — to help establish a monitoring program to determine how many shark species were in the local fin trade. He then set his sights on CITES and was part of a team that successfully pushed for all five species on the agenda to be listed for regulation. This means exporters are now required to have permits to trade them. The monitoring program Chapman developed with local officials in Hong Kong has been key to enforcing these directives. While many thought shark conservation in Hong Kong would be impossible, Chapman said conservation efforts have improved there.

Knowing when a shark product is from a protected species and when it is not can be a major challenge — many fins look alike. Chapman has spent his career trying to make fins more identifiable, a critical step in stopping the illegal fishing of endangered species. He is the co-developer of a guide and iPhone app that help fishermen and enforcement officials quickly and easily identify fins of protected species. He also conducts DNA testing and is working with border patrol in Hong Kong to develop more portable methods for in-the-field identification. He even does DNA testing in the markets to track how CITES actually works for the species it protects.

“You don’t start out as a scientist thinking you will become an advocate,” Chapman said. “I became an advocate out of necessity. I can’t sit around while sharks disappear.”

A native of New Zealand, Chapman is the latest addition to a growing team at FIU dedicated to the study and protection of large marine predators. The researchers have come from all across the world — South Africa, Europe, China and North America — to form a research hub in South Florida. They are unified in a single mission: to protect, conserve and restore the world’s shark populations.

When extinction is looming

According to FIU research, around 100 million sharks are killed every year. They are being illegally fished and their fins and meat illegally traded. Though sharks have survived on this planet for more than 400 million years, a quarter of all species are now threatened with extinction.

Michael Heithaus understands this reality better than most. The dean of FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education has dedicated his career to the great ocean predators. Before Chapman joined the team at FIU, he and Heithaus were already working together on Global FinPrint, an international project that is capturing sharks and rays on camera in their natural habitats.

They are trying to identify the last remaining strongholds of sharks and rays around the world. The project has received core funding from Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, and is part of FIU’s Tropical Conservation Institute. Global FinPrint’s data is providing desperately needed information to protect the sharks and rays that are left and to rebuild populations that are in trouble.

Though he is a native of landlocked Ohio, Heithaus fell in love with the oceans as a child during annual holiday visits with his grandmother in Florida. While in college, he was introduced to Shark Bay, Australia, a place so remote that few people call it home. Its waters are relatively untouched and feature a vibrant tiger shark population.

For 20 years, Heithaus, along with research scientists and students from his lab, has conducted one of the world’s most in-depth studies on sharks there. The team has answered critical questions about how sharks function, and how they help maintain healthy populations of other animals and even plants. His work in Shark Bay has revealed a critical piece of knowledge that has given rise to new conservation priorities and strategies worldwide — without sharks, the health of the world’s oceans would suffer greatly. People would too. Aside from serving as an important food source, healthy oceans also help mitigate climate change as seagrass beds absorb and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide. But seagrasses need sharks to balance the food chain. Heithaus is helping the world to understand that sharks are indispensable animals that need protection from people, not necessarily the other way around.

Advocate, explore and save

For years, FIU scientists have been involved in establishing shark sanctuaries and marine protected areas. Their efforts have been instrumental in obtaining protections through international treaties. In 2016, FIU scientist Mark Bond was part of an international effort to have four shark species and nine mobula rays added to the CITES list of protected species. The October meeting was in Bond’s native country of South Africa. Just like Chapman, Bond planned for a career split between ocean and lab. He was not looking for a career in advocacy. In fact, before the 2016 CITES meeting, he didn’t own a single suit. He now has three hanging in his closet.

“I want to play a part in change,” Bond said. “I learned a lot about the advocacy side at CITES. We went for 13 species to be listed, and when the votes came down it was a huge adrenaline rush.”

But the researchers still find the greatest adventure in the open water, pursuing answers and solutions to the ocean’s great challenges. Advances in technology have created new methods for getting to the core of what’s plaguing particular species of predators. Many scientists use satellite tags to track the movements of sharks with the idea that if you know where they are, you can focus conservation efforts there. But FIU scientist Yannis Papastamatiou wants to know what drives a shark to do what it does and go where it goes. Known internationally for his work in predator physiology and behavior, the London native explores the secret lives of sharks. He uses a variety of different tracking tags that reveal details about a shark’s behavior and physiology as it swims freely through its environment. These include sensors that record swim speed, acceleration, direction, and even digestive processes. Video cameras attached to the sharks provide further information on where the animals are and what they are doing. He is collecting as much data as possible about shark behavior, hoping to add a whole new level of understanding — one that can help predict how distributions of sharks could change over time with climate change. Though he studies coastal and open ocean populations, Papastamatiou brings an added layer of adventure to FIU’s Marine Sciences Program by diving to deep depths and going where many others dare not.

He also works with sawfish, a type of ray distinguished by a long extension of its nose and teeth resembling a saw. Perhaps one of the planet’s strangest creatures, all species of sawfish are listed as critically endangered or endangered. Papastamatiou is quick to point out that Florida represents the last stand for the sawfish in the United States, which is one reason he chose to come to FIU. But most of all, he was drawn to the idea of creating a marine predator research hub.

The FIU predator research hub

Heithaus says the predator research hub came about fairly organically. Marine biologist Jeremy Kiszka joined Heithaus’ lab as a post-doctoral researcher in 2012 to focus on marine top-predator ecology. He has worked all over the world studying how fisheries and other human activities impact the ecosystems of these predators. Papastamatiou joined FIU in 2015. Bond signed on not long after. Recognizing the growing emphasis on predator biology and ecology at FIU, Chapman soon realized a predator hub was assembling, something he wanted to be a part of. He arrived in the fall of 2016.

The team is joined by others in the Marine Sciences Program who are working in complementary areas including: Kevin Boswell, a fisheries and acoustics technology expert who works regularly with predators; and Yuying Zhang, a fisheries expert who is currently working on new methods of sampling for shark populations.

Though each scientist brings unique areas of interest and expertise, they share several common attributes. They all started out as researchers but have found themselves evolving into advocates. They never run out of questions to pursue. And they all have a sense of adventure that is balanced by deep respect for the predators they work with.

They are recognizable faces outside of the shark community. Papastamatiou, Heithaus and Chapman are regulars on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Heithaus also hosted a Critter Cam series on National Geographic and has authored several textbooks. Chapman gained international fame in 2007 with the discovery of the first documented virgin birth of a shark. He conducted DNA testing on a female hammerhead that mysteriously appeared in a tank occupied by three female sharks and determined the pup’s genetic makeup perfectly matched one of the adult females with no sign of a male parent. It wasn’t long before other cases of predator asexual reproduction were identified by Chapman.

But saving the world’s sharks is at the heart of it all. Without sharks, the scientists would all be out of work. More importantly, the oceans and the planet would be in trouble.

“The planet is changing, but there is cause for optimism,” Heithaus said. “Oceans can rebound. We just need to address the issues caused by people. We need to trust science. And we need to work together.”  ♦

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

D arren Martin didn’t know how cold it could get in Washington, D.C.

It’s a mistake any student from FIU could make. Pea coats and snow boots are not part of a typical South Florida resident’s attire, and Martin soon realized he would need both as he served an internship in the fall of 2011 in the Office of Presidential Correspondence at the White House.

Not long after getting started, Martin met Carlos Becerra ’98, MPA ’01, who heads the Washington branch of FIU’s   Office of Governmental Relations, otherwise known as “ FIU in DC.” When Martin said he did not own a coat, Becerra offered him his own. That gesture, and the support that followed from Becerra’s team, quickly made Martin feel at home in the Beltway and provided a sort of extended family.

“Carlos brought me in to meet the team,” Martin recalls. “They were all very inviting, encouraging me to get involved.”

After finishing his internship and graduating in 2012 with a bachelor’s in political science, Martin returned full time to the White House, eventually working up to an associate director position in the Office of Legislative Affairs.

Through it all, Martin stayed in touch with Becerra and helped advocate for the university and even hosted FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg in the West Wing. He also mentored FIU students who came to Washington to complete their own internships.

“If I had not gone to FIU, I might not have had the opportunity to get involved in politics,” says Martin, who participated in clubs on campus and volunteered in local elections as a student. “As an alum, you should want to give back and see your school supported. This is my way of giving back.”

Martin’s success story stands out as just one of many Becerra has witnessed and that FIU leadership hopes to replicate. “Our students have grit and go above and beyond,” Becerra says. “You transport them to a competitive town like this one, and they will succeed and become our best ambassadors in D.C.”

Read more:   Acosta nominated for U.S. labor secretary post

From the halls of Congress to the offices of K Street, FIU’s presence is everywhere in Washington, D.C.

Approximately 2,500 alumni in the D.C. metro area work in places such as legislative offices, engineering firms and museums. Roughly 80 to 100 students annually hold internships and   fellowships at government agencies such as the Department of Energy and nonprofit organiza tions such as the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute. Hundreds of professors and researchers – including infectious diseases expert Dr. Aileen Marty and   College of Arts, Sciences & Education  Dean Michael Heithaus – visit each year, often to brief public officials on a range of issues such as the Zika threat and agricultural innovation.

FIU has had an office in D.C. since 2001, which began with a focus on fostering congressional and federal agency relationships and strengthening alumni relations in efforts to expand the university’s financial base, including securing federal funds for research conducted at FIU. That is still the case today, but that mission has been expanded in recent years.

Now the office also works with students, faculty and alumni to help them gain a competitive advantage in one of the most important cities in the world, amplifying FIU’s voice in national dialogues on a number of important issues facing the nation, including sea level rise, higher education and transportation infrastructure.

And the payoff is there. In 2016 alone, the office advocated for critical grant initiatives that resulted in $22.7 million in funding; produced more than 40 events, including   TEDxFIU  and presidential debate watch parties, and hosted 800 individuals and key federal officials; welcomed 140 students who were either completing internships or visiting as part of their studies; directly placed 13 of  those interns in positions the office helped negotiate; and worked to assist 11 alumni in their successful pursuit of full-time positions within the city.

In June the office moved to a new, larger space just blocks from the Capitol building, giving the university a dynamic hub from which to address the problems that policymakers tackle every day.

“We want to assert our national leadership in these key areas,” Becerra says. “It’s important that the university is a player and propel our brand in D.C. The lessons learned at FIU in Miami could be very telling for the rest of the country.”

*  *  *  *  *

In the fall of 2016   Honors College  alumna Diana Bermudez ’16 completed a fellowship at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, where she planned events to promote the organization’s education and nonprofit programs and initiatives.

“As a university, we want to be recognized and we have so much to offer. The staff in this office wants us to succeed and make a good name for FIU and ourselves,” says Bermudez, who majored in international relations.

Renewed energy has been placed not only on finding internships and jobs for students, but also preparing and equipping them for success once they start them, either in Washington or elsewhere. That process has been pushed forward thanks to alumni living in the D.C. area getting more involved and engaged.

FIU in DC worked with   Student Affairs  to identify 20 students from a wide range of disciplines and fly them to D.C. for a   two-day career success workshop  in November, the first of a planned series of “fly-ins” during which students experience the nation’s capital and get a glimpse of the available opportunities.

The staff organized professional development workshops in the high-tech office space and matched students with alumni and employers working in their areas of   interest. The students sat for mock interviews with alumni and took behind-the-scenes tours of facilities such as the Pentagon, FBI headquarters and Fox News.

“The establishment of a stronger FIU presence in D.C. has already enabled us to expand the global experience we offer, allowing us to give students greater access to internships and jobs,” says John Stack,   founding dean of the  Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. “Through a more engaged academic presence, policy-relevant research, experiential learning and internships and immersive experiences with our D.C. partners, we will create even more of the global-minded leaders our nation so desperately needs.”

William A. Ramos ’85, the director of intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce during the Obama administration, became the president of FIU’s   alumni network in D.C. in the summer of 2016 and has seen the university’s continued growth in Washington through the years.

“We have access to power,” says Ramos, who holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from FIU. “We have influence in the decisions that are being made here.”

In 1989 two-time alumna Ileana Ros-Lehtinen ’75, MS ’87 became the only FIU   graduate to be elected to the U.S. Congress and today is the most senior Republican woman in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“FIU’s goals, interests and legislative agenda dovetail with mine so I feel privileged, honored and humbled to be part of the FIU community here in D.C.,” Ros-Lehtinen says. “I’m so happy to have the FIU presence here.”

Much of FIU’s influence resides in the work of professors and researchers, who travel to Washington roughly 500 times each year, often to speak to government agencies on important topics facing the nation. As one of only 15   universities that have a satellite presence in Washington, FIU provides faculty and other university leaders both practical assistance and a physical space from which to operate.

I n September Laura Dinehart, executive director of the   School of Education & Human Development, passed through on her way to   meeting with then-U.S. Secretary of Education John King  in support of the  Obama administration’s efforts to diversify the country’s teacher workforce. Dinehart’s work and expertise reflect FIU’s own growing profile.

“The nation is moving to a more diverse population,” Dinehart says, “and we know that we have to be a model for the rest of the nation. We are in a unique position to do that.”

In June Professor Atorod Azizinamini, the head of the university’s nationally recognized   Accelerated Bridge Construction research program, made a presentation at the Department of Transportation. Azizinamini has spent   decades investigating ways to meet the nation’s critical infrastructure challenges. He delivered his findings to top officials with the goal of   advancing production of safer, environmentally friendly bridges.

Azizinamini used the office as a home base during his visit and found it indispensable.

“The staff and space have enhanced our   visibility and our capabilities to be able to relay our message in D.C.,” he says.

His high-profile appearance at the U.S. DOT, coupled with a strong grant application, led in December to the agency’s awarding of a   $7.5 million grant to FIU  to work with the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials.

*  *  *  *  *

The FIU in DC team has been focused on building for the future and synchronizing with FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg’s vision for the university while celebrating a breakthrough year in the nation’s capital.

“If we are about impact, then our Washington center will underline this passion,” Rosenberg says. “We want to be seen as a cutting-edge, state-of-the-art facility that fosters great thinking about the issues and problems impacting humankind, that involves FIU-produced solutions and approaches.”  

In just such a case of making a national impact, FIU professors in December used the space for the first time to   offer continuing education to 31 engineering professionals  from around the country.

By bringing together engineers, architects and building officials for a two-day course on the structural design of skyscrapers, faculty in the College of Engineering & Computing were able to leverage the university’s preeminent research strengths.

And on the biggest stage of all, during the transition from President Barack Obama to President-elect Donald Trump, FIU in DC is working with alumni from across the political spectrum. The office contacted roughly 20 alumni who were outgoing appointees and offered them help in their next pursuits. At the same time, the office worked with about a dozen alumni who served in transition team roles.

With so many graduates already on the new administration’s radar, there is a strong likelihood that FIU alumni will be appointed to key positions. Vice President Michelle Palacio and the FIU in DC team gathered the names and information of alumni interested in federal appointments and have helped make introductions and connections that could position them for important roles.

That experience suggests that someday soon FIU will make an unprecedented mark in D.C.

“More and more people are waking up and seeing how FIU can impact this city,” Palacio says. “We won’t be surprised to see several members of Congress or Cabinet members who are FIU alumni in the future.” 

 Click through the map below to tour Washington, D.C., and learn about some of the thousands of Panthers helping to make a name for FIU in the nation’s capital.

“Around here, we don’t look backwards for very long… we keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

— Walt Disney

This issue features some of the new paths being walked by our FIU family. Managing Editor Alexandra Pecharich has written an engaging story about StartUP FIU, the university’s nascent entrepreneurship hub. I’m hard-pressed to think of another major city that is as steeped in entrepreneurial values as South Florida. StartUP FIU is a welcome addition to the scene.

Freelance journalist Eric Barton has written a fascinating read about the College of Law’s Death Penalty Clinic. As the only organization in Florida dedicated to making sure defense lawyers in capital cases give their clients the most effective representation possible, the clinic and those involved are offering services that can literally save lives.

As this country ushers in its 45th president, faculty member and presidential historian Kevin Evans has penned a thought-provoking editorial reminding us that our country has been through tumultuous political times in the past, even as he points out an important difference between those times and today.

JoAnn Adkins, director of marketing and communications in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education, introduces us to FIU’s groundbreaking shark researchers determined to protect the world’s shark population.

One final note: As this issue was going to press, we learned that Joel Delgado’s story about David Kadko’s expedition to the Arctic (“Journey to the Top of the World”) was recognized with a Grand Prize in Writing for the Web in CASE District III. The regional annual awards competition honors the best communications work from private and public universities in the southeastern United States. Integral to the piece’s impact was the microsite — arctic.fiu.edu — created by our External Relations team. Featuring Delgado’s prose, the photography and videography of Tim Long, and the web design talents of our Digital Communications team, its vivid storytelling takes the reader/viewer along on Kadko’s grand adventure. If you haven’t checked out the site yet, please do. It will be well worth your time.

Always Blue and Gold,

Karen Cochrane

Students graduating in 2016, the campaign’s inaugural year, were asked to donate $20.16 each to benefit scholarships for future students and other university projects. Future donations will continue to correspond with each class’ graduation year.

“It’s a small, manageable way for students to say thank you to FIU as they leave and begin their lives after university,” said Alumni Relations coordinator Beatriz Newborn.

Students were given the choice to designate their donations to a specific scholarship, such as the First-Generation Scholarship Fund, their college or school, or a program fund. Students who donated received a commemorative pin to wear on their gown at graduation. Between the Spring, Summer and Fall semester graduations, more than 1,000 students participated in the Class Gift campaign, raising more than $22,000.

“Students take pride in knowing they’re helping fellow Panthers,” said Newborn. “They’re cultivating and supporting those who are in our community.”

Amanda Cantillo ’16, who graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality and tourism management, said she was proud to give back to the university that kick started her career. “FIU has done so much for me, enriching my experience here, and I wanted to give back, even if it’s a small $20.16, to the next Panthers.”

Now a recruiter for FIU, Cantillo says she sees a lot of prospective students who are interested in FIU, but who would need scholarships to attend. “The more that’s collected, the more that can be done to help someone else. If there’s more to give, the university can help more students.”

The Class Gift campaign is an opportunity for the Alumni Association to connect with current students one-on-one and educate them about the importance of giving back to their alma mater now, as students, and in the future, as alumni, to ensure that Panthers continue to have the best educational opportunities.

“The funds collected from the Class Gift campaign go right back to supporting our students and the university’s greatest needs. It is our hope to inspire and motivate every graduate to give back to the university by sharing their time, talent and treasure,” said Duane Wiles, associate vice president for Alumni Relations & Annual Giving and executive director of the Alumni Association. “This campaign is the perfect way to engage new alumni and begin cultivating FIU’s future.”

There is an added benefit, said Cantillo, to giving back to FIU as an alumnus: “You have associated your name with FIU, and when you donate to the university, even a small amount, you’re helping build new buildings and programs, and you’re adding value to your degree. If the university goes up, so does your degree. That’s worth leaps and bounds.”

Wiles offered this call to action to future FIU graduates: “Students, your small, individual gift, combined with those from your classmates, will add up to make a huge impact and ensure a vibrant future for our students and our university.”

For more information on the Class Gift campaign, click here.

1. Prior to arriving at the Wolfsonian in 2015, you were director of the Scottsdale Museum of Art in Arizona. What attracted you to FIU and South Florida?
I have always admired the museum’s amazing collection, stellar exhibitions and publications, and great staff. And now that I am part of FIU, I have the same admiration for the high-quality work being accomplished at the university. The creative energy of Miami is a plus as well. It’s the perfect time to be in the arts in South Florida.

2. The Wolfsonian puts design on display in non-traditional forms. How should first-time visitors approach the museum and its exhibitions?
With an open mind. We are not a typical art museum, and that is what makes The Wolfsonian special and memorable. We are an institution that values all things made by humans because our creations represent the ideas we hold. For those of us who like to “see” ideas as much as read about them, The Wolfsonian’s wide range of objects allows us insight into the past as well as the present.

3. You sit on a universitywide arts committee. Why is exposure to the arts so vital for young people in particular? 
The 21st century will be remembered as the century of images. Selfies, emoji, photos, videos and movies are the means by which we communicate with one another. What better way to learn about how to make and interpret images than through the study of art?

4. The museum is digitizing its collection at the same time that you are actively inviting visitors and researchers to your physical space. Why all this “behind-the-scenes” activity?
We want to make sure that people around the world have access to our collection, programs, exhibitions and publications. We believe our virtual museum and online publications provide a very full experience for those who cannot get here.

5. The Wolfsonian is celebrating 20 years since its joining the university. What plans do you have for the coming years?
In the next five years we will be renovating our current building to triple the amount of exhibition space. This will allow us to show much, much more of the permanent collection. People are going to be amazed to see what we have!  ♦

The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center in 2016 celebrated two decades of arts education and cultural programming. A standout facility made possible by two generous philanthropists, it serves both the university and greater South Florida as a hub of creativity and public engagement. Take a look at some of the highlights of the center’s 20-year history.

Click here to view an interactive timeline of the Wertheim’s rich history.  ♦

Read more: Theatre alumnus a voice for Hispanic-American culture

The alumni of one of FIU’s oldest fraternities, Sigma Phi Epsilon, are channeling their spirit of giving to fill a need at the university: They plan to build a multistory educational center on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus that will provide space for the university’s Greek organizations to hold weekly chapter meetings, host events and recruit new members.

“We have a dire need for meeting space on campus for Greek organizations,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Lunsford. “We just don’t have a large enough space, because we’re up to 38 sororities and fraternities, with 200 in some of the groups.”

So the brothers of SigEp, which this year celebrates its 30^th anniversary, have joined forces with their national chapter to raise more than $2 million for a planned 6000-square-foot facility near the east entrance of campus.

The first floor will house a SigEp suite – though the facility is not a physical living quarters for the brothers ­­– and the upper floors will be available for rent to other Greek organizations and FIU departments or services in need of space. The blueprints currently include convertible rooms that can serve as smaller conference rooms for meetings or open up into ballrooms.

“The goal is to create a center for our chapter to have a place to meet and have an identity and have a permanent presence on campus,” said SigEp alumnus Ben Sardinas ’01. “In the spirit of doing it the SigEp way, we want to create an environment where the learning community is part of university operations.”

Many of the brothers joined SigEp to feel more connected to the university and to get involved on campus. At a national level, the fraternity encourages involvement on campus to ensure brothers receive a holistic education.

“My dad always said, ‘Sound mind, sound body. You need to have a balanced life,’” said SigEp alumnus Sean Gazitua ’04, who is now president and CEO of WTDC, a logistics and foreign trade zone business in Miami. This advice is what sparked his connection with SigEp.

During his time at FIU, Gazitua served on SigEp’s executive board, and helped coordinate the fraternity’s philanthropic events, including an annual wrestling marathon. Now, he serves on the fraternity’s Alumni Volunteer Council, coordinating the organizations’ alumni events.

“We really try to bring everyone back to the university, because at the end of the day we all got our education here,” Gazitua said.

Some of the ways they stay involved with FIU as alumni include monthly happy hour gatherings, pictured above, and a golf tournament on Feb. 24 that raised $40,000 for first-generation scholarships and SigEp scholarships at FIU, as well as the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.

“SigEp traditionally is one of our stronger fraternities in terms of service to the university, so their involvement has been appreciated,” Lunsford said. “There’s a large number of alumni from this fraternity who have graduated, are doing well financially and can give back to their fraternity like they’re giving back to FIU.”

Eddie Hondal ’88, MA ’00, current president of the FIU Alumni Association, isn’t a traditional brother – he was made an honorary brother during his time as FIU’s alumni director in the 1990s, when he fostered relationships with the brothers as their faculty advisor and mentor. What he learned from the organization made it an easy decision to get involved.

“You build. You continue to expand your professional networks. You have an affinity with the university, as well as the fraternity. You work on a multitude of things. You learn to prioritize, organize and develop skills needed in every day professional life. You tend to enhance and perfect those skills,” Hondal said.

Like his brothers, he has dedicated his life to giving back to the university that gave him his start.

“Harvard, Yale, all the great universities have a strong alumni component that gives back and donates their time,” Hondal said. “We want to instill pride in current students so when we’re gone, they will do the same.”

Tom Jelke ’90, who owns an educational consulting company, said SigEp culture works to instill a spirit of giving back in its members. Among his many contributions to FIU, he has funded a scholarship for students studying his undergraduate major, English.

“Part of our ritual talks about support and loyalty to the alma mater,” Jelke said. “Personally, I feel I learned a lot in my classes, but I also learned a lot of interpersonal skills, problem solving skills, and how to interact with people who were different than me through getting involved on campus.”

Said Sardinas: “More than anything we’re just trying to build something that is a part of the university. This is bigger than SigEp. If we can build this for the university, I think we can help our organization and a ton of other organizations in ways we least expect.”  ♦

Kevin Evans is a professor of political science in the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. He teaches and writes on issues related to conflict and cooperation between the branches of American government and the institutional development of the presidency.

Interpreting the 2016 presidential elections has been a very difficult task. The nastiness, conflict and misinformation have been disheartening. And while most would agree that the volume and intensity of vitriol have been unprecedented, the history of presidential elections is littered with plenty of ugliness. The death of Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachel, is often attributed, at least in part, to the personal attacks levied against the Jacksons in 1828; the North and South went to war with one another soon after the election of 1860; and Grover Cleveland often heard chants of “Ma, Ma, where’s my Pa?” as his political opponents sought to discredit him with an alleged illicit relationship and pregnancy cover-up in 1884. We are no strangers to difficult elections. 

Despite these bitter contests, the country has always found a way to move forward. Our hope then should not lie in a belief that we all need to come together in agreement. Instead, our hope should be rooted in the robustness of our institutions—institutions that are specifically designed to leverage our differences, self interest and policy conflict for the public good.

In my Introduction to American Government class, I spend a great deal of time discussing Federalist 10 and Federalist 51. The Federalist Papers were a series of essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay urging the citizens of New York to ratify the U.S. Constitution. These two texts provide the theoretical framework for understanding how our system of government is supposed to function and “control the violence of faction.” Factions, or groups of citizens pursuing their “common impulse of passion” that are “adverse to the rights of other citizens,” are a problem in Madison’s eyes because they potentially create chaos and tyranny. Madison felt that factions generated “instability, injustice and confusion,” which were “the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished.” Yet, Madison did not shy away from the intense conflict and problems brought about by factions. In Federalist 10, he argues that the solution is to “take in a greater variety of parties and interests.” In other words, a large, diverse republic that brings conflict into government can pit factions and ambitions against one another and, to some extent, diffuse them.

Given the sustained durability of our institutions today, that scheme appears to have worked fairly well. One of the problems of the system, however, is that it relies heavily on Madison’s inaccurate view of human nature. Madison felt that citizens would be passionate about politics and actively seek out their factional interests. Yet, decades and decades of political science research shows that the average person is not deeply engaged in politics. Many do not take the time to learn about the issues of the day, and still others abstain from political participation altogether. Our system is designed to function best when citizens are seeking out their self-interest in government and actively dangling the keys to political office in front of their representatives to enforce representation.

I hope our most recent election will spur citizens to more actively engage in politics. The foundations of our system of government do not hold up very well if we do not push our representatives to actually represent us. Regardless of whom you voted for in November, passionately pursuing your interests in government is the best way for the system to function as intended. Democracy is about much more than elections, and we cannot go back into hibernation for another four years.

So, call your member of Congress, donate to your favorite interest group, sit through a city council meeting and fight for meaningful reforms. While we often feel that the political parties do not represent us very well, we do not always participate in meaningful ways to try and transform them. (I am guilty of that, too!) The simple truth is that party organizations have a wide-open door at the local level, but typically activists are the only ones willing to pour in the time and effort. If more people walk through that door, perhaps our parties will become something better as well. In the end, our politics cannot change for the better unless we seriously engage.  ♦

Johanna C. Salazar MBA ’10

• Vice President, Production Planning & Operations, Viacom Global Entertainment Group
• Founder, Media Disrupters LLC
• Co-founder, Grateful Group LLC
• Co-founder, Young Women Social Entrepreneurs—Miami Chapter

Q: Working in media—as a content strategist, executive producer and self-proclaimed “disrupter”—how do you maintain the needed level of creativity?

A: For me, creativity is simply the art of figuring things out, coming up with ideas when the options seem obsolete and never giving up on your vision. I find that listening to my gut and following my purpose, while never forgetting my core values, keeps my creativity alive.

Q: As an entrepreneur, you must be both focused and fearless. How do you sustain that?

A: I believe my strength comes from learning and knowledge. I read something every day related to my industry. I also pay attention to various news outlets so I know what’s happening in my community and in the world. I take courses and I ask lots of “stupid” questions constantly. I embrace change and I confront failure.

I live my life learning from my mistakes because I don’t want to live with regret. Some might call me fearless, I call it “riskful.” My mother once told me that if we don’t take risks in life we won’t succeed. I took that piece of advice very seriously and made it my life motto.

Q: Gratitude is huge for you. How has that simple—but powerful—approach guided you to success?

A: Life is full of hardships and lessons; if we focus on the bad, it will become our truth. If we look at the other side, the blessings and the positive, that will become our truth. Whenever I find myself going through a human moment, I get myself thinking about all the things I’m grateful for. This exercise usually helps me refocus.

Q: You have created organizations to empower others. Why is that important to you?

A: Empowerment is the responsibility of every leader and manager. I think this is something we all need to take very seriously because if we are bad leaders we will raise bad future leaders.

Q: What is your best advice to someone looking to succeed in business, or in any field?

A: I love this quote by Einstein: “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” I love this quote because it made me think long and hard about success and the meaning of success for me. I decided that I am a woman of value because my meaning of success is happiness. If you are grateful, you are happy. If you are happy, you have achieved success!

Q: How did FIU help position you for success?

A: FIU made me feel like I was part of an awesome learning community. I built amazing relationships and friendships that are still part of my life. I believe FIU is more than just an institution. It’s a community of people that really care, that love their jobs, that make things happen. I look forward to being part of the FIU community for the rest of my life!  ♦

Stavros Georgakopoulos holds a patent for “origami antennas.” Inspired by the Japanese art of paper folding—with its mathematical underpinning—his lightweight version of the traditionally bulky equipment has huge implications. For example, soldiers in the field have for years shared intelligence with base stations by relying on heavy, cumbersome metal antennas that often must be transported by hand or in backpacks over rough terrain. At a fraction of the weight, the model made possible by Georgakopoulos —he mainly uses paper (inkjet-printed with copper and silver to serve as conductors) but is exploring flexible plastics and other materials—can be stowed compactly, opened easily and collapsed quickly. The launching of satellite antennas during space missions would likewise be improved. The invention, research for which was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, is now being brought to market via his startup company and has generated talks with the military and a private aerospace firm.

Also helping to keep the data flowing: Georgakopoulos’ innovations in wireless power transfer and wireless communications. He holds two patents focused on eliminating the need for batteries—which can be both time-consuming and expensive to replace—across a variety of devices. These include instruments that measure vital statistics, sensors that monitor environmental conditions when mounted on airplanes or cars, and even sensors that can be embedded within the concrete poured to build new bridges. The last could provide feedback regarding a structure’s soundness for 100 or more years, Georgakopoulos says. Free of batteries, any of these devices can last indefinitely, he adds.

Having worked in industry for six years before joining FIU in 2007, Georgakopoulos combines the engineer’s passion for solving problems with the professor’s love of research and teaching.

“Whatever we do, we try to be innovative and make a difference in the world,” he says of the team working in his campus lab. “That’s what excites my students, the innovative applications that can have a transformative impact.”  ♦

When his father-in-law passed, the family missed an opportunity to claim life insurance because the policy had not been renewed.

Learning from those experiences, Brown founded and is the CEO of an end-of-life planning software called DocuVital, a one-stop shop for important documents needed in the event of a death. It guides a consumer through easy-to-use steps to acquire, organize, and safely store paperwork and photos, like a virtual safe.

Launching the business was daunting. It was in the concept phase for two years.

Then Brown began working with the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at FIU. It provides no-cost business consulting to entrepreneurs and small-business owners in Miami, one of Florida’s most active regions for entrepreneurship.

Brown relied on the SBDC’s experts to improve his company website, and he is conferring with them on marketing and promotions. Consultants also helped him develop a strategy to target companies that can provide DocuVital as part of an employee benefits package.

As the company takes off, Brown recognizes the value of having access to the local SBDC.

“It has helped me, on the marketing side, really drill down onto who my ideal customer is, especially since my product, as an end-of-life planning product, has not been in the market before,” he said.

The Florida SBDC at FIU, part of a statewide network, was established in 2014 in recognition that launching a new business or driving the growth of an established one isn’t easy- the challenges are many. The biggest include access to capital, financial management, exporting, marketing, and government contracting. Consultants help with market research, developing a business plan, permitting and licensing, and international market opportunities and strategies.

“Sometimes business owners come in and they need money to grow but don’t know how much or the kind of funding that’s best for their business,” said Jaqueline Sousa, regional director of the SBDC at FIU. “Our team of consultants works one-on-one with small businesses that want to grow.”

In 2014-2015, the statewide Florida SBDC network assisted 1,088 entrepreneurs and business owners and helped launch 55 new businesses. The group helped entrepreneurs access $29.9 million in capital via loans and equity investments, and generate $604.9 million in additional sales.

The SBDC at FIU works with small and medium sized businesses that have revenue of up to $20 million. The economic-development assistance focuses on promoting growth, expansion, competitive advantage, profitability, management improvement, and employment development.

Will the business readily obtain bank loans? Does an equity investment make more sense, who are the potential investors and how to reach them? “It all starts with financial and competitive analysis,” said Sousa.

As companies reach a crossroad and need help to grow, financial guidance is key. The Florida SBDC at FIU asses where the company is and where it wants to be before establishing a path for success. Since its launch, the Florida SBDC at FIU has assisted a broad range of businesses.

Growth and new opportunities led the founders of Revpar Guru, a back-end revenue management engine for hoteliers, to the Florida SBDC at FIU. Launched in January 2008, Revpar’s software analyzes a hotel’s room offerings, its historical rates, the rates of competitors within the same area, pricing trends and environmental factors to identify the best rate for maximizing occupancy at a given time.

Initially, CEO Jean Francois Mourier and business partner Bruno Perez faced resistance from hoteliers who were wary of Revpar’s technology and the results it might yield. Financial institutions too had been reluctant to give the company expansion capital.

“Our original plan was to find capital and we thought they could help. It turned out to be instrumental,” said Mourier. The Florida SBDC at FIU consultant, a financial business analyst shared his business knowledge and contacts, introducing Perez and Mourier to “heavy hitters” in the financial industry. Today, the Miami Beach-based venture is being used by hoteliers in 35 countries.

“The advisor taught us how to prepare a better business plan, prepare balance sheets and how to present the company to banks in a specialty field,” said Mourier. “He takes you by the hand. Without him, it would have taken ten times more effort to knock on the doors we’ve reached out to.”  ♦

When Kevin Evers killed three men in Miami Beach in 2003 simply because they wouldn’t turn down their music, it was by all accounts a cold-blooded act, and prosecutors sought the death penalty.

Then one of Evers’ attorneys, Stephen K. Harper, an assistant public defender at the time, found out a lot more about Evers. Unemployed at the time of the murders, Evers had lost his wife in childbirth. He had given up his daughter for adoption. His family had a history of serious mental illness. Nothing could excuse what Evers had done, but Harper hoped the personal information might save his client from death row.

Harper prepared what’s known as a mitigation package, a legal document that lists reasons and evidence in support of sparing a defendant from lethal injection. “If you prepare the mitigation evidence effectively, you’ll often convince prosecutors to waive death or to offer a plea to something less than death or to get a jury to vote for life [imprisonment],” Harper said.

But while this mitigation evidence can often save defendants from death row, its collection is rarely done right in Florida capital cases. That’s what Harper has found as co-director of Florida Center for Capital Representation at the FIU College of Law. It is the only organization in Florida that consults with, teaches and assists lawyers in all aspects of capital representation. Those efforts are made possible through a two-year $620,000 grant from the Themis Fund, an anti-death penalty group.

Among other activity at the center, Harper helps attorneys throughout the state prepare mitigation evidence through his “death penalty clinic.” He teaches a course on the subject to law students and each semester selects several of them, for which they receive course credit, to work with lawyers engaged in capital cases. The clinic has closed 34 cases and is currently consulting on 83 cases.

In addition to the center’s work on mitigation, Harper and co-director Karen Gottlieb worked with others to encourage the legislature to change Florida’s death penalty law. And while the legislature did change the law, requiring a life sentence unless the jury voted for death by a vote of 10-2 or more, it did not go far enough, as Harper and Gottlieb had predicted. The state’s Supreme Court declared the law invalid in a ruling in October, deciding that juries ought to be unanimous when sentencing a defendant to death.

Rewriting the state’s flawed law is crucial to attorneys who handle death penalty cases, said Edith Georgi, a Miami-Dade County assistant public defender who tried more than 75 jury trials from 1981 until her retirement in November. Georgi said Harper’s work has been instrumental in bringing about a change. “He really knows how to pull people together,” Georgi said. “Steve’s organization has been extremely effective in getting results. It’s saving lives, definitely.”

Among Harper’s first tasks was simply to begin compiling all the pending and possible death penalty cases in Florida. No state agency keeps track of pending capital cases, so a clearinghouse was created, based on data from the 20 judicial circuits, to show trends.

The data will also determine which Florida circuit courts seek the death penalty most often and which state attorney offices are most effective at getting death penalty convictions. Initial results have shown that the now former prosecutor in Jacksonville sought and received death penalty convictions far more than any other circuit in Florida, Harper said.

One of the many reason for this is that trials are not conducted uniformly throughout the state. For example, jury selection in capital cases takes only a day or two in Jacksonville, while attorneys in Miami-Dade will often spend more than a month on the same task, Harper said.

To help educate defense attorneys on how to hold more effective jury selection, Harper enlisted third-year law student Ashley Allison, pictured above. She is working on a comprehensive memo that will outline how to effectively pick juries and make sure the trial record is clear if denied opportunities to question jurors. It will offer suggestions on how to question potential jurors, asking about their potential biases regarding the death penalty and any personal history that might influence how they would vote if they make the jury. Once completed, the memo will be circulated to Florida lawyers who work on death penalty cases.

“There’s huge variations in how death penalty cases are handled in Florida, and it shouldn’t be that way,” Allison said. “We’re hoping to create some uniformity in the way death penalty cases are defended.”

Allison became interested in the subject based in part on her own family history. Allison said her great-great-grandfather died in jail, after waiting 15 years for a trial. “I grew up realizing the justice system doesn’t always work,” Allison said. She interned at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s office and will start work there full time after graduation.

In working with attorneys to more effectively prepare mitigation packages, Harper encourages them to hire mitigation specialists who can help gather evidence.

Among them is Deb Alberto, of Able Detectives in Melbourne. A former investigative journalist, Alberto now spends her days combing documents and interviewing family, friends and former co-workers of defendants who face the death penalty.

“It’s a life history investigation,” Alberto said. “The prosecution often makes the person look one-dimensional and defined by the worst thing they’ve done in their life. We try to look at the whole person as a way to possibly bring some empathy.”

Alberto helped prepare mitigation evidence in the case of Jessica McCarty, the Palm Bay mother who murdered her three children in 2015. The mitigation package showed that McCarty had a history of mental illness that went untreated. The evidence was enough to convince prosecutors to drop the death penalty and agree to a plea deal that sent McCarty away for life.

McCarty’s case is evidence of the importance of what Harper’s clinic is doing, Alberto said. “It’s good to see that there’s a center making sure that justice is done right,” Alberto said.

In the Evers case, Harper and his co-counsel presented mitigation evidence that showed their client suffered a bipolar disorder, psychotic episodes and brain damage that kept him from controlling his impulses. Evers had pleaded guilty, leaving the fate of his sentencing to a judge, and the judge agreed to spare Evers from the death penalty. Evers is now serving a life sentence in a Martin County prison.

“Once we gathered that mitigation package, we had a pretty convincing argument to present to the prosecution and ultimately to the court,” Harper recalled.

Now, Harper and his colleagues at the death penalty clinic hope they can teach other attorneys how to do the same.  ♦

Psychologist Lindsay C. Malloy has devoted her career to improving the treatment of children in the legal system, including the development of better interrogation methods and interviewing techniques. As people across the United States express outrage over the interrogation methods used to question Steven Avery’s intellectually disabled nephew Brendan Dassey in the the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer, Malloy reminds readers not to forget the countless numbers of children who face interrogations every day. Dassey, who was 16 years old at the time, was convicted as an accomplice in the murder.

Malloy is a developmental psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Children and Families at FIU. She has devoted her career to improving the treatment of youth in the legal system, including the development of better interrogation methods and investigative interviewing techniques. Malloy’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services. She was granted early career awards from the American Psychological Association for her contributions to science and policy concerning children, families and the law.

Learn more about Malloy’s work in her 2016 TEDxFIU talk featured above.

Apply to be a TEDxFIU 2017 speaker here.

Performers apply here.