In case you missed the announcement on Friday Oct. 18, the University of Miami officially has a new president – Joe Echevarria.
If the name sounds familiar, that is because it should. Echevarria has been active in UM leadership for over a decade and became interim president after Julio Frenk stepped down in June.
Many are asking questions about his top priorities for the University and if his business background qualifies him for the job. But, why should we as students care who the president is?
While we as students most likely will have few face-to-face interactions with the president, his decisions ultimately still affect us. If you are invested in the general direction and culture of the University, then you should care about who is running things for accountability’s sake. It is impossible to praise, critique, or make requests of leadership when you don’t know who they are.
According to the U.S. News, the primary responsibilities of a college president involve deciding on and implementing overall leadership strategy, fundraising/budgeting and helping set overall campus structure. — all of which are very important, but don’t necessarily impact the day-to-day life of the average student.
The University of Miami in recent years has worked to distinguish itself from other institutions of higher learning. On June 1, 2023, our University became one of the newest members of the esteemed Association of American Universities. Additionally, UM continues to aid the local Miami and global communities through medical innovations, receive top-tier accolades for our athletics and have resources that help support our multicultural student body.
All of these things are, of course, carried out by the hard-working leaders, faculty, staff and students of our campus but the vision that sets them into motion comes from our president.
Part of the reason why we come to UM, aside from the education, is the plethora of opportunities, such as access to a huge network as well as internship and employment connections, that are made available because we belong to this community. Many of those doors are accessible because of the actions of UM’s leadership, which is now spearheaded by President Echeverria.
As we approach our 100th year, the University has lofty goals identified in the ‘Roadmap To Our New Century’ ushered in by former President Frenk. Items such as new and improved housing, and greater academic resources and support do not happen without the backing of the President.
If you are dedicated to the success and culture of the university and want to hold people accountable for what does and doesn’t get accomplished, then Joe Echevarria matters to you.