A parade of academically fueled research projects by students took center stage in the University Center and the University Green last April for an exhibition that provides students opportunities to apply classroom experience to real-world issues.

The 9th Annual Citizens Board Research and Creativity Forum (RCF) showcased a slice of the research that takes place across UM’s five campuses daily.

From a study scrutinizing child safety devices in automobiles and the level of parental responsibility to research on spinal reparations in rats that could ultimately contribute to a cure for spinal paralysis in humans, this program not only covered the gamut of knowledge but also tied in relevancy to issues in everyday society.

The Office of Graduate Studies sent out more than 3,000 invitations throughout the neighboring Coral Gables area inviting residents to come and observe the accomplishments of the students.

“This program has allowed our neighbors insight to what the University has to offer in research possibilities,” Jim Fatzinger, chief coordinator of RCF, said.

According to Fatzinger, in the last few years, the forum has taken off as a high student participatory event. The reason for that is the consolidation of the Graduate Student Association and the Undergraduate Inquiry Research connection.

“This, coupled with an increase in cooperate recognition, has caused an explosion in participation since 2002,” Fatzinger said. “This project is practically the best-kept secret in town mainly because of the lack attention paid by other students.”

RCF was initially created to nurture students in preparation for future presentations.

Now the forum is open to both undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines. Long, descriptive abstracts passed out at the entrance described projects based on original work, either published or unpublished.

During the forum, faculty judges evaluated projects on display and offered feedback.

In many cases these students used the forum to make a trial run to gain experience they will later use when representing UM at national conferences in their field. On Friday, an awards banquet was held for all of the participants.

“This is a definitely an opportunity for students and faculty to combine ideas and findings that are important today,” Fatzinger said.

According to Fatzinger, each first place winner will be awarded $100, which in the end totals approximately $1,900. The winners had a wide range of projects, displaying the all-encompassing nature of the forum.

Among the winners were Seanna Cronin, who won the undergraduate Art category with an underwater photography display of South Florida and Australia. Jennifer Gilliam took first place in the undergraduate Sociology, Philosophy, Education and Communication category with her documentary on the West Grove.

For more information, visit www.miami.edu/rcf.

Larry Nolan can be contacted at

l.nolan@umiami.edu.

Students facing issues they feel they can’t handle by themselves have a resource they may not be aware of. The University of Miami Ombudsperson is available to assist students with problems ranging from issues with an academic department, parking, housing, registration and other University-related issues.

The current Ombudsperson, Mariana Valdes-Fauli, has been in the position at UM for almost two years.

“I enjoyed the concept of alternative dispute resolution in law school and being able to combine these concepts with helping students seems like the perfect job,” Valdes-Fauli said.

Valdes-Fauli serves students by being an impartial, private and informal third party in conflicts. Her role is not to take sides, but to advocate for a fair resolution for all parties by considering everyone’s rights and interests. Students are guaranteed that everything they speak to the Ombudsperson about will remain in confidence unless otherwise required by UM policies and procedures.

Even in situations that don’t require conflict resolution, the Ombudsperson is a valuable asset for students. Valdes-Fauli can answer questions, explain policies and refer students to other University resources that could be helpful in their situations.

In addition, the Office of the Ombudsperson also has an established Troubleshooters program. This program is set up to help students resolve issues at the lowest level possible.

Faculty members and administrators serve as troubleshooters in their specific area of UM. They are a resource for students seeking assistance with academic and non-academic matters.

If the Troubleshooter is unable to solve a student’s problem the next step is the Ombudsperson. Students can find a list of Troubleshooters at www.miami.edu/ombudsperson. Valdes-Fauli can be reached at 305-284-4922 or by email at ombudsperson@miami.edu.

Catherine Howden can be contacted at

c.howden@umiami.edu.

You can tell a school administrator is really involved with students when she has an account on thefacebook.com. For Dr. Patricia Whitely, vice president for Student Affairs, it’s a part of the job.

“[My job is] to really support the students outside of the classroom, support student learning and make sure that they’re academically successful,” Dr. Whitely said. “I come to a lot of event-Sportsfest, Funday, Homecoming-I’m around a lot. I never want to lose that contact with the students.”

As the senior student affairs officer at UM, Dr. Whitely is responsible for almost everything and anything a student can be involved in, from residence halls, the Wellness Center and health services to Multicultural Student Affairs, Greek life and the University Center. Despite the immense responsibility that comes with administrating a staff of more than 140, she still manages to be there for the 15,000 students enrolled at UM.

“I try the absolute best [to be accessible],” she said. “Students have my cell phone, email, voicemail. I’m as accessible as I can be and anyone can get me at anytime, it doesn’t matter who they are.”

Dr. Whitely also works closely with UM President Donna E. Shalala to ensure that students’ needs are met in all areas, whether they be easing the transition to dorm life by renovating the laundry facilities, providing transportation with the Ibis Ride, or making it possible for more than 250 students to attend the historic Presidential Debate that was held at the Convocation Center in September 2004.

“President Shalala and I have a good relationship with the students and I think that there’s been great benefit from the focus on students,” Dr. Whitely said. “President Shalala’s interested in what students want and need.”

Dr. Whitely has been awarded numerous times for her involvement with students and student organizations; she was named the Most Influential Administrator by Planet Kreyol, the Haitian Student Organization and earned the Special Recognition Award from United Black Students in 2005.

“My favorite part of the job is interacting with students, getting to know them personally, solving problems and making things better for a student,” she said. “We do that every day.”

In addition to receiving her doctorate at UM in 1994, Dr. Whitely has spent her entire career as a ‘Cane, working closely with students all along. She started as a residence coordinator in ’82, and was associate director of Residence Halls and director of Student Life and Whitten University Center before being appointed to her current position in 1997.

These days, almost every student, including freshmen, will run into her at some point, even if they’re not very involved, though Dr. Whitely wouldn’t recommend it.

“Try to get involved in your first semester with one or two things,” she said. “Take advantage of lectures and speakers and come to us with any difficulty. There isn’t a problem that we can’t solve as long as we know about it.”

Natalia Maldonado can be contacted at

n.maldonado@umiami.edu.

Freshmen need not feel alone when they arrive on campus in the fall.

“I’m a senior, but I’m not graduating. I liked my freshman year so much that I’m starting all over again,” said University President Donna E. Shalala, who came to UM in 2001 and will be on her fifth year this semester.

In those years, she’s changed the University for the better, bringing the school into the national spotlight when the 2004 Presidential Debate was held at the Convocation Center in September, when the Dalai Lama visited campus and when the Hurricane football team became national champion in 2001. Amid all this recognition, Dr. Shalala has improved the University where it counts the most-academics.

“I really feel that the University has gotten better, academically and socially,” she said. “It’s a better University after four years. We’re making progress. Everyone wants their degree to become more valuable.”

Dr. Shalala has been a leader since before she arrived at UM. She served as President of Hunter College of CUNY from 1980 to 1987 and as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993.

In 1993 she became the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Clinton administration and served for eight years, the longest serving HHS Secretary in U.S. history.

Now, as president of the University of Miami, Dr. Shalala oversees everything and everyone at the school.

“I’m in charge of everything but I don’t do everything myself,” she admits. “I have very talented colleagues and deans. But I try to know everything and I try to see the University from the point of view of the students. So they won’t be surprised to see me at the student section at football games.”

In fact, Dr. Shalala makes it a point to be there for the students.

“Listening to the students is the most important thing a president can do,” she says. When students have a problem or need advice, they often email her for help.

Her goals for the University emphasize the students’ needs and the constant improvement of the quality of education. Being at UM, Dr. Shalala feels that students have an advantage.

“The University is so diverse. There are people here from all over the world so you get a real world education,” she says. “And the faculty really cares about students. We pride ourselves on good teaching.”

For students who are new to the University, Dr. Shalala offers a few words of advice.

“Be open to new ideas. Take courses in areas that you have no interest in,” she says. “We’re trying to educate for the future, not just the first job. Ten years from now that course might be useful, so take courses with professors that have a completely different opinion from you. It’s good preparation for having an open mind.”

Students can reach President Shalala at dshalala@miami.edu.

Natalia Maldonado can be contacted at

n.maldonado@umiami.edu.

The University named Dr. Thomas J. LeBlanc as the new Executive Vice President and Provost on May 5.

The Provost serves as the University’s chief academic and budget officer, overseeing a variety of aspects that range from research funding to admissions and expenditures.

“We are delighted to have Tom LeBlanc, an energetic, gifted academic leader as well as a seasoned administrator, assume the position of Executive Vice President and Provost of the University,” said President Donna E. Shalala in a statement.

Before assuming his new post on July 1, Dr. LeBlanc was Vice Provost and Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Dean of the Faculty at the University of Rochester in New York, There, Dr. LeBlanc oversaw divisions such as student services, admissions and the merger of the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering.

“Joining the University of Miami is an exciting challenge and a great opportunity,” Dr. LeBlanc said in the statement. “It’s a private research university, which is my world, and the University is a central part of an exciting and booming region.”

His first job will be to get to know the institution, Dr. LeBlanc said in a phone interview.

“Research universities tend to be very complex -their people, history, campus, departments,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Dr. LeBlanc said he has already looked broadly at the University, which has more schools than his previous institution. The University of Rochester, with an undergraduate student body of 3,700, was “more personalized,” Dr. LeBlanc said. “But the principles are the same.”

The University of Miami has an undergraduate body of around 9,500.

At Rochester, Dr. LeBlanc took part in implementing a new undergraduate curriculum, restructuring advising and improving undergraduate recruitment, among other things.

University administrators took part in the search of the new provost and said they were happy with the choice.

“We’re very pleased with the results of this search,” said Dennis O. Lynch, dean of the UM School of Law and chair of the search committee. “We’re confident that Tom LeBlanc will be an excellent provost.”

The new provost said he wants to continue improving recruitment and retention at UM.

“There needs to be a precise articulation of what Miami offers compared to the competition,” Dr. LeBlanc said. “We need to make sure that the University delivers to the students.”

Dr. LeBlanc, a tenured professor of computer science, said he would not be teaching right away to take time to learn the ropes of the University.

The new provost, who lived one year in Brazil, speaks Portuguese and has studied Spanish. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982.

Dr. LeBlanc, 49, is moving to Miami with his wife Anne Marie. They have two sons, Brian, a student at Rice University, and David, a student at the University of Rochester.

Patricia Mazzei can be contacted at

p.mazzei@umiami.edu.

The University of Miami announced in March that the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences would be Dr. Michael R. Halleran, formerly the divisional dean of Arts and Humanities and a professor of classics at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Dr. Halleran received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1981. A specialist in Greek literature and Greek intellectual history, he has been teaching the classics at the University of Washington since 1983. In 1997, Dr. Halleran was appointed to the position of divisional dean of Arts and Humanities, oversaw the re-creation of the Simpson Center for the Humanities, created a new Center for Digital Arts and launched a revision of foundation courses.

“Out of such an exceptionally strong pool of candidates, he emerged as both a superb scholar and someone who gets glowing reviews as an administrator,” UM Librarian William Walker, who chaired the search committee, said.

Selected by a committee made up of both faculty members and College of Arts and Sciences students, Dr. Halleran said that he was attracted to UM because it is setting an example for other universities in the future.

“When I think about what universities will look like in 10 to 12 years, I think a lot of them will look like UM because of its cultural diversity of students,” Dr. Halleran said. “I think it’s a wonderful university in one of America’s greatest cities.”

Dr. Halleran will be replacing former Dean James Wyche, who announced his resignation from the position in May 2004.

His main focus upon arriving in Miami will be to learn more about the University and how he can contribute to the College of Arts and Sciences.

“I don’t come in with a 10-point plan,” he said. “What I need to do is a lot of listening-to chairs, faculty, students and staff. Every campus has its own culture, so I need to learn more. That’s one of the things I find exciting. I think I’ll learn a lot.”

Dr. Halleran said he looks forward to working with the potential that the University has for furthering its reputation.

“It’s a young campus-I like that. Being younger makes one more nimble. You don’t have tradition telling you ‘this is how you do it,'” he said. “I’m thinking about faculty and students. Those are the two main ingredients. I’m thinking, ‘Can I recruit people to an exciting place that has a strong upside and opportunities?’ and the answer is yes.”

“My job as a dean is to create a culture of opportunity. That’s what education is really about. There are a lot of things in place at UM so that one can extend that culture of opportunity.”

A native of New York, Dr. Halleran has lived in Seattle for the past 22 years and is moving to Miami with his wife, Rebecca, and three kids in July.

Natalia Maldonado can be contacted at

n.maldonado@umiami.edu.

University President Donna E. Shalala announced last February the appointment of Dr. Sam L Grogg as new Dean of the School of Communication. Dr. Grogg, who is Dean of the American Film Institute Conservatory [AFI] in Los Angeles, Calif., will replace Edward J. Pfister, who has been dean of the School since its foundation in 1985.

“This was not an easy decision,” Dr. Shalala said. “I thought Dr. Grogg in particular was the type of person we wanted to lead the school in this decade, in this century.”

Dr. Grogg has been dean of AFI since 1998. Before that, he was the founding dean for the School of Filmmaking at the North Carolina School of the Arts. His film background includes working as executive producer for New Symphony Pictures and Symphony Entertainment, and serving as president and CEO of other two production companies-one of which produced, financed and distributed the Academy Award-winning The Trip to Bountiful and Kiss of the Spider Woman. He has also written screenplays and articles for scholarly journals.

“Dr. Grogg joins the University with a vast experience in film and more broadly in communication,” said former Provost Luis E. Glaser in a press release.

The new dean said he is excited about working at the school but has not yet set specific projects.

“I don’t have a specific plan other than to listen to the faculty and students for the first few months,” Dr. Grogg said in a phone interview. “[During my visit] I thought the students were the strongest testimony for the strength of the program; I’m very excited by them and that’s where my priority lies.”

School of Communication professor Paul N. Lazarus has known Dr. Grogg for 25 years from the movie business. As a member of the search committee for the new dean, it was Lazarus who brought forth Dr. Grogg’s name as a candidate.

“He’s a very good man to lead us to the next level,” Lazarus said. “It takes a pretty special person to direct the eclectic mix of scholars, professionals and artists here.”

Students who are part of the School of Communication’s Dean’s Dozen met Dr. Grogg at a luncheon during his visit to campus in February.

“I’m really excited about Sam Grogg being the new dean,” Rochelle Goetz, a junior majoring in broadcast journalism, said. “I think he has a lot to offer coming from across the country, and he’ll be a great addition to the staff and will encourage more communication between faculty and students.”

Beni Yunis, a sophomore majoring in print journalism, agreed.

“I thought he was approachable and easy to talk to,” she said. “He seemed really interested in getting to know the students.”

Dr. Grogg made regular visits to the school during the semester. He is moving to Miami with his wife and 19-year-old son over the summer.

Patricia Mazzei can be contacted at

p.mazzei@umiami.edu.