University of Miami

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,^[2] UM,^[3] or just The U^[4][5][6][7]) is a private university founded in 1925 with its main campus in the city of Coral Gables in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States.

The university is a private, non-sectarian institution, that currently enrolls 15,670 students in approximately 120 undergraduate, 108 master’s, 49 doctoral, and two professional areas of study. The University’s students represent all 50 states and 114 foreign countries. UM alumni live in all 50 states and in 148 countries. There are more than 155,000 alumni in the University’s history. There are currently 2,226 full-time faculty members whose ranks include Guggenheim fellows, Fulbright Scholars and National Science Foundation recipients. Of this distinguished faculty, 97% hold doctorates or terminal degrees in their field.

The University of Miami is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and 21 additional professional and educational accrediting agencies. UM is a member of the American Association of University Women, the American Council on Education, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Association of American Colleges, the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

[edit] History

The University of Miami was chartered in 1925, but didn't begin in earnest until 1926 when George E. Merrick gifted 160 acres (0.6 km²) and nearly $4 million dollars to the University. The University underwent a series of misfortunes, including the 1926 Florida land-bust, the 1926 Miami Hurricane (UM's namesake), and the Great Depression of 1929. The construction of the first building on campus, now known as the Merrick Building (in honor of George Merrick), was put on hold for over two decades due to economic hard times. In the meantime, classes were held at the nearby Anastasia Hotel, with partitions separating classrooms, giving the University the nickname of "Cardboard College".

The Anastasia Hotel, 1926

The University survived early turmoil during the leadership of its first president Bowman Foster Ashe (1926-1952). His Administration not only kept the school afloat in the early years but it also overcame bankruptcy, a reorganization and World War II. During his presidency, the University added the School of Law (1928), the School of Business Administration (1929), the School of Education (1929), the Graduate School (1941), the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (1943), the School of Engineering (1947), and the School of Medicine (1952).

One of Ashe's longtime assistants, Jay F. W. Pearson, assumed the presidency in 1952. A charter faculty member and a marine biologist by trade, Pearson ushered in a decade of unprecedented growth for the University. Enrollment increased by more than 4,000 during his tenure, which ended in 1962.

Henry King Stanford became Miami's 3rd president in 1962. The Stanford presidency saw increased emphasis on research, reorganization of administrative structure and construction of new facilities. Among the new research centers established were the Center for Advanced International Studies (1964), the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Evolution (1964), the Center for Theoretical Studies (1965), and the Institute for the Study of Aging (1975).

In 1981, Edward T. Foote II became the school's 4th president. Under Foote's leadership, the university was elected to the nation's most prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, and on campus student housing was converted into a system of residential colleges.

In addition, president Foote initiated a five year $400 million "Campaign for the University of Miami" that began in 1984 and surpassed its goal with a $517.5 million dollar commitment.

Foote was succeeded by Donna Shalala, who assumed the presidency in 2001. Shalala served in the Clinton Administration as Secretary of Health and Human Services from 1993-2001. Before moving to Washington, D.C., she served six years as the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was the first ever woman to preside over a Big Ten University.

In 2003, Shalala announced "Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami," the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the school's history.

[edit] Profile

A view of Lake Osceola on the University of Miami campus, facing Eaton Residential College and the School of Architecture.

The University of Miami has a total student body slightly in excess of 15,000. In 2006, the average weighted grade point average for students granted admission to the university was 4.2 and the median SAT score was 1295.^[8] Sixty-six percent of UM students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class. In the 2006–2007 academic year, 19,000 students applied to the university, 8,360 (44%)^[9] were admitted, and 2,000 accepted the invitation to form the freshman class of 2006.^[10]

As of the 2006–07 academic school year, UM's undergraduate tuition (excluding room and board) is $31,232 per year.^[11]

Unlike some private universities, such as the University of Chicago, that are located within their namesake city, UM's main campus spans 260 acres (1 km²) in Coral Gables, an affluent suburb located immediately south of the city of Miami. Several university satellite campuses are located off the primary campus, including the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (located on Virginia Key) and the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (located at Jackson Memorial Hospital in downtown Miami). UM is the second largest private employer in South Florida.

The current president of UM is former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. The school colors are orange, green and white, representing the fruit, leaves, and blossoms of the orange tree.

UM is also home to the Iron Arrow Honor Society, a prestigious and selective honor organization for University of Miami students and the university's highest honor.

In 2004, UM's BankUnited Center (formerly the Convocation Center) was the site of the first nationally televised U.S. presidential debate of the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, featuring President George W. Bush and U.S. Senator John Kerry.

[edit] Rankings

Walkway leading to the Otto G. Richter Library on the campus of the University of Miami.

UM has been routinely ranked among the best colleges in the nation. In the 2008 issue of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges", for instance, the University of Miami is ranked 52nd among 254 "National Universities."^[12] The U.S. News & World Report makes a distinction in their Best Colleges listings between "National Universities", "Master's Universities", "Liberal Arts Colleges" and "Comprehensive Colleges." U.S. News & World Report's 2007 ranking of U.S. law schools ranked the University of Miami School of Law 70th among the nation's 180 accredited law schools.^[13] UM is also one of 146 colleges named a "Best Southeastern College" by the The Princeton Review in its 2006 edition,^[14] and the fourth-most diverse student body among all U.S. colleges and universities in its 2007 edition.

In 2006, BusinessWeek included UM's School of Business Administration in its "Top 50" U.S. collegiate business programs, ranking UM the 44th best U.S. undergraduate business program in the nation.^[15] The Wall Street Journal, also in 2006, ranked the UM School of Business Administration 14th in its regional ranking category.^[16] For the third year in a row, the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute was ranked the best hospital in the country for ophthalmology in U.S. News and World Report's 2006 survey of “America’s Best Hospitals."^[17]

University of Miami also participates in the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)'s University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN).

[edit] Organization

Most of the University of Miami's academic programs are located on the main campus in Coral Gables, which houses seven schools and two colleges including the University of Miami School of Law. A few graduate and undergraduate programs are located off of the Coral Gables campus.

The Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine has its own campus at the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Medical Center complex in downtown Miami. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science is located on Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay. Several other programs, including bilingual Continuing and International Education classes, are offered at the Koubek Center in Miami's Little Havana, the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami, and the South and Richmond campuses in southwest Miami-Dade county.

The UM Department of Community Service, staffed by volunteer medical students and physicians from UM's Leonard M. School of Medicine, provides free medical and other community services in Miami and surrounding communities.

[edit] Athletics

The distinctive 'Split-U' logo, the official logo of University of Miami athletic teams

Main articles: Miami Hurricanes, Miami Hurricanes football, and Miami Hurricanes baseball

The university's sports teams are called the "Miami Hurricanes" and compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The university is particularly well known for having the most successful Division I collegiate football program of the past three decades, winning more national championships during this period than any other Division I team.

Over the past four years, however, the team has failed to compete in a BCS bowl game and has largely lost its historical image as a predominant program. In 2006, the team finished 6 and 6; its 2007 season began unimpressively with a 51-13 clobbering by Oklahoma, one of the most lopsided losses in the program's history, and was followed by losses to unranked North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

Their traditional athletic rivals include the Florida State University Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators. Since 1987, however, the Hurricanes have only played the Florida Gators four times (twice during the regular season and twice for bowl games in the 2001 Sugar Bowl and the 2004 Peach Bowl). The Hurricanes and the Gators have not played since UM began ACC play in the 2004 season, but the rivalry will be renewed in 2008 when UM is scheduled to meet the Gators in Gainesville.

Sebastian the Ibis, the official mascot of the University of Miami

In order to comply with Title IX equality requirements, the university only fields 15 athletic teams. Men's teams compete in football, baseball, basketball, cross-country, diving, tennis, and track and field. Women's teams compete in basketball, cross-country, diving, golf, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Notably, unlike most Division I universities, UM does not field a men's golf, soccer, or wrestling team and had to dismantle both its men's rowing and men's swimming and diving teams (which had produced a number of Olympic medalists, including Greg Louganis), in order to comply with Title IX.

Team colors are green, orange, and white, representing the three colors of the orange tree. The school mascot is 'Sebastian the Ibis'. The ibis was selected as the school's mascot because, according to university legend, it is the last animal to flee an approaching hurricane and the first to reappear after the storm, making it a symbol of leadership and courage.

The school's athletics logo is a simple green and orange letter "U." Nike is the official supplier of uniforms, apparel, and various athletic equipment to all University of Miami sports teams.

[edit] Libraries

The University of Miami Libraries rank among the top research libraries in North America. The Otto G. Richter Library, the University of Miami's main library, houses collections that serve the arts, architecture, humanities, social sciences, and the sciences. It is a depository for federal and state government publications. Rare books, maps, manuscript collections, and the University of Miami Archives are housed in the Special Collections Division and in the Cuban Heritage Collection

In addition to the Richter Library, the Libraries include facilities that support programs in music, marine science, business, and architecture.

• Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library
• Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science Library
• Judi Prokop Newman Information Resources Center (Business)
• Paul Buisson Reference Library (Architecture)

The University also has specialized libraries for law and medicine.

• University of Miami Law Library
• Louis Calder Memorial Library (Medicine)

Within the Miller School of Medicine, there are two departmental libraries that are open to the public.

• Mary and Edward Norton Library (Ophthalmology)
• Pomerance Library (Psychiatry)

With more than 3 million volumes, over 38,000 current serials, 3.9 million items in microforms, and desktop access to more than 300 electronic databases, 30,600 full-text electronic journals, and 254,000 electronic books, the Libraries offer a comprehensive collection of information resources.

[edit] Faculty

[edit] University Presidents

• Bowman Foster Ashe, 1926–52
• Jay F. W. Pearson, 1952–62
• Henry King Stanford, 1962–81
• Edward T. Foote II, 1981–2001
• Donna Shalala, 2001–present

[edit] Alumni

Main article: List of prominent University of Miami alumni

[edit] See also

• Custodial workers' strike (2006) - custodial workers voted to strike, citing unfair labor practices, substandard pay, and lack of benefits.
• Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida
• JMWAVE – a major center for CIA operations against Fidel Castro's Cuba, based at the University of Miami in the 1960s.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• The Miami Hurricane, University of Miami student newspaper
• WVUM (90.5FM), University of Miami student radio station
• Maps and aerial photos for 25°43′18″N 80°16′45″W / 25.721644, -80.279267Coordinates: 25°43′18″N 80°16′45″W / 25.721644, -80.279267
  • Maps from WikiMapia, Google Maps, Live Search Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
  • Topographic maps from TopoZone or TerraServer-USA