Moving the U Forward
The University of Miami is moving forward. Under the leadership of President Julio Frenk, UM is attracting new talent, building on a strong history of excellence and entrepreneurship, and embarking on a bold vision for the University’s centennial in 2025. As we begin the 2017-18 academic year, we celebrate a range of groundbreaking initiatives and accomplishments throughout the University. The energy and excitement of the ’Canes family is Moving the U Forward.
Initiatives Driving Progress
Simulated Settings, Real-World Impact
“The Simulation Hospital will replicate a hospital as well as a fully functioning healthcare system, which makes it a powerful concept, unique among simulation centers and healthcare education programs worldwide.”
The School of Nursing and Health Studies Simulation Hospital is a living laboratory where students and professionals can design, test, and master ways to transform the future of health care.
With the opening Sept. 28, 2017 of the new Simulation Hospital on the Coral Gables campus, the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) elevates the education of healthcare professionals to an inspiring new dimension while providing the Greater Miami community with an unparalled public resource.
“The Simulation Hospital will replicate a hospital as well as a fully functioning healthcare system, which makes it a powerful concept, unique among simulation centers and healthcare education programs worldwide, “says SONHS Dean Cindy Munro. “Complementing the facility’s impressive structural capacity is our faculty’s range and level of expertise, which provides the basis for academic excellence in simulation. Together, these resources present an opportunity to extend the reach of our education, research and service contributions to local and global communities.”
One-Stop Learning Shop
“It’s a genre of space that universities across the country are creating precisely for the goal of making academic services more convenient for students.”
The new Learning Commons at the Richter Library will consolidate widely used academic services at the heart of the Coral Gables campus
Imagine if there was one central location on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus where students could go to get help with finding academic resources and starting a research project; use a 3D printer to fabricate miniature pieces for a new board game; learn how to collect, analyze, and manage spatial data; and improve their study and time management skills.
Such a place is now a reality now that the Richter Library’s first floor has been transformed into a Learning Commons that consolidates a number of UM’s most widely used academic services.
Dream It, Print It, Do It
“The Collaborative Laboratory changes the way people create, interact, and work on projects, and furthers collaborative work across the different disciplines to create a culture of solving global issues. It is a concrete step for the college’s goal to become the innovation hub of Miami.”
College of Engineering collaborates with Johnson & Johnson to support innovation and creativity with a focus on 3-D printing and materials process development
A cutting-edge space that will create cooperative educational and research opportunities for students and faculty researchers in multiple disciplines will become a reality on October 23, when the CoE – Johnson & Johnson Collaborative Laboratory opens at the University of Miami’s College of Engineering.
The 5,850-square-foot makerspace strengthens the University’s initiatives in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and will revolutionize teaching and learning through hands-on experiences.
Innovative Student Housing and So Much More
“As the University continues to rise as a top-tier research institution, so do students’ expectations for a comfortable, secure, and supportive living and learning environment.”
The housing project, part of a 10-year strategic plan, will transform the area south of Lake Osceola.
It will provide a new hub on campus, an energized gathering place that will transform student housing at the University of Miami.
The three-phase initiative, part of an ambitious 10-year strategic housing plan, will kick off this fall with construction of a nearly 640,000-square-foot Student Housing Village on eight acres along the southeast corner of Lake Osceola.
“Nothing impacts the quality of life for students who live on campus more than their on-campus housing,” says Patricia Whitely, vice president for student affairs.
A Building for Champions
“The Carol Soffer Football Indoor Practice Facility will go a long way toward strengthening our commitment to building champions.”
A new indoor practice facility is rising on the Greentree Practice Fields thanks to the generosity of fans and friends.
Shortly after Miami Hurricanes football coach Mark Richt arrived on campus in 2015, he pledged $1 million to help construct an indoor practice facility for the football team that he believes will help the team excel further.
Hurricanes supporters across the country embraced the plan, but it was a lead naming gift from a local family that put shovels in the ground and made it happen.
”The indoor practice facility is a major step forward for the University of Miami,” said Carol Soffer, whose name adorns the facility and whose family donated $14 million – the largest gift in University of Miami Athletics history – toward the facility’s $34 million cost.
Tools of the Trade
“This center is going to give students the ability to be better, to hopefully have the ability to think smarter and, most importantly, to set an example of what students coming out of school need to know from a knowledge base in the new digital world we are living in.”
The opening of two new centers with the latest technology emphasizes the School of Communication’s commitment to interactivity and technology in today’s digital world.
The Koenigsberg and Nadal Interactive Media Center (IMC) is transforming experiential education at the University by giving students collaborative spaces and a fully equipped multimedia agency to create, learn, and expand their portfolios.
“Students need to have access to the tools that are driving creative work across communication industries,” says Gregory J. Shepherd, dean of the School of Communication. “But I also think it is essential that we provide spaces that encourage students to interact across areas of expertise and interest. This space will encourage collaborative and project-based learning.”
Nearby, the school – through the generosity of longtime UM supporter and trustee, Robert A. Mann – also features the Robert & Lauren Mann Broadcast Center, which includes two HDTV broadcast studios, a sound stage for film production, an equipment room providing students with the latest technology, two control rooms and editing suites with multiple functions.
