It was an evening to celebrate generous donors and philanthropic contributions to the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. The inaugural Dean’s Explorer’s Club event showcased supporters who help make FIU a leader in education, research and community engagement. The event, held at the Frost Art Museum on campus, culminated with a special award ceremony recognizing impactful honorees. Here are the honorees:

• Mary and Gregory Miller leave behind a meaningful legacy with the establishment of the Mary L. Miller Scholarship Endowment fund to benefit first generation students.
• Rick Lipoff, an attorney in Miami helped establish the Investigative Interviewing Lab Fund at FIU’s Department of Psychology. This fund will enable graduate and undergraduate students to host workshops, trainings and other activities to advance the field of investigative interviewing.
• Dr. Geri Fischman received an M.S. in 2016 and a Ph.D. in 2017 from FIU and is a founding partner of Focus Litigation Consulting which specializes in juror behavior and decision-making. She helped establish the Focus Litigation Legal Psychology Fellowship Fund to support Ph.D. students pursuing careers in the legal field. As part of the fellowship, graduate students dedicate at least 20 hours per week to experiential learning activities and participate in mock trials, focus groups, legal case reviews and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from jury research studies.
• The Institute of Environment (IOE) attained 100 percent giving participation for the FIU Ignite campaign with nearly 100 employees. The Ignite giving program is FIU’s internal faculty and staff giving campaign. The IOE is one of the largest and most impactful environmental research programs in the world and is recognized as one of FIU’s preeminent programs.
• Nicholas DeCaprio is a monthly recurring annual giving donor to FIU’s Global Forensics and Justice Center (GFJC). The purpose of GFJC is equitable justice through science, scholarship and service. Recurring gifts are critical to CASE because they create a financial foundation of support.  

During the event, there was also a special recognition of all the supporters who contributed at different levels to raise five million dollars for CASE last year. It is because of these contributions, CASE is able to help students achieve their academic and career goals.