Workforce development program bolsters underserved populations, feeds growing construction industry

For Devan Blackman, FIU’s Engineering Center has come to feel like a second home. There’s a 5-foot-by-5-foot wooden “house” there that she and her classmates built and wired for electricity with their bare hands – something she’d never envisioned herself doing up until eight months ago. But the little project house holds a deeper meaning […]

Sedano's Supermarkets supports student food pantry

Sedano’s Supermarkets recently donated $6,000 in support of the student food pantry at FIU. The pantry, open to all currently enrolled students, is supported entirely by donations and has grown in demand considerably. Since opening its doors in 2014, the pantry has seen a 700 percent increase in visits. Located at both MMC and BBC, the pantry has […]

Young alumnus’ gift lays foundation for media, technology institute

–By Sarah Hernandez for FIU News The average age of philanthropists is 65, but Steven Cruz, 28, is bucking the trend. In support of the FIU Next Horizon campaign, Cruz has announced a planned gift of $1.2 million to establish the Steven Cruz Institute for Media, Science + Technology within the College of Communication, Architecture […]

Five questions for the head of fundraising

For FIU Magazine Howard Lipman understands the value of philanthropy. For the CEO of the FIU Foundation, it’s more than just a sum of money; it is a sign of pride, a symbol of gratitude and an investment in the future of all those whom the university serves. Leading the $750 million Next Horizon campaign, Lipman has seen […]

CasaCuba receives $750,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced that CasaCuba has received a $750,000 matching grant, which encourages additional private support. The funding will support the architectural design phase of the state-of-the-art center that will host lectures, academic conferences, community events, and digital and physical exhibitions intended to further the study and public understanding of […]

At annual breakfast, FIU scholars meet the donors making their dreams attainable

Mechanical engineering sophomore Patricia Garcia is on the fast-track to success. By the time she entered FIU as a freshman, she had already completed a full-time, summer research internship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She then spent last summer in Massachusetts Institute of Technology research labs working on engineering 3D skeletal muscle for applications in the […]

Alumnus creates first fellowship endowment in history

-By Amy Ellis for FIU News Henry “Hank” Voegtle graduated with a history degree in 1974, when FIU only had five history professors. Since then, the Department of History has grown exponentially and, throughout the years, its faculty and students have earned numerous awards for their research. To give back to his alma mater and strengthen research […]

Scientists unearth clues to seismic event on day the dinosaurs died

–By Ayleen Barbel Fattal for FIU News A discovery confirms the meteor strike that likely wiped out dinosaurs produced tsunami-like waves reaching what is now North Dakota, according to FIU Professor Florentin Maurrasse who helped identify fossils and interpret data for the recently released findings. That means the waves traveled more than 2,800 miles from where the […]

From poverty to Panther basketball, Ghanaian student has come a long way

–By David Drucker for FIU News Six years ago, freshman James Ametepe thought he would never go to college. So even though he has to bike from his home in Kendall to Modesto A. Maidique Campus every day—a 40-minute commute under the scorching Miami sun—he is always smiling. Ametepe is a biomedical engineering major and […]

Pediatricians should encourage parents to use their home language with their children, says researcher

As part of an op-ed series, FIU News shares the expertise and diverse perspectives of members of the university community. In this piece, associate professor of applied linguistics Melissa Baralt discusses the importance of bilingualism and its role in early child development and lifelong child health. Her colleagues, Ashley Darcy Mahoney, a neonatal nurse practitioner at Baptist Children’s […]