Lee Caplin makes $10 million naming gift to Journalism & Media at FIU

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FIU CARTA students
– By Heather Radi-Bermudez Florida International University and its Department of Journalism + Media, within the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA), today announced a $10 million naming gift from philanthropists Mr. and Mrs. Lee Caplin establishing the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media. The gift, one of the largest donations to a […]

Longtime university supporter gives back to help save the bay

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One of FIU's Institute of Environment buoys
By Kenneth Setzer MA ’97 Longtime FIU supporter Elliot Stone cares deeply about the health of the environment. The founder of Royal Castle Builders, LLC, Stone is a Miami native who sees the powerful, positive results of serving his community. That’s why when FIU’s Institute of Environment needed to add a buoy to its Biscayne Bay […]

Professor gives back to support first-generation scholarships, Fostering Panther Pride

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In 2020, Professor Chang won the FIU Faculty Award for Teaching.
As a Panther, professor of criminology and a life-long learner, Rosa Chang ’99, ’21 believes in the transformational power of education so much that she’s making it a part of her legacy. By giving a part of her estate—a significant gift for FIU—Chang ensures that first-generation scholarships and Fostering Panther Pride, a vital college access program for […]

FIU and Jain community launch $3 million campaign to fund new institute

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Members of the Jain Education and Research Foundation (JERF) and others from the Jain community join interim FIU President Kenneth Jessell and other university leaders for the launch of a campaign to raise funds for an Institute for Advanced Jain Studies.
–By Amy Ellis In 2010, FIU made history by launching the first Jain Studies Program in North America. Since then, the university has pioneered Jain studies as an academic field and established the largest Jain studies library in the Southeast United States. Now, FIU and the Jain community have taken another important leap forward, embarking on a […]

College of Arts, Sciences & Education (CASE) holds inaugural chair and professorship installation

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–By Jessica Borsi One of the most powerful applications of a university’s endowment funds is the establishment of endowed chairs and professorships, enabling eminent faculty to pursue research and pedagogical goals that make lasting impacts on their students, in their fields, and in the world at large. Endowed chairs and professorships attract and retain talented […]

CEO Howard Lipman on the FIU Foundation’s pivotal role advancing the university progress

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–By Todd Ellenberg MS ’91 In this issue of SOAR, we spoke with FIU Foundation CEO Howard Lipman on the growth of the FIU Foundation and its pivotal role in advancing the university’s progress. How has the FIU Foundation evolved since Next Horizon was launched, and how has it been instrumental to the campaign’s success? […]

Alumnus Abe Ovadia assists law students’ job hunt through generous gift to FIU Law’s Career Planning & Placement Office

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Abe Ovadia JD '09
–By Clara-Meretan Kiah ’15 After FIU Law alumnus Abraham “Abe” Ovadia graduated in 2009, he found himself in a bit of a rut. The nation was experiencing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and the legal profession was retrenching. At the time, FIU’s College of Law had only graduated four classes and was […]

Participation matters: Alumni challenge gift made by two Panthers

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FIU alumni and students at a basketball game
–By Todd Ellenberg MS ’91 Panthers challenging Panthers. It’s helped encourage and inspire the pursuit of excellence at FIU over the decades. And now, a Panther couple has made a bold challenge to fellow graduates to step up and do their part for FIU. The alumni, who have chosen to remain anonymous, made a historic […]

Jaquan Starling approaches engineering with a humanist edge

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–By Jessica Borsi MFA ’19 “Engineering gives me the space to be logically creative,” is how Jaquan Starling, Honors College student and Interdisciplinary Engineering senior due to graduate this June, describes how he likes to work.   For Starling, engineering isn’t just about building better technology; it’s also about questioning the ethical and societal implications of […]

Endowments build excellence while providing financial stability

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–By Todd Ellenberg MS ’91 The nation’s most prestigious universities are consistently assessed by the size of their endowments, which are the financial bedrock of a university’s drive to develop and sustain excellence. They provide the vital margin to fund transformational scholarships, recruit and retain distinguished faculty, and support important programs, thereby elevating the excellence […]