Promoting Excellence: Bacardi USA donates $5M to FIU

Gift will create the Bacardi Center of Excellence at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and support CasaCuba –By Ivonne Yee-Amor Gift will create the Bacardi Center of Excellence at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and support CasaCuba FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management has announced a $5 million gift […]

Program fosters change, embraces people with developmental disabilities

FIU Embrace provides research-based holistic care, a wealth of resources and a strong support system for people with developmental disabilities and their families. –By Gisela Valencia for FIU Magazine Dr. Yolangel Hernandez Suarez was not able to see her son for months after the pandemic began.   A 28-year-old man who is on the autism […]

Meet the Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator entrepreneurship fellows

–By Tatianna Basanta Three years ago, the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts and the Philip E. and Carol R. Ratcliffe Foundation sought to give FIU art and design students the tools they needed to turn their ideas into profitable businesses – and thus the Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator (RA+DI) was born. RA+DI recently received $2.5 million […]

FIU Law graduates earn top Bar passage rate in the state

–By Morgan Hughes for FIU News Despite the challenges FIU Law graduates have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, FIU has once again ranked as the top-performing Florida law school. The college’s graduates earned an 89.3% passing rate on the October 2020 bar exam, the highest of any Florida law school, and 18 percentage points above the state average. […]

FIU Foundation LinkedIn Series: Making Dreams a Reality Through the First Generation Scholarship Program

Joan Casanova Gonzalez is the executive director of the Development Office for Student Success at the FIU Foundation. In her role, she oversees development for the First Generation Scholarship Program, which provides support to undergraduate students at FIU who are among the first generation in their families to earn a college degree. An alumna of […]

Florida SBDC at FIU Business helps local aesthetic and wellness business navigate the pandemic

–By Cynthia Corzo for FIU News Nearly a decade after the Florida SBDC at FIU Business (FSBDC) helped her launch her own business, Rosanna Bermejo again turned to the small business development center. This time, she sought help for her business, Med Aesthetics Miami, in recovering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The skincare and […]

FIU’s Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator awarded $2.5 million to develop entrepreneurial leaders in the creative sector

–By Millie Acebal for FIU News FIU’s Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator (RA+DI) has received a gift of $2.5 million from the Philip E. & Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation to develop diverse, entrepreneurial leaders in the creative sector and boost South Florida’s economy. This gift marks the third awarded to FIU’s RA+DI by the Philip E. & […]

Looking at the Next Horizon so far

Less than two years ago, FIU held a celebration to commemorate the public launch of the Next Horizon campaign. More than 1,200 alumni, students, faculty, donors and members of the community attended a showcase of FIU’s research, community programs and student success. That day has truly proven to be a launching point, based on the campaign’s trajectory since.  By the end of November […]

Foundation responds to immediate needs of FIU, the community during pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and FIU announced its shift to remote learning and work in March, leaders of the FIU Foundation knew the university’s Next Horizon capital campaign would need to be placed on pause to address a more immediate need: Students, faculty and staff, and the surrounding community were suffering, and the Foundation […]

Philanthropy in times of crisis: Howard Lipman explains why philanthropy is needed now more than ever

Before his current role as CEO of the FIU Foundation and previous executive positions in university advancement, Howard Lipman served as the President and CEO of the Greater Miami and The Keys Chapter of the American Red Cross. In that position, he was tasked – among other things – with fundraising for disaster relief. This experience has provided him with a unique lens to view […]