New College of Law to debut in February

Everyone is invited to the dedication of Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall, the new College of Law building, on Saturday, Feb. 10. The event will feature keynote speaker U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, on Sat., Feb. 10, at the Pharmed Arena at University Park.

This marquee celebration will cap three days of festivities – all of which are open to the public – surrounding the dedication of the $34 million building that features 155,000 square feet of classrooms, faculty offices, a legal clinic, two courtrooms and a law library. The building is named in honor of the grandfather of U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, whose work in the Florida Legislature in the 1990s helped lead to the creation of the FIU College of Law.

Delivering on the university’s promise to the community to bring high quality, public legal education to South Florida, the College of Law received full accreditation from the American Bar Association last fall – less than five years after the College opened its doors in 2002.

FIU celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.

The university commemorated the 16th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 2007 Celebration in January with events at both UP and Biscayne Bay Campus. Students, faculty and staff attended events featuring motivational speakers Barrington Irving and Kemba Smith, attended a screening of the film Lackawanna Blues and participated in the MLK, Jr. Parade in Miami.

A packed crowd of faculty, staff, alumni, students and friends of the university were on hand Jan. 12 for FIU’s 16th annual MLK Commemorative Breakfast. Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), inspired the crowd with his keynote address.

A friend of King’s, Bond spoke of the current sociopolitical environment in the country – and the world – and asked in his eye-opening speech that, “We all make sure that future generations have the best defense possible against discrimination.”

Lisa Delpit, eminent scholar and executive director for the Center of Urban Education & Innovation, was presented with the 2007 FIU Service Award. The award is given to the faculty or staff member who exemplifies King’s ideals through community involvement, service to the students, staff and/or FIU.

The 2007 Peace Award is awarded to an FIU student who is working to keep King’s dream alive. Students are nominated based on their involvement in peace and justice issues on campus and in the community. This year’s recipient was Honors College student Harold Silva.

The top three winners of the 2007 Essay Awards were Jazmin Jones, Donshay L. Brown and Porchia Lazier. Each high school senior received scholarship money toward the first year of their education at FIU as well as meal and book awards from Aramark Food Services and the FIU Bookstore, respectively.

Creative Writing wins grant for room upgrade

The Creative Writing Program Sanders has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Lawrence A. Sanders Foundation for the purpose of upgrading BBC’s AC II 218 into a modern seminar room, with appropriate media facilities. The room will be rededicated during ceremonies, which will include a reading by prominent mystery writer Elmore Leonard, planned for the 2007-‘08 academic year.

"This is a significant gesture of confidence in the work we are doing within the Creative Writing Program,” said Les Standiford, professor and director of the Program. “The creation of the Lawrence A. Sanders Seminar Room will provide a state-of-the-art learning facility for [the Program] and other programs on the Biscayne Bay Campus. We trust this is only the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial association between FIU and the Sanders Foundation."

A friend to the university, Sanders was a highly successful writer of crime fiction and author of some three dozen novels. He created the Arch McNally series and his novels, The Anderson Tapes and The First Deadly Sin, were adapted into popular films.