FIU welcomes new dean of Education

Luis Mirón, an accomplished researcher who has directed multiple public policy and school reform studies, has been appointed dean of the College of Education. Mirón comes to FIU from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he served as program chair in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies since 2005. He replaces Interim Dean Judith Blucker, who has provided more than 30 years of leadership to the university in various capacities. He will join the FIU community June 1.

Prior to his current position, Mirón served as chair of the Department of Education at UC-Irvine for five years. He also has taught at UC-Berkeley, Loyola University, Tulane University, University of New Orleans and Vanderbilt University.

His research has garnered more than $1.6 million in funded grants and contracts and his published work focuses on urban school reform, educational equity and educational leadership. He has authored, co-authored or edited seven books, including The New Discourses of Educational Leadership and Urban Schools: The New Social Spaces of Resistance. He has authored or co-authored more than 60 refereed book chapters, journal articles and book reviews.

Club seats now available at new FIU Stadium

Club seats at the new FIU Stadium are now available on a first-come, first-serve basis. A total of 1,400 seats will be sold at a cost of $1,000 per pair. More than 100 club seats were reserved via letter of intent in March.

Your $1,000 annual commitment will break down to an $800 fair market value of two premium club-seat season tickets and stadium club access and a $200 charitable contribution (80 percent of which is tax deductible), toward an Athletic Association membership.

A portion of your commitment will be designated to the Athletic Association Fund (i.e., student-athlete scholarships and athletic facility improvements), with the remaining portion earmarked for the stadium project.

The first year’s club seat commitment is due not later than this June. For more information, contact the FIU Athletics Association at 305-348-0504 or visit www.fiu.sports.com.

Dance Marathon raises more than $85,000

The 122 dancers who stood on their feet for the 25-hour FIU Dance Marathon on March 3-4 helped raise $86,135 for the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation. This year's total eclipses by more than $6,000 the amount raised at last year's Dance Marathon.

Since its establishment in 1997 at FIU, Dance Marathon has raised more than $350,000. The first Dance Marathon was held in 1973 at Penn State University in an attempt to rebuild the image of that school's Interfraternity Council and in support of local charities. A modest 39 couples entered that first contest, lured in part by a $300 prize for the winner.

Today Dance Marathon has grown from its humble beginnings at Penn State to include more than 75 institutions across North America, including the University of Florida, Emory University, Florida State, George Washington University and the University of North Carolina. Overall, more than $2 billion has been raised by Dance Marathons around the country, benefiting an estimated 12 million children annually.

Dance Marathon is the largest student fund-raiser at FIU. For more information about Dance Marathon, call 305-348-2149 or visit http://www.fiu.edu/~dm.

College of Business to honor alumni

The College of Business Administration (CBA) will honor three of its distinguished alumni at the 2007 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, May 16, from noon-2 p.m., at The Parrot Jungle on Watson Island.

This year, CBA will honor Antonio Argiz, managing partner at Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLP; Margarita Gonzalez, president and CFO of AccuBanker; and Miriam López, chairman and CEO of TransAtlantic Bank.

For more information, contact Monique Catoggio at 305-348-4227 or catoggio@fiu.edu.