The Florida International University Alumni Association will be presenting Thomas Jelke, Ph.D. ’90 with a Distinguished Alumni award during FIU’s fourteenth annual Torch Awards Charity Gala on Saturday, March 28, 2015. This award recognizes alumni who have brought honor and distinction to the university through their notable record of service and achievement in a particular discipline, organization or cause.

Thomas Jelke is president of T.Jelke Solutions, a consulting firm that provides strategic planning, independent research, training and assessment to universities, student organizations, non-profits, and fraternity/sorority communities and headquarters. He has consulted with over 250 campuses and has also worked as a faculty or staff member at four universities. In 2013 he was the executive dean of Semester at Sea, a university study abroad program run from a cruise ship. Jelke has been recognized as Advisor or Professional of the Year by three different higher education organizations and associations. He is chairman of the Thomas B. Jelke Foundation, has served as chairman of the Association of Fraternity Advisors Foundation, and sits on the board for several other organizations within the community. Jelke received his bachelor’s in English from FIU, Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University and doctorate in higher education from Indiana University.

This year, the FIU Alumni Association will be hosting the prestigious gala at the luxurious Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel, located on 4441 Collins Avenue in Miami, Fla.

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About FIU:
Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

About the FIU Alumni Association:
The Florida International University Alumni Associationis a membership-based organization with over 20,000 dues paying members governed by a volunteer board of directors and currently serves a total alumni base of over 200,000, represented in every state and in more than 30 countries around the world. The mission is to serve the community of FIU alumni, students, family and friends by providing lifelong connections to FIU. The organization strives to provide opportunities to support FIU’s key strategic initiatives, which includes the revitalization and expansion of financial resources, achieving academic excellence, enhancing research and creative initiatives, and engaging the community of FIU. For more information about the FIU Alumni Association, visit FIUalumni.com.