Chief Alumni Officer’s Corner: August 2021

Written by

Greetings, Panthers! Seven months ago, to the day, I began my journey at FIU. I packed up the moving truck amid 23 inches of fresh snow in Cleveland, Ohio, and journeyed on down to Miami. As I write this, I think of the theme song from the ’70s sitcom “The Jeffersons.” The song began with, […]

Compensation for student-athletes? Everything you need to know about ‘NIL,’ explained by attorney, alum Adam Wasch

Written by

Wasch answers questions about the NCAA’s new policy on payments to college players –For FIU News Florida earlier this year became one of the first states to pass a law that gives college athletes the right to earn compensation for the use of their name, image or likeness, often referred to as NIL. The National Collegiate Athletic Association this […]

10 ways an FIU degree, completed fully online, enhances careers

Written by

–By Monica Smith for FIU News Education changes lives. It’s been said that the decision to pursue a college degree is an investment. For some, the investment provides immediate benefits and for others it can help in many professional ways. These students and alumni share how the decision to pursue an FIU degree—100 percent online—helped […]

Business alumnus is building the ‘Uber of accounting’—Taxfyle

Written by

–By Ellen Forman for FIU News Back in 2015, Richard Laviña MAcc ’13 was rising through the ranks at accounting giant PwC. He was offered a job at the firm’s national headquarters in New Jersey, required for all partnership candidates, which meant leaving his Miami home and family. Hitting what he called “a fork in the […]

Alumnus and artist Orlando Estrada explores Miami’s fate in newest exhibition

Written by

–By Tatiana Basanta for FIU News Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time, but many South Florida residents, who grow up hearing the words “global warming” and “sea-level rise” about as often as they hear a parent calling them to dinner, have adopted an almost blasé attitude about the whole thing.   One Miami-based artist, […]

Alumnus studies genetic factors for Alzheimer’s disease

Written by

–By Stephanie Rendon for FIU News More than 50 million people worldwide have dementia, according to the World Health Organization. Families with a loved one battling Alzheimer’s disease— the most common form of dementia— bear witness to its devastating effects of memory loss, confusion and the inability to complete everyday tasks. Working to help find ways […]

Alumni sweep Miami-Dade educational honors

Written by

–By Chrystian Tejedor for FIU News FIU alumni swept all three major Miami-Dade County Public Schools awards this year. During the Dade Association of School Administrators’ virtual recognition ceremony, alumni Rachel B. Autler MS ’95 was named principal of the year and Samuel J. Louis ’03, Ed.S. ‘13 was named assistant principal of the year. […]

Alumna brings new brand of leadership to FIU Board of Trustees

Written by

Celebrated College of Law grad Chanel Rowe is one of the newest members of the university’s governing body –By Alexandra Pecharich for FIU Magazine One of the newest members of the FIU Board of Trustees bears more than her fair share of others’ expectations. Like those with whom she serves—primarily businesspeople who have reached the […]

A farewell message from outgoing FIU Alumni Association President Michael Hernandez ’04, MPA ’11

Written by

FIU Alumni Association President Michael Hernandez ’04, MPA ’11 shared the following message with his fellow board members on April 21, 2021, at his final board meeting as president. Hernandez is succeeded by alumna and board member Gina Duarte-Romero ’91, M.Ed. ’08. My Fellow Board Members – It has been a decade since Bill Draughon […]