Check out the new alumni.miami.edu

The University of Miami Alumni Association has transitioned to a new website, alumni.miami.edu, creating a more engaging and interactive environment for alumni to stay connected to the U. With a focus on more visual elements, the website is a platform for connecting with fellow alumni, staying engaged with the University, and finding stories that enhance the reputation of the U while exhibiting Hurricane pride.

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Love is in the air this Valentine’s season, and the UM Alumni Association is asking ’Canes Couples to do what comes naturally: say I LOVE U with a gift. More than 800 alumni couples have celebrated their UM love connection by making a donation to the I LOVE U Campaign. Visit the website CaneFunder.com/ILOVEU.

The 2nd Annual I LOVE U Campaign tipped off Sunday, February 8, with a date night on campus for ’Canes Couples at the winning men’s basketball game versus Clemson University at the BankUnited Center.

Photo Gallery: ’Canes Date Night on Campus.

Video: How We Met: Three ’Canes Couples tell their story.

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Alumnus Sam Daley-Harris discusses his journey from musician to global activist during his Distinguished Alumni Lecture.

Sam Daley-Harris, B.M. ’69, M.M. ’75. Photo by Robert Stolpe

Forty-five years later, Daley-Harris, B.M. ’69, M.M. ’75, was back at his alma mater to share his journey from philosophical musician to global activist during the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Lecture held at the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center.

“Making the Difference You’ve Always Dreamed of Making” was the title of his talk, and by the end it was clear Daley-Harris has done just that and then some.

The Miami native was a percussionist with the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra and a high school music teacher when he founded the anti-poverty lobbying group RESULTS and its sister organization RESULTS Educational Fund in 1980. His achievements in empowering millions of everyday citizens to demand action from Congress in the fight against poverty and hunger have earned international attention and accolades.

In 1994 his book on this topic, Reclaiming Our Democracy: Healing the Break between People and Government, was published. A year later Daley-Harris founded the Microcredit Summit Campaign along with Muhammad Yunus and FINCA founder John Hatch. Yunus, now a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, wrote the foreword for the 20th anniversary reissue of the book.

A chance meeting with UM President Donna E. Shalala brought Daley-Harris back to speak at his alma mater after four decades. They met during a reception for the 40th anniversary of The Children’s Defense Fund, he explained, where Daley-Harris’s wife has worked for the past 25 years. Shalala served as the fund’s board chair from 1992-93. Her interest during that meeting led Daley-Harris to reconnect with the UM Alumni Association.

Roughly 200 people gathered to hear Daley-Harris speak on January 15 at the Newman Alumni Center—among them, his former percussion professor, Fred Wickstrom; former college and high school classmates; former students, as well as his mother, wife, and daughter.

“It’s like my bar mitzvah all over again,” Daley-Harris remarked.

He went on to explain that RESULTS has been successful in increasing significant appropriations for key issues like microfinancing and child and maternal health because the group gives its volunteers the support and coaching necessary to go from their comfort zone (like writing checks or clicking a mouse) to the place “where the magic happens,” he said. “If you want greatness from volunteers, you have to provide them with a great structure of support.”

He said RESULTS and other like-minded groups have empowered countless volunteers through monthly conference calls with guest speakers that enable them to ask questions and practice articulating their knowledge on issues. Role-playing and providing constructive feedback are also critical in strengthening the commitment and capabilities of volunteers, he said.

When met with cynicism or apathy toward the political process, Daley-Harris said he points to the achievements of groups like RESULTS and others he has coached. He shared that the Child Survival Fund has gone from receiving $25 million per year to receiving $700 million per year in appropriations since RESULTS began lobbying on child health issues in 1984. At the same time, he added, preventable child deaths have decreased from 41,000 per day in 1984 to 17,000 per day in 2014. “RESULTS didn’t vaccinate one child,” he said. “It created a center of advocacy that allowed that to happen.”

Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a group whose founder Daley-Harris coached through its 2007 launch, has grown to 225 chapters globally. Pointing to its impact, Daley-Harris noted that in 2014 its volunteers in the U.S. and Canada had 2,253 letters to the editor published (up from 36 in 2010) and 1,086 meetings with members of Congress, Parliament, or their staff.

In 2012 he created the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation (CCET) to help other nongovernmental organizations train their members to create champions in Congress and the media for their cause.

Toward the end of his talk, Daley-Harris shared a favorite anecdote illustrating why he’s so invested in his work. Asked recently at another university for his view of the single most important issue to tackle in the next 50 years, he replied that while a scientist might say climate change and a political scientist might say campaign reform, for him, the most critical issue remains “why so few of us see ourselves as change makers. If we could change that,” he concluded, “there would be a barrage of us pouring in to address all of these other [global concerns].”

Daley-Harris concluded his lecture with a Q&A session and book signing. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife, Shannon, and their two children, Micah and Sophie. —Robin Shear, UM News

For more information on the UM Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series, click here.
UM News

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Florida residents will soon be able to buy the new U license plate for just $25 over the price of a regular tag. The cost helps fund scholarships at the University of Miami. For more information or to update your alumni record, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-866-862-5867 or email [email protected].

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Survey results showed alumni consider putting UM’s strengths toward solving real-world problems to be “extremely important.”

Among respondents, 74 percent of young alumni and 47 percent of alumni over 35 expressed interest in going to UM sports-related gatherings. Photo by Jenny Abreu

Sixty-three percent of young alumni and 47 percent of all other alumni expressed interest in attending a reception with President Shalala or other administrators.

After a comprehensive two-year effort that involved internal assessments, benchmarking against peer institutions, and an alumni survey, the University of Miami Alumni Association has rolled out its 2012-2017 Strategic Plan.

“The process has been a great source of pride,” says Donna A. Arbide, M.B.A. ’95, associate vice president for alumni relations, who worked closely with staff, volunteers, and the Alumni Board of Directors. “It has reminded us how far the UM Alumni Association has come since its founding in 1930.”

The plan’s broad goals call for adopting UM’s Accelerating Ambition program to achieve higher goals and distinctions, as well as working toward cementing alumni bonds to the University and cultivating national and international networks of volunteer leaders.

One of the plan’s recently launched strategic initiatives is miami.edu/alumni/volunteer, a clearinghouse for ’Canes with a yen for community service. Other initiatives already in play are career programming, regional events, young alumni outreach, the Stories of U campaign, and a rebranded UM Alumni Association logo.

The independently administered survey garnered replies from nearly 3,800 alumni respondents (a 13.5 percent response rate) on a variety of topics. Those alumni rated UM highly and expressed pride in its growth. Moving up in national rankings, being recognized as Florida’s best university, solving real-world problems in areas of strength specific to UM, and success in both academics and athletics were viewed as most important.

Respondents said their alumni association should make career networking and mentoring top priorities, followed by local and regional gatherings. They felt strongly that their alumni association should increase national outreach. Volunteer opportunities, particularly mentoring students, were listed as strong interests.

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