Six University of Miami faculty members are recipients of the seventh annual Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity, created by UM Executive Vice President and Provost Luis Glaser in recognition of extraordinary research and scholarly pursuits. In addition to a commemorative plaque, each faculty member receives a $4,000 cash award and $2,000 toward continued research support.
This year’s honorees are:
Jay S. Skyler, Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychology and Director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Miami, for his contributions and accomplishments in the field of diabetes, specifically on developing strategies to prevent or delay the onset of Type I diabetes through immunizations.
Thomas R. Malek, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the School of Medicine, for his research on cytokine receptor function in T Cell development, which has been steadily funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Professor David Ellison, Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the College of Arts and Sciences, for having built the department into a nationally recognized department of active scholars during his ten years at the University. He has authored four books and some 20 essays in the most prestigious journals in the country and abroad.
Physics professor Rafael Nepomechie, in the College of Arts and Sciences, for his work in the fields of mathematical physics, string theory and statistical mechanics. He has been invited all over the world to lecture on his work, which has been continually supported by the National Science Foundation and NATO.
Christine Federighi, Professor of Art and Art History in the College of Arts and Sciences, for maintaining an active life as a fine artist, producing a steady stream of new work for exhibition, while at the same time guiding numerous undergraduate and graduate students through a daunting array of courses in ceramics and glass.
Yadong Luo, Professor of Management, School of Business Administration, for his research in the field of international business. He has published 15 books, nine of which he has sole-authored, and many of which are considered to be “musts” for anyone interested in the Chinese market.
The University of Miami was honored with the “Corporation of the Year” award from the Florida Regional Minority Business Council (FRMBC) at the 28th annual awards gala, held on March 14. The FRMBC was founded in 1975 by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Miami Progress Foundation, with the purpose of fostering the development of minority-owned businesses throughout South Florida.
Each year, minority suppliers nominate companies they feel have gone out of their way to assist them in developing market share. This year, Furniture Systems Plus, a furniture installer, nominated the University for the award. Carmen Oliva, Director of Medical Purchasing, and Otis Jones, Manager of Business Development Programs, worked very closely with Furniture Systems Plus and made them vendor of choice for furniture installation at the University’s medical campus in downtown Miami.