CDR Maguire Inc. CEO and CDR Health Care Inc. CEO, both alumni, give $1.2 million to Honors College for scholarships

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Florida International University alumni Tina Vidal-Duart and Carlos Duart have made a $1.2 million gift to the FIU Honors College to establish two student scholarship endowments. It is the largest gift the Honors College has received from its alumni to date. “We are humbled to be in a position to make this gift,” said Tina Vidal-Duart. “Carlos […]

Two-time alumnus George Corton named FIU Vice President of Development and Innovation Philanthropy

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George Corton, a fundraising professional with more than 18 years of experience, has been promoted to Vice President of Development and Innovation Philanthropy at Florida International University. Corton, an alumnus who received his bachelor’s and MBA degrees from FIU, has served the university for nearly 16 years, including as Chief Development Officer/ Senior Associate Vice […]

Alumnus John McKibbon ’75 makes $5M gift to FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

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–By Ivonne Amor John McKibbon and his wife Letitia have made a $5 million gift to the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management that will enhance alumni outreach, implement formal integration of technology and innovation into the curriculum, and create student scholarships at the top-10 U.S. public hospitality school from which he graduated. The McKibbon […]

Meet Gina C. Duarte-Romero, president of the FIU Alumni Association Board of Directors

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FIU Alumni Association Board of Directors President Gina C. Duarte-Romero ’91, M.Ed. ’08 taught briefly in Miami-Dade County Public Schools before purchasing a preschool and later The Biltmore School. She now runs The Biltmore School and is an adjunct professor in FIU’s School of Education and Human Development, teaching early childhood education courses. Gina also chairs the FIU Parent & Family Council, which connects students’ parents to FIU and raises funds […]

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

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–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

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–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

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–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

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–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

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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

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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 […]