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Miami Beach
Senior High
Miami Beach High has been blessed
for decades with a strong sense of community enjoyed by only a few
public high schools. This spirit has become contagious as evidenced
by strong and continued support from local businesses, elected
officials, and community activists. Through the various
disciplines, clubs, sports, and adult school programs, the
enthusiasm that permeates embodies the entire school.
The
2001-2002 school year is rolling right along. Plans are already in
place to improve student achievement, launch a Home Baked Farmers'
Market, collaborate with the New World Symphony during the holiday
season, sweep the spring district debate competitions, install
Internet services school-wide, secure funding to support all
programs, prepare students for careers after high school, enter
local, state and national academic and athletic competitions, work
cohesively with the PTSA and Dade Partners to enhance program
offerings, renovate the 100, 200, and 300 wings...just to name a few
of our projects.
A VERY Brief History
of the University of Miami
"Cardboard College and Suntan U We Are Not!"
A brief history of the University of Miami
Founded April 8, 1925; Opened October 15, 1926
In 1916, William Jennings Bryan suggested the formation of the
"Pan-American University" in Miami. On April 8, 1925, the University
of Miami was granted its charter, and Coral Gables was chosen as the
site for the University. The first cornerstone was laid on February
4 of that same year. After receiving pledges in excess of $8
million, more than half of which as well as some 160 acres of land
was donated personally by George E. Merrick, founder of Coral Gables
(as a freshman, the question as to why so many things are name after
this man on the campus, crosses your mind), UM leased an uncompleted
hotel to use for its administrative and classroom building.
However, the University was not to open anytime soon, as on
September 17, 1926, the devastating hurricane Kate hit South
Florida, leaving over 10,000 homeless and some 130 people dead.
Things were not looking bright for the University of Miami. On
October 15, 1926, the University of Miami opened its doors to its
first students, the very fist of which was Francis Houghtaling, who
is also known for his fathering of the Iron Arrow Honor Society.
Joining him were 560 other students. the University of Miami was
given the name "Cardboard College" because of the partitions used to
separate classes. On October 23, the all-freshman football team won
their first game, and the name "Hurricanes" was used for the first
time, as well as the colors burnt orange, biscayne green and white
as the University's colors. On November 3, the board of trustees
elected Dr. Bowman Foster Ashe as the University of Miami's first
president. That same year, nine students approached Dr. Ashe about
founding an honor society that would recognize those who reflected
the ideals and spirit of the University of Miami, based on the
traditions of the Seminole Indians.
1927 saw the emergence of the University News (now The Miami
Hurricane), the first Ibis yearbook, and the first six students that
comprised the graduating class. Added to the existing College of
Liberal Arts, School of Music, and Evening Division were the School
of Law in 1928, School of Business Administration & School of
Education in 1929. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 caused the bottom
to fall out of the land boom in Florida, and $15 million in
donations are never received, causing students to go door to door to
solicit funds to keep the University of Miami alive. Dr. Ashe
convinced the faculty and administration to go without salaries
until the university was back on its feet. In 1930, 30 graduates of
the University of Miami established the Alumni Association, and the
University of Miami radio station began broadcasting. 1931 saw the
first Homecoming celebration. In 1933, financial difficulties forced
UM to file for bankruptcy on August 7, 1932, but is rescued by Dr.
Ashe's brainchild of forming a corporation to buy back the
University's property. In 1933, the marching band was formed. In
1937, the now-called Orange Bowl was dedicated. World War II brought
an unexpected time of growth for the University of Miami, beginning
in 1940 with its accreditation by SACS, the founding of a Marine
Laboratory, and the arrival of troops for training. In 1941, the
Graduate School of International Studies was created, and in January
of 1942 social events were canceled because of the war. A gift of
land to complete a 245 acre area in Coral Gables was donated by
Grace R. Doherty, and Dr. Ashe announced plans to build a new
campus.
In 1946, Winston Churchill was conferred an honary doctorate in Law.
In the same year, classes at the south campus began, and saw the
completion of the Oscar E. Dooley Memorial Classroom Building. The
School of Engineering was created in 1947, and 29 other buildings
are approved to be built on the campus, including the excavation of
Lake Osceola (Asi-yaholo). 1948 saw the completion of the Merrick
Building and its rededication. 1949 was a record year for
enrollment, and UM makes history, offering the first Human Relations
major. If you ever wondered how the band got its name, its was given
by the announcer at the Orange Bowl as the band was about to play
"Man of the Hour". In 1950, the Student Union opened. After much
campaigning by The Hurricane, the first faculty evaluations were
carried out. UM created the first School of Medicine in 1952, and a
$1/2 million radar installed in 1953 atop the Merrick Building,
along with the University's second president, Jay F. W. Pearson. In
1956, the first computer was installed in Engineering, and the
Pan-Hellenic Building started. Sebastian (originally Icky) appeared
for the first time in 1958, and the first master plan for the main
campus was conceived. Doctoral programs began in 1959, and the first
Honors Day was held in 1960.
In 1961, racial barriers were removed from the admissions process,
and the first black students attended UM in the summer. Dr. Henry
King Stanford was appointed to presidency in 1962, UM's third
president. The Faculty senate was organized the same year. The
Marine Laboratory was completed the next year, making it the third
largest in the world at the time. In 1965, the fist wave of
recruitment began for international students, with the creation of
the International Club (now the Council of International Students
and Organizations). Dr. Butler begins his term as VP for Student
Affairs. In 1966, the International Club holds the first
Pan-American Week (the beginnings of International Week). In 1967,
the first of the four towers of the Hecht-Stanford Residential
Complex was completed, and sees the approval of coed housing. On
April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, and
classes were canceled so students could attend the memorial service
the following day. On November 13, a gift of $12.2 million from
Lewis S. Rosenstiel secures the creation of RSMAS.
In 1970, women were finally allowed to visit the fraternity houses.
A lack of fans and funds in 1971 suspended the Basketball program,
and in 1972, the Rathskeller opens. In 1973, the first female
athletic grants in higher education were awarded, Mark Light Field
was dedicated, the distinctive split-U was designed, and Iron arrow
was severely hit by the HEW for not admitting women and being
demeaning to Native Americans. The Financial Aid office became
computerized (at last!). The President's residence was donated in
1974 by Malcom Matheson at 8565 Old Cutler Road. In the same year,
the first woman is initiated into ODK. The following year, the Lane
Recreation Center was opened. In 1976, because of the tribe's
refusal to admit women, president Stanford is forced to throw Iron
Arrow off campus, and sever ties with the group, while Mortar Board
finally tapped its first male members. In 1978, Isaac Bashevis
Singer, Nobel Laureate, joins the University of Miami faculty.
Our current President, Edward Thaddeus Foote II was appointed to
office on December 4, 1981. The following year, UM is elected into
Phi Beta Kappa. In 1983, the School of Architecture was created, and
Iron Arrow wins the first part of its battle with the HEW. However,
the problem of admitting women continues. On New Year's Day 1984, UM
won its first national championship in football (repeated in '88,
'90 & '92, and the first residential college opens its doors. On
February 28, 1985, Dorothy Ashe-Dunn, daughter of Dr. Ashe became
the first woman to be tapped into Iron Arrow, after the tribe had
been off-campus for nine years. That year, the school of
Communication was created, the Basketball program was brought back
to life, and the current UM logo bearing the words "A Global
University" was created. In 1986 the Honor Code and Honor Council
were established, and Vinny Testaverde become the first UM player to
win the Heisman Trophy. In 1990, UM started to raise $400 million in
five years, which was exceeded 3 years later. In 1992 however,
Hurricane Andrew, the most devastating natural disaster in the
history of the US, greeted the University in the same manner as
Hurricane Kate at its opening almost 7 decades earlier. This set the
academic year off by 1 month and costs the university $13 million in
damages. Needless to say, Andrew hit on the first day of regular
orientation. Gino Toretta won our next Hiesman Trophy that season,
but it also marked the start of our decline from football fame. That
same year, after much coaxing by the SG and complaints by students,
the University decided to change the organization of dining
services, and contract a new service, Daka. This sling-shot a few
plans to re-vamp the entire University food service, leading to the
building of the Hurricane Food court.
In late 1994, the Lane Recreation Center was torn down to make way
for the new George Smathers Wellness Center, the most advanced place
of its kind in the country. The Bowling Alley, a long time tradition
in the University Center was torn down to make way for the new
Career Planning and Placement Center, and the main lounge was
refurbished and a new Information Center created. 1994 also saw the
biggest turnout for International Week ever. Today, the University
consists of 5 campuses, and boasts one of the top Marine and
Atmospheric Sciences programs in the world, the largest Medical
Campus in the United States and probably the highest ratio of
Domestic to Internaitonal Students. The University of Miami is most
certainly not a "Cardboard College", nor is it "Suntan U."
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