Always look up!
We benefit in many ways from those who have traveled here before us. If you desire to contribute to our growth and our educational mission, please examine the
Donation Opportunities.
Larry Rutherford
gave a significant gift last year that honored the memory of an alumna: Read about
Lisa Anness,
her love of tropical plant sciences, and the innovative graduate fellowship in her name that units UM with the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens,
in the following story from the College of Arts and Sciences magazine:
The Lisa Anness University of Miami/Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Graduate Fellowship Endowment Fund
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WELCOME ALUMNI |
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The recent generous endowment of
the Jeff and Pat Aresty Chair
in Tropical Ecology
is of immense importance to Biology
This chair is a crucial foundation for attaining eminence in Tropical Ecology. It is critical for undergraduate eduction, as it assures that undergraduates can study with a renowned scientist in the tropics, a potentially life-changing experience.
At present, we have only a few such opportunities, and the Jeff and Pat Aresty Chair in Tropical Ecology will reaffirm undergraduate field work as a high priority at UM, and assure that more students have this opportunity. The impact of such experiences is clear. As an example, Audrey Neff has the following to say about her recent field experience with Dr. David Janos, who each year takes a small tropical field biology class to Costa Rica:
"I want you to know (and I'm sure you've heard this from countless other students) that the Costa Rica trip changed my life. I wanted to challenge myself physically and mentally -- and to say that the trip delivered on both of these would be the understatement of century. The trip made me realize, among many other things, that I'm not afraid of testing my limits, that I'm interested in taking on future challenges, and that if I set my mind on a particular goal, I probably have a decent chance of succeeding."
Our search for an emminent tropical field biologist
to hold the Aresty Chair begins this year.
Pat and Jeff Aresty graduated from UM in the mid 1970s with BS degrees in biology. They met in the spring of 1974 at UM's tropical biology field station, which was sandwiched between the towns of Quevedo and Santo Domingo de los Colorados in Ecuador. After graduation, Pat worked in biochemistry labs at UM while Jeff worked for Everglades National Park on an alligator tagging project. Pat and Jeff graduated with Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Nebraska in Omaha in the early 1980s. They now live in Big Sky country, north of Missuloa Montana, but still cherish their Biology training, with its weekly ornithology field trips with Bud Owre, hanging out at the bird rang,; vistiing the Dry Tortugas and Trips to Ecuador. They say that they are able to use their science education from UM every day of their lives. |
