University of Miami - Ibis Yearbook (Coral Gables, FL)

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Dr. James L. Ash, Jr., Honors Dean The University of Miami ' s administration has dedicated itself to the pursuit of academic excellence . Since the Honor ' s Program is a cornerstone of the University ' s academic programs, the administration saw the need to appoint a dean of the Honors Program who is capable, far-sighted, and an enthusiastic individual. They found such characteristics in Dr. James L. Ash, Jr. , the former chairman of the Department of Religion. Dr. Ash is quick to point out that an Honors Program is not just some sort of academic luxury, but an integral and necessary component of any university. As he says: I am convinced that the best way to insure the future success of this university is to expand our efforts to recruit and retain superior students. The Honors Program is the ideal instrument to attain this goal. Dr. Ash brings to his new position an almost unbridled optimism that the University of Miami ' s Honor Program can be one of the finest in the nation. His goals for the program include: a broader curriculum with more honors sections of popular courses, the involvement of some gifted and inspiring faculty members, who are not presently teaching in the Honors Program, better housing, and more privileges for honor students. Dr. Ash also emphasizes that in order for these proposed improvements to be effective, it is essential to have student input which is strongly considered. In congruence with his theory, Dr. Ash makes himself highly accessible to students and informs students of his ideas either through letters or meetings, such as an informal gatherings with the Honor ' s Students Associations ' executive board or a discussion session at a regular H.S.A. meeting. The Honors Students, along with many other people on campus, are convinced that with a director as dynamic as Dr. Ash, the Honors program will experience much growth and prosperity in the very near future. And, perhaps more importantly, this growth will undoubtly benefit the academic climate of the entire University. By Dave Auslander and Sandy VanDine Honors Program 27

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Honors Program In 1 95 7, the University of Miami ' s faculty organized its first courses in honors and established what is now known as the Programs in Honors and Privileged Studies. The original schedule of only four classes has expanded to about 65 courses each year. Mrs. Barbara Clark, the program ' s administrator since 1 970, said that presently, there are about 250 students enrolled in honors courses each semester; and that the program is able to accept a greater number of students each year. In this case, more quantity does not mean a sacrifice of quality. Mrs. Clark emphasizes that the academic level of incoming freshman accepted into the program has gotten increasingly better. To even be considered for acceptance into the General Honors Program, an incoming freshman must have scored at least a 1 200 on the SAT ' s and be in the top ten percent of his high school class. Why would anyone subject themself to such rigorous demands? Well, there are many benefits for a student in the Honors Program, and evidently they are attractive enough to recruit and maintain the University ' s most superior students. Honors studies enable the more capable students to plan work consistent with their backgrounds and abilities and to avoid repetition and routine. Small classes of no more than twenty students replace the usual lecture hall classes with a hundred or more students. Open discussion, with some of the University ' s top professors, replaces the usual lecture-take-notes regimen. One of the brightest aspects of the program is the Honors Students Association CH.S.A. ). H.S.A. was created by honors students for honors students. The organization is governed by an executive board of elected honors students. The executive board, along with various committee chairmans, organize events such as: lecture series, social gatherings with professors, an annual trip to Disney World, beer sales at the Orange Bowl, and many other special events. This year ' s executive board — Dave Auslander, Sandy VanDine, Karen Rudy, Tere Trout, and Eric Leiberman — have been enthusiastically working to expand the activities of H.S.A. For example, H.S.A. was actively involved in Homecoming for the first time in many years. Other big events were: the Sleeping Bag Seminar , during which H.S.A. hosted honors students from other schools for a three day exchange of ideas; and the participation of H.S.A. members in the National Conference of Honors Students, in Omaha, Nebraska, as well as the Regional Conference, in New Orleans. The Honors Program and H.S.A. have much to offer the gifted student. So if you are interested in expanding your horizons — take the challenge — and join the fun! By Sandy VanDine 26 Honors Program

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Dr. Carl E.B. McKenry — Dean of Business School Everyone has heard of the man who has everything — how lucky he must be! Well the University of Miami ' s School of Business is lucky enough to have as its interim dean, the man that has done [practically] everything, Dr. Carl McKenry. When last year ' s dean, Dr. Gary Walton, announced that he would not be staying on at the University of Miami, an in-house search immediately began to seek the most capable professor for the position. Once McKenry, who was at that time chairman of the department of General Business Management, was considered, the search could have ended. McKenry could offer what no other candidate could — experience, and lots of it. I have served at so many different administrative capacities here at the University, that perhaps I was the most knowledgeable about the workings of the Business School, commented McKenry. He continued, I ' ve been here a long time. I ' ve worked my way up the ladder. I started in 1 956 as an Assistant Professor of Management, then I was promoted to Associate Professor of Management and Law, then Professor of Management and Law, and in 1 977, I was appointed Chairman of the General Business Management Department, and finally, this year I became the Dean of the entire Business School. Now that McKenry has the interim Deanship, which bestowes upon him all the powers of a regular dean, but implys that the position is temporary, his greatest challenge is operating under severe budgetary limitations. Although the school ' s budget was in the red when McKenry became Dean, he is convinced that with the necessary cuts the budget can be in balance by the year ' s end. Dean McKenry is also striving to better the school ' s academics and he believes the key to this is aggressive recruiting of well-qualified students. McKenry commented, Presently, we are the only accredited Business School in South Florida, and I would like to build on that. We have the potential to become one of the best in the nation. We are a much better University than we give ourselves credit for, stated McKenry. I think it ' s an injustice to the U.M. to compare us to Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. We are us, we are unique, we are different. We don ' t have 300 years of tradition dragging behind us. We can change with the times. McKenry is also very active at the Law School and Center for the Aging. He has published several articles, most of them dealing with his specialties — aviation and transportation law, and the law and the elderly. As busy as he is, McKenry ' s involvements at the U. M. are not restricted to those dealing with his work and colleagues, he actively works with more than five student organizations including: Phi Beta Lambda Business Society, the Varsity Debate team, S.A. F.A.C., WVUM, and the Student Publications Board. Indeed, the Business School is lucky to have such a person as Carl E. McKenry, Jr. as interim dean. In fact, there are many people, students and faculty alike, who believe that the school would be even luckier should Dean McKenry be considered to stay on permanently. By Sandy Van Dine Their 2B Faculty - ■