Not bad for a "joke university", as other posters have described our institution. Congratulations to FIU.
Here is the full story from the herald:
www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/550287.htmlFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
FIU gets record $10M for medical school
FIU's new medical school has received $10 million, the largest single cash donation in its history, before holding its first class.
Posted on Thu, May. 29, 2008
BY OSCAR CORRAL
ocorral@MiamiHerald.com
Asking fellow wealthy Cuban Americans to open their hearts and wallets to key institutions of the city they helped build, a South Florida businessman on Wednesday announced a $10 million gift to Florida International University -- the college's biggest-ever cash donation.
Benjamín León Jr., 63, owner of the fast-growing Leon Medical Centers in South Florida, said his gift is not just an act of generosity, but a wise investment in South Florida's future. The money will go toward FIU's new College of Medicine to establish the Benjamín León Jr. Family Center for Geriatric Research and Education, which will enroll its inaugural class in fall 2009.
León, in an interview Wednesday, said he felt the need to support an institution that will be critical to Miami's healthcare industry for years to come.
''The time is coming when more and more people will begin to come together and realize the need to reinvest part of our triumph, that God has allowed us to obtain, into our community,'' León said. He said that would lead to ``a stronger, better, more solid community, and in the case of my donation, a healthier one.''
FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique called the donation, to be spread out over five years, among the largest gifts ever made by a Cuban-American benefactor to a university and FIU's biggest-ever single cash donation. The first $2 million installment was presented during a ceremony Wednesday at FIU.
STATE MATCHES FUNDS
Because the gift is eligible for a matching grant from the state's Major Gifts Trust Fund, the donation represents an additional $10 million for the school.
''This will bring incredible recognition, status and everything else to the [León] family,'' Maidique said.
So far, two of the largest donations by Cuban Americans to universities have come from the healthcare industry.
Miguel ''Mike'' B. Fernandez, CEO of MBF Healthcare Partners, recently donated $10 million to the University of Miami. To ''top'' that gift, Maidique asked a León family member to pull a dollar out of his wallet and give it to the school during Wednesday's ceremony.
Carolyn Roberts, chairwoman of the state Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, said the gift from León could set a trend for others to give major gifts to FIU.
''It's very significant because it allows other donors to see that someone who has had great success has confidence in what FIU is doing,'' Roberts said.
The new center meshes well with FIU's strategy to educate doctors by focusing on community healthcare at the grass-roots level, Maidique said. Students will use León's network of clinics for rotations.
The donation represents an exclamation mark on one of Miami's most remarkable success stories. León told the crowd at FIU Wednesday that he came to the United States from Cuba in 1961 ''with $5 in my pocket'' as his family fled the Castro government.
León's father, Benjamín León Sr., recognized in the early 1960s that immigrants were having a difficult time accessing proper health care due to language and financial barriers. The elder León and a group of doctors launched Miami's first prepaid medical center, Clínica Cubana, in 1964, charging monthly fees of $2 for an individual and $5 for a family. Waiting rooms were meeting areas where cafecitos and gossip gave the clinics a personal touch, something Leon Medical Centers try to maintain.
Since then, the León family has been ever-present in managed care in South Florida, later founding Clínica Asociación Cubana in 1970, which received the state's first HMO license three years later. In 1977, when CAC's annual revenues were around $8 million, León sold CAC to a publicly traded company, but he bought it back two years later. About 10 years after that, with annual revenues at $100 million, León again sold CAC to another company, Ramsay Group.
PERSONAL TOUCH
In 1996, León said he invested every penny he had ''and more that the bank loaned me'' to found Leon Medical Centers. The company functions like the old Cuban-style clinics that focused on community and personal service and offers members several medical specialties.
''Any society should be measured by how we take care of the old, the people that pave our way,'' he said. ``I created Leon Medical Center because I saw a tremendous need for the poorest and most needy age group in our society.''
FIU is struggling through the most difficult budget cuts in recent memory. Layoffs, program cuts and higher tuition are some of the issues FIU and other state universities are coping with.
Joseph Caruncho, CEO of Preferred Care Partners and the new Chairman of the FIU Foundation Board of Directors, said León's gift is ''transformational'' for the school, and comes at a time when FIU needs the help.
''This is a huge opportunity and a huge step forward,'' Caruncho said. ``This donation from the León family really does raise the bar for giving to FIU.''
