The Edit by Brett Graff
Will Smith Supports Ben Crump at St. Thomas University Law School
At the ceremony to name St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law after famed attorney Benjamin L. Crump, a special guest was there to support: actor Will Smith, reported Walter Villa in the university’s newspaper. Attorney Crump closed the 90-minute ceremony with a stirring speech that included some words from two legendary figures in American history, Ben Franklin and Dr. Martin Luther King. It marked a historic day as STU became the proud home of the first law school in the country named after a practicing Black attorney. The only other law school in the country named for a Black person is named after Attorney Crump’s personal hero, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Villa went on to report preLaw Magazine recently named STU among the 10 “Best Schools for Racial Justice, Princeton Law Review ranked STU No. 1 in the category of “Greatest Resources for Minority Students” and that STU’s College of Law has produced more women judges than any other institution in Florida, and the St. Thomas Law Trial Team is ranked top-five in the nation.
Will Smith, also made some brief remarks, saying “I just wanted to support Ben, who has been a spectacular friend and guide, and that is why it was important for me to be here today. There are very few people in the world with a heart like his. It is my deepest honor to be here to show some love. Congratulations on this historic honor.”
Sexy Fish Serves a Serious Business Lunch
Doctor Presented with DiMare Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy
Jashodeep Datta M.D. – a renowned cancer researcher and physician – was recently presented with the DiMare Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy. Dr. Datta, associate director of translational research at the Sylvester Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and assistant professor of surgery in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, was praised for his groundbreaking research developing novel immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer.
Sylvester Director Stephen D. Nimer M.D. called immunotherapy a game changer and credited the DiMare family for recognizing its potential. He pointed out that in addition to presenting the DiMare Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy to Dr. Datta, the DiMares had previously presented the Paul J. DiMare Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy to C. Ola Landgren M.D., Ph.D chief of Myeloma Division and leader of the Translational and Clinical Oncology Program, to further his research integrating immunotherapy into the development of curative treatment strategies for multiple myeloma.
“The DiMare family’s generosity in this area is going to make huge differences in cancer treatment,” said Dr. Nimer.
Several speakers shared that sentiment, speaking fondly of the impact Paul DiMare made on Sylvester and the University. DiMare, chief executive officer and president of DiMare Fresh and a longtime UM trustee and benefactor, passed away in December from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 81. His wife, Swanee DiMare, was at the ceremony.
Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean of the Miller School, called DiMare a philanthropic leader, citing his $6 million gift to support medical education scholarships and an endowment fund at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis to support research into neurodegenerative disorders.
“Paul’s passing is a tremendous loss for all who knew him, which is one of the reasons why we are so honored to present this chair in the DiMare family name,” said Dean Ford. “It will exist in perpetuity, thereby strengthening and immortalizing Paul’s remarkable legacy.”
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.
