It is less than six months until the University of Miami turns 100 years old on April 8, 2025. To mark this historic milestone, the Alumni Association and Pat Whitely, Ed.D. ’94, senior vice president for student affairs and alumni engagement, are going on the road to bring the celebrations to major alumni communities around the country. The first Sprint to Our Centennial event took place in Tampa in late September, and eight more are planned in the coming months.
Rob Weaver, B.S.M.E. ’08, J.D. ’11, president of the Tampa ’Canes Community and Citizens Board member, who helped host the September event, declared that Sprint to Our Centennial gives alumni and friends of the U a tremendous overview of how far the University has come and where it is going.
“If you haven’t been back to campus recently, it’s the next best thing,” said Weaver as he urged alumni to attend upcoming Sprint events. “I was a freshman in 2004, and over the past 20 years I've witnessed tremendous change and advancement across the University,” he continued. “Part of that is physical change. Gone are the Hecht and Stanford towers, replaced by a state-of-the-art dorm experience. Also gone is the original Rathskeller, rebuilt as part of the Shalala Student Center.
“Beyond the campus landscape, the University is doing fabulous work through every one of its schools and colleges: driving cutting edge innovation on land and in the ocean and skies, cultivating entrepreneurship to implement that innovation, and engaging various communities throughout the world to improve their lives and tell their stories.”
The Tampa Sprint featured a fireside chat with Whitely and Katie Meier, special advisor to the vice president and director of athletics and former coach of Hurricanes women’s basketball. Meier shared insights on her coaching philosophy as well as the ways innovation and creativity will help shape the future of intercollegiate sports and how the University, with the help of alumni, supports the academic and athletic growth of student-athletes.
A lively audience question-and-answer session followed, then Darren DuPriest, B.B.A. ’91, president-elect of the University of Miami Alumni Association, took to the podium to extol the efforts of the Tampa ’Canes Community, led by Weaver and past president Jonathan Brill, B.B.A. ’98, to engage the nearly 4,400 Tampa-area alumni. Sebastian, the Band of the Hour, and the ’Canes cheerleaders brought the event to a rousing close.
Get details of future Sprint to Our Centennial dates and locations
Snapshots from the Tampa Sprint to Our Centennial
Photos: Matt Nassif/University of Miami
Why engagement matters: one alum's view
Rob Weaver has lived in the Tampa area for three years, and in that relatively short time he has become one of the driving forces behind the Tampa ’Canes Community.
As Weaver explained, the Tampa ’Canes focus on cultivating a strong and supportive community for University of Miami alumni in the Tampa Bay area. “Cheering on our Hurricane student-athletes is a big part of that, and Tampa ’Canes host several watch parties throughout the year,” he said. “We also hold networking social hours in different locations, which have been particularly helpful in growing the community because the Tampa area is very spread out [and] having these neighborhood gatherings ensures that ’Canes throughout our community have an opportunity to engage with their alma mater.”
“In addition, we are amping our volunteer efforts at a particularly critical time as the Tampa area recovers from recent hurricanes,” Weaver added.
Weaver believes strongly in the value to alumni of staying connected with the University, whether through attending a Sprint to Our Centennial event, a game watch party, or a social hour. “Whether you stayed in South Florida after graduation or moved several time zones away, your alma mater offers a wealth of resources to maximize the value of your degree. Chief among these resources is the alumni network,” he said.
“When I moved to Tampa in 2021, I barely knew anyone in the area, but one of the first things I did was to reach out to the Tampa ’Canes Community. It was wonderful to have an instant group of people who shared a common connection with our alma mater. Keeping engaged with the University is one of the best ways to tap into those connections.”
