Here’s highlights from 2025:
January
Marco Rubio, the son of immigrants from Cuba who graduated from the School of Law and went on to achieve a stellar career as a United States senator, is sworn in as the nation’s 72nd secretary of state on Jan. 21, becoming the first Hispanic to hold the post.
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Miller School of Medicine are selected to become the second U.S.-based site for Neuralink’s PRIME Study, a landmark investigational medical device clinical trial that aims to enable paralyzed patients to use their own thoughts to control external devices through a brain-computer interface.
The Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science’s flagship research vessel, F.G. Walton Smith, named after its founding dean, celebrates a quarter century of ocean research and education.
February
The 15th Dolphins Cancer Challenge sets participation and fundraising records, with more than 7,300 attendees raising more than $14 million to support Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center as the NFL’s No. 1 fundraising event.
The University’s first Miami XR conference attracts industry leaders and educators from across the nation to discuss integrating extended reality into our lives.
Longtime University Trustee George Feldenkreis, who emigrated from Cuba in 1961, started a clothing empire, and gave generously to the University, passes away on Feb. 20. He was 89.
Tony- and Grammy-nominated Broadway star and University alumnus Joshua Henry shares his journey of artistic growth with students during a visit to Department of Theatre Arts classes at the College of Arts and Sciences.
During a fireside chat on Feb. 16 with former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence Jr. on the Coral Gables Campus, former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer discusses constitutional interpretation and the challenges appellate courts often face in elucidating the document.
March
Hurricanes diver Chiara Pellacani is named NCAA national champion for her 1-meter springboard dive at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, with her teammate Mia Vallée taking second place.
During the two-day summit Resilience 365: Catalytic Conversations for the Next 100 Years, University researchers join local and national resilience leaders from academia, government, the nonprofit sector, and private industry to share emerging trends and inspire new ideas to catalyze resilience action.
Jai Lucas, one of the nation’s most respected assistant coaches and recruiters, is named the new head men’s basketball coach.
At the eMerge Americas conference in Miami Beach, students, researchers, doctors, and scientists showcase some of the innovative, technologically advanced, and creative ways the University is making a difference in the world.
April
The University hosts a momentous birthday celebration, marking 100 years since its charter date. It all started on April 8, when the Coral Gables Campus rocked the night with a carnival, block party, an exhilarating concert, and spectacular fireworks display. The evening was part of a week of festivities for the community—all in honor of the U’s Centennial Celebration.
Quarterback Cam Ward is selected with the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans on April 24, becoming the third Hurricane to ever be selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft and the first since 1991, when defensive tackle Russell Maryland was taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the draft’s top pick.
May
Spring commencement takes place from May 8 through May 10, with seven ceremonies celebrating more than 4,900 new Canes graduates.
The Hurricanes baseball team heads to the postseason, earning a berth in the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
Allan Herbert, the longtime University philanthropist and former member of its board of trustees whose generosity helped transform academics and student life at the institution, passes away on May 11. He was 89.
June
Philanthropist Lois Pope gives $10 million to establish a fund for neuroscience research. The gift, made in memory of her daughter Lorraine, will establish the Lois Pope Neuroscience Research Fund and name the Lois Pope Laboratory Wing at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Senior Devoux Deysel wins the NCAA men’s javelin title on June 11, becoming the first male student-athlete to snag an outdoor national championship since 1996—and the first ACC champ in the event since 2006.
Miami Hurricanes track and field’s Sanaa Hebron and the women’s 4x400-meter relay team—Serena Tate, Gabriella Grissom, Alyssa Robinson, and Hebron—earn first team All-America honors, closing out the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Hebron took home fourth place in the 400-meter hurdles, while the relay team placed eighth in the final of the 4x400-meter relay.
July
In a milestone achievement befitting of its centennial year, the University announces that it has raised more than $2.6 billion as part of Ever Brighter: The Campaign for Our Next Century. This record achievement will power the next century of excellence—fueling groundbreaking research, bold academic innovation, and pioneering medical discoveries—with outcomes that will not only shape the institution’s future but also contribute to addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Joel Hassman Samuels, an Ivy League-educated scholar and legal eagle with more than 20 years of experience in higher education who reshaped the research program of the largest college at one of the nation’s most comprehensive public universities, is named the University’s new executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.
Ben Kirtman, a renowned atmospheric scientist who raised the bar in the study of climate predictability, is named the new dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.
For the 24th time—and 22nd consecutive year—U.S. News & World Report ranks Bascom Palmer Eye Institute as the No.1 ophthalmology hospital in the country.
Don Soffer, the real estate mogul, businessman, and philanthropist who, along with his family, left an indelible mark on the University, including a $25 million gift to the Miller School of Medicine’s Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, passes away on July 20. He was 92.
August
The Miami Hurricanes football team opens the season with a thrilling 27-24 win over Notre Dame on Aug. 31 before a sold-out, orange-clad crowd of 66,793 at Hard Rock Stadium.
UHealth – University of Miami Health System receives the prestigious Magnet with Distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program, placing it among fewer than 1 percent of U.S. hospitals with the designation.
September
UHealth SoLé Mia, a seven-story, 370,000-square-foot facility that combines the latest in AI-enabled technology with an environment designed to heal, opens in North Miami, becoming the largest ambulatory center in UHealth’s network.
Alix Earle, one of the University’s most recognizable young alumni, makes her debut on Season 34 of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” on the night of Sept. 16, as the Rathskeller roared with pride as fellow Canes gathered to cheer her on. Among them were her newest scholarship recipients, senior Kaleab Bekele and junior Jimmy Ayash, who were named 2025 Alix Earle Scholars.
ESPN’s “College GameDay,” the weekly traveling pregame show that sets up shop at college campuses for marquee matchups, airs live on Sept. 20 from the Lakeside Patio in advance of the Hurricanes football team’s resounding 26-7 victory over the University of Florida Gators.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor captivates an audience of nearly 600 at the Donna E. Shalala Student Center on Sept. 19 with a discussion of her new children’s book and the law.
More than 900 distinguished individuals, including leading figures from the worlds of sports, entertainment, business, philanthropy, medicine, and community leadership, convene on Sept. 29 at the New York Hilton to celebrate Marc Buoniconti’s 59th birthday and remarkable life and to commemorate the 40th anniversary of both the Great Sports Legends Dinner and the founding of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
Generations of alumni and a faculty member of the Frost School of Music figure prominently among the nominees for the 26th annual Latin Grammy Awards.
October
With the second quantum revolution on the horizon, the University joins the Florida Alliance for Quantum Technology, a collaborative effort that brings together universities, government agencies, and the private sector to make Florida a national leader in the field. And the College of Arts and Sciences—home to more than a dozen faculty members whose research involves quantum technologies—is leading the institution’s participation in the alliance.
The Frost Symphony Orchestra debuts at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to a sold-out performance of professor Etienne Charles’ powerful jazz-orchestral work “San Juan Hill: A New York Story” under the baton of famed musical director Gerard Schwarz.
November
Alumni Weekend and Homecoming 2025 features a memorable week celebrating a century of traditions, community, and pride.
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System, makes history with its first international expansion, opening a state-of-the-art facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and marking a significant milestone in global eye care.
The 10th Annual Three Minute Thesis Competition showcased graduate students from across the University presenting research in fields ranging from medicine and computer engineering to literature and marketing.
Artists from the Frost School of Music kick off the 2025-2026 season of the Jazz Roots series at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County with an electrifying concert memorializing the music of Miles Davis, the trumpet player and musical genius who transformed jazz music.
Multiple faculty members and alumni from the Frost School of Music are honored with nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards.
A team of doctors from the Miller School’s Global Institute for Community Health and Development travel to Jamaica to help relieve local health care providers in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. Two of the physicians—both Jamaican natives—return to clinics or hospitals where they worked before joining UHealth.
December
More than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive newly minted degrees before family and friends in two ceremonies Dec. 11 that showcased achievements, celebrations, and tears of joy.
The Miami Hurricanes football program is selected to the 2025 College Football Playoff, receiving an at-large bid to secure the team’s first-ever appearance in the playoff.
Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., along with wide receiver Malachi Toney, are named to the Associated Press All-America teams.
The Hurricanes volleyball team heads to the postseason for the fifth straight season, earning an at-large berth in the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Professor Gerard Schwarz, the illustrious conductor and music director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra and the Palm Beach Symphony, and his former graduate conducting student, triple Frost School alumnus Carlos “Carlitos” Lopez, receive multiple 2025 Emmy Award nominations for broadcast productions of ambitious concerts from both musical ensembles.
