CORAL GABLES, Fla., Feb. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Established to cultivate an understanding of democratic practices within the United States and around the globe, The George P. Hanley Democracy Center at the University of Miami will be officially named and dedicated at a special ceremony beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 2. The event will take place on the University’s Coral Gables Campus at 1300 Campo Sano Drive.
University of Miami President Julio Frenk will host the ribbon-cutting event. It will also include remarks from University Board Chair Laurie Silvers, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Leonidas Bachas, and the donor, George Hanley.
Hanley, an entrepreneur and philanthropist with a history of endowing educational institutions made a generous naming commitment to the University of Miami to create the center along with an endowed chair in democracy, which will also bear his name.
“People need to have civil discourse,” Hanley said at the time he made the gift. “When I have civil discourse with people, we are much closer in views than the cable news shows would have us believe. This is a center to look at different ways of thinking and to bring people together. Because at the end of the day, we are all Americans,” he added.
Housed in the Department of Political Science within the College of Arts and Sciences, the center's mission is to study democratic practices and share political knowledge with the public, offering citizens, scholars, and public officials the information they need to make informed decisions. Toward that end, the center will provide research grants to faculty members who study democratic policies, conduct public programming, host discussion panels, and support students through internships.
“The University of Miami is the ideal academic venue for the democracy center,” Bachas said. “Florida has a reputation as an electoral battleground, a proverbial swing state that often draws national attention. Our proximity to Latin America also places us in an ideal spot to study democracy in the Americas and beyond.”
Since its launch last fall, with Gregory Koger, professor of political science as its director, the center has selected its first cohort of interns, co-sponsored a panel on democracy in Latin America, and invited Hanley to speak to the 2022 Elections Class. The center has also recently committed grants for a conference on policy development and two research projects, studying the effects of LGBTQ remittances in the receiving country and the democratic development of local public health budgets.
Hanley has extensive experience founding and building successful companies in the country's financial and commercial real estate industries. He is based in Miami and has significant business interests in Nashville, Tennessee, and Chicago, Illinois.
Hanley’s gift is part of the University of Miami’s Ever Brighter: The Campaign for Our Next Century. The most ambitious in the University’s history, the $2.5 billion campaign is set to conclude in 2025 when the University will celebrate its centennial.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
The University of Miami is a private research university and academic health system with a distinct geographic capacity to connect institutions, individuals, and ideas across the hemisphere and around the world. The University’s vibrant and diverse academic community comprises 12 schools and colleges serving more than 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 180 majors and programs. Located within one of the most dynamic and multicultural cities in the world, the University is building new bridges across geographic, cultural, and intellectual borders, bringing a passion for scholarly excellence, a spirit of innovation, a respect for including and elevating diverse voices, and a commitment to tackling the challenges facing our world.
