UM Announces More Than $12.5 Million in Giving from Swanee and Paul DiMare to Momentum2 Campaign

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (February 7, 2014) – Continuing their investment in the University of Miami—one of the top-ranked research universities in the nation—local philanthropists Swanee and Paul J. DiMare have pledged more than $12.5 million towards Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami, which began in 2008.

This contribution made through the Paul J. DiMare Foundation includes $6 million to fund scholarships at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine with recipients known as DiMare Medical Scholars. The financial assistance will help attract the country’s most promising medical students to the Miller School. The DiMare Foundation has pledged an additional $500,000 to the Miller School’s UHealth Sports Medicine Division for research related to regenerative medicine in sports.

The Frost School of Music will receive $2 million to support the fund to build a new 200-seat recital hall in the heart of the University’s Coral Gables campus. The lobby of the recital hall will be named the Swanee and Paul J. DiMare Lobby in their honor.

“Swanee and I are proud to be part of such a wonderful institution. The University of Miami touches so many lives in our community and beyond. We hope our support will contribute to the University’s great work in a meaningful way,” said Paul DiMare.

The DiMares are vice chairs of the Momemtum2 campaign. Paul DiMare is an involved and committed member of the University’s Board of Trustees.

“Swanee and Paul DiMare are pillars of our community with deep ties to the University of Miami,” said Donna E. Shalala, president of the University. “We are so thankful for their leadership and extraordinary commitment to the University’s mission. They are genuine heroes.”

“Swanee and Paul DiMare are true champions of philanthropy. Their generous support of so many critical areas at the University will have a profound and lasting impact on thousands of our students, faculty, physicians, and patients,” said Sergio M. Gonzalez, senior vice president for University Advancement and External Affairs. “We are very grateful for everything they do to support education and the well-being of our community.”

Paul and Swanee DiMare are passionate supporters of the University. The couple’s generous support for UM includes gifts to Athletics—most recently $1 million towards the new Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence where the Paul J. DiMare Gallery of Champions showcases individual and team titles, such as UM’s five national championships in football, as well as awards like the Heisman Trophies won by former Hurricanes Gino Torretta and Vinny Testaverde. Additionally, they have provided $1.5 million in funding toward athletic scholarships. Paul DiMare is also the Momentum2 campaign chair for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

As part of this gift, The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis which benefits The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a Center of Excellence at the Miller School, has received $1 million from the DiMares. The Buoniconti Fund and The Miami Project are committed to finding a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury. Paul DiMare is a director and trustee of The Buoniconti Fund.

Another area at UM that has seen the positive impact of the DiMare’s generosity includes the School of Education and Human Development, where Paul DiMare serves on the School’s Visiting Committee.

Paul DiMare is the president of DiMare Brothers, Inc., and DiMare Homestead, Inc., an organization of growers, packers, and shippers of whole fresh fruits and vegetables.

Swanee and Paul DiMare were recognized in 2007 for their community-wide and far-reaching philanthropy with the Outstanding Philanthropists Award given by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The University’s Momentum2 campaign has raised more than $1.26 billion of its $1.6 billion goal.