Media Relations
Press Release:
MEDIA CONTACT: Linda Holtz
561-297-0159, lholtz@fau.edu
FAU Foundation Board Elects Dr. Ira J. Gelb as Chair
Six New Members Join Board
BOCA RATON, FL (May 24, 2006) - The Florida Atlantic University Foundation Board held its annual meeting on April 20, 2006. At the meeting Ira J. Gelb, M.D., F.A.C.C., was elected as the board’s new chair. Former Foundation chair Betty Zinman transitioned into the role of vice chair, Thomas Workman ’71 was elected treasurer and Rick Murdoch is secretary. Virginia Miller was renewed for a second three-year term, and Jacqueline Becker was elected to board member emeritus status.
A member of the Foundation board since 1996, Gelb, in his role as chair, will serve a one-year-term. Gelb is a board-certified cardiologist with strong ties to The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York among other health care institutions. Dr. Gelb has worked tirelessly in the community on behalf of medical education in South Florida. He is a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, a program that he helped establish, and has similar academic appointments at the Weill College of Medicine of Cornell University and The Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Gelb is a director of clinical programs for FAU’s medical students and is in charge of the patient simulator program at FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. He is presently an associate editor of “CARDIOLOGY ,” the oldest international peer review cardiology journal in the world. He was a senior editor of “The American Journal of Cardiology” and one of the founding editors of “Journal of The American College of Cardiology.” A member of the Boca Raton Community Hospital Foundation Board, chairman of the American Heart Association Leadership Council and member of the Leadership Council of the Cleveland Clinic in Florida, Gelb hopes to guide the University into a future of continued growth and productivity in his new role as chair.
“I am honored to serve as FAU’s Foundation Board chair,” said Gelb. “FAU has been a big part of my life since my wife June and I moved to South Florida in 1992. I have seen this university grow and it is spectacular. As chair, I want to accomplish everything that needs to be done so that FAU can continue to realize its potential.”
Newly elected to the FAU Foundation board are six individuals noted for their community service and professional accomplishments -
Barry S. Berg is a principal at Bernstein Global Wealth Management. Since joining the firm in 1993, he has constructed, implemented and maintained sophisticated investment plans for high-net worth individuals and families. Berg has an undergraduate degree in accounting and a degree in law. He was affiliated with Ernst & Young for 17 years where he directed family wealth services and was a partner-in-charge of tax services. Berg currently serves on the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Corporate Partners Executive Committee, is a member of the Palm Beach County Anti-Defamation League and is on the board of directors of the Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center, Inc.
Daniel C. Chabot, a member of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Advisory Board, is director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart and president of the Chabot Family Foundation. Chabot, the retired chief executive officer of the Wilson Learning Corporation of Eden Prairie, Minn., is also a trustee of Northland College in Ashland, Wis.
Michael L. Davis is a principal of the firm and vice president for planning, environmental and government affairs at the Fort Lauderdale-based Keith and Schnars, an engineering, environmental, planning and surveying firm. He has served, in a senior capacity, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, he was responsible for the development and coordination of policy, legislation and budget for the Corps of Engineers nationally. In this position, Davis served as the senior federal official for the development of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Davis chairs the board of directors for FAU’s Pine Jog Environmental Education Center.
Cecelia James is executive vice president and chief financial officer for C & C International Computers and Consultants, Inc., in Hollywood, Fla., a multi-million dollar corporation that she co-founded with her husband Bill James. Earning a degree in public relations from North Texas State University, James has served as director of public relations for the city of Dallas and for the Zale Corporation. She was also a top sales performer with Delta Airlines. An active fund-raiser for a number of charitable organizations, including A Child is Missing, James was area president for Aglow International, an international Christian women’s organization.
Michael I. Kaufman has been president of Kaufman Lynn General Contractors, one of the area’s busiest and most successful general contracting firms, since 1989. His projects, ranging up to $22 million, include new construction and renovation of K-12 schools, university projects, museums, municipal buildings, office buildings, hospitals and auto dealerships. Under his direction, Kaufman Lynn General Contractors received the 2005 “Business of the Year” award from the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce and the “2005 Contractor of the Year” award from the Palm Beach American Institute of Architects. His strong leadership in the community is evidenced by his involvement on the board of directors for the Tri County Humane Society and his participation with the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the Centre for the Arts, Boca Raton Educational Television, the Boys and Girls Clubs and his memberships with several construction industry associations.
Charna Larkin is a philanthropist who, along with her family, helped to establish the Alan B. Larkin Endowed Fund with a major gift. The endowment, made in memory of Larkin’s husband, promotes the study of history and the U.S. presidency at FAU. With determination and forward thinking ideas, Larkin helped her husband take a concept and turn it into a lucrative enterprise – producing trade shows in the apparel industry. A model for “lifelong learners” everywhere, she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, graduating alongside her children.
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