In 1925, a group of citizens of the City of Coral Gables, including its founder, George E. Merrick, chartered an institution of higher learning in order to develop the young community.  By January, 1926, prominent members of the early University of Miami family, including Phineas Paist and Denman Fink, had commenced planning the construction of the private university. The University of Miami first registered students on October 15, 1926 and commenced classes on October 18, 1926, with an enrollment of 560 students.  At the time, the University consisted of a College of Liberal Arts, a School of Music, and an Evening Division.

The artwork reproduced above is a 1927 promotional poster of a rendering by artist Denman Fink.  From its inception, the vision for the University of Miami involved the creation of a world-class institution of higher learning in what was to be the American Riviera.  The University of Miami recently celebrated its 75^th anniversary, paying tribute to its founding aspirations, its early struggles, perseverance and growth, its ultimate recognition as a leading private research and teaching institution, and its place at the educational and cultural center of the South Florida community.

Acknowledgments and Additional Information

Anania Bandklayder Blackwell Baumgarten Torricella & Stein wishes to thank the Special Archives and Collections Department of the University of Miami’s Otto G. Richter Library for its courteous extension of permission to reproduce the Denman Fink artwork at anania-law.com.  The firm also would like thank several members of the University of Miami family, including Craig S. Likness, Ruthanne D. Vogel, Aileen M. Ugalde, Margot Winnick, Keith Bowermaster, Connie Crowther, and David Johnson, for the much-appreciated assistance they provided to the firm in connection with the compilation of artwork of the University of Miami for presentation at anania-law.com.

For photographs, color postcards, and additional historical information regarding the University of Miami, please visit the sites of the University of Miami, the Otto G. Richter Library, and Archives and Special Collections.  Specific historical recitations appear at the University’s History page and at the virtual tour created by Archives and Special Collections to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the University of Miami, entitled “A Tour of the Early Years, 1926-1957.”