~ Distinguished Alumni Torch Award is Organization’s Highest Honor ~
MIAMI LAKES, Fla. (February 2, 2017) – BankUnited COO Thomas M. Cornish will be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award at the FIU Alumni Association’s 16th Annual Torch Awards Gala this spring.
The highest honor bestowed upon alumni and faculty, the FIU Alumni Association presents the Torch Award to those who have brought honor and distinction to the university through their notable record of service and achievement in a particular discipline, organization or cause.
“As a graduate of FIU and the first in my family to earn a college degree, FIU continues to hold a special place in my life,” said Cornish. “I am deeply honored to be receiving the Distinguished Alumni Torch Award.”
Cornish serves as chair of the FIU Foundation. He was elected to the FIU School of Business Hall of Fame in 2013, and has been a generous donor to the First Generation Scholarship Fund.
Proceeds from the gala will support the future construction of the FIU Alumni Center as well as the First Generation Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support to qualified undergraduate students who are the first generation in their families to attain a college degree.
Many FIU undergraduate students are the first in their families to earn a college degree. The scholarship fund, which receives 100% matching funds from the State of Florida, represents a unique opportunity to effect transformational change in the lives of South Florida’s underserved students.