Miami Dade College Entrusted with Preserving Florida`s History...Major Donation Will Support the Effort

MIAMI--(Business Wire)--
The renowned Lynn and LouisWolfson II Florida Moving Image Archive, Inc. has
been donated to Miami Dade College (MDC) by the Wolfson family. Lynn Wolfson and
MDC president, Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, recently signed an agreement transferring
the archive to the College in February, establishing the new Lynn and Louis
Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archive Media Center (Media Center) at the
College for the collection and preservation of Florida film and video material.
Mrs. Wolfson and the Mitchell Wolfson, Sr. Foundation have also contributed $7
million, including matching funds, to maintain and grow the new Media Center. In
addition, Mrs. Wolfson has donated an additional $2 million, which also includes
matching funds, toward the construction of the facility.

"Miami Dade College operates other world-class programs relating to the media
and film with strong ties to its academics such as the Miami International Film
Festival, the School of Entertainment and Design Technology, the Tower Theater,
and Miami Book Fair International," said Lynn Wolfson. "These funds will allow
the Center to expand its capacity to preserve historically important film and
video from around Florida and to preserve our heritage for future generations to
better understand their past."

"Once again we see proof that good stewardship is alive and well in Miami-Dade
County. On behalf of our nearly 170,000 students, who will benefit immensely
from this gift, I thank Lynn Wolfson and family for this extraordinary
contribution that will keep giving for years to come," stated Dr. Padrón. "Film
is one of those great sectors in our community identified by the experts as
still having great growth potential in the region and this gift positions MDC at
the cutting edge of this field. The donation of the archives and the
establishment of the Media Center also complement many of the great things the
college`s faculty and administration are already doing in this industry."

Lynn Wolfson helped found the Moving Image Archives in 1984, along with Ralph
Renick and historian Arva Moore Parks. The Wolfson Archive, named in honor of
Lynn and the late Louis Wolfson II, a leader in Florida`s communications
industry, was created under the joint sponsorship of the Miami-Dade Public
Library System, Miami Dade College, and the University of Miami. The Archive has
been collecting, preserving, and making accessible film and video materials made
in or about Florida beginning with an initial contribution by Miami broadcast
journalism pioneer Ralph Renick of film and video materials produced by WTVJ
since its beginning in 1949. The Archive contains millions of feet of film and
thousands of hours of videotape, spanning over nine decades of Florida`s past.
These materials document the issues and events that have shaped the history and
culture of the State of Florida. The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving
Image Archive, Inc. has donated to Miami Dade College all of its rights, title
and interest in and to the Archive.

Louis Wolfson II presided over the television and cable division of Wometco
Enterprises prior to its sale in 1983. All original footage in the Moving Image
Archive was contributed by WTVJ, the flagship station of Wometco Enterprises.

The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Moving Image Archive Media Center will now be a
unit of the college, similar to the Miami Book Fair International and Miami
International Film Festival. The purpose of this organizational structure is to
ensure the Media Center a place in the college`s interdisciplinary research,
educational, and scholarly activities. The mission of the Media Center is to
provide educational opportunities and training for students in the preservation
and use of the Media Material, while preserving the Media Material with any
additional moving image video or film acquired by the Media Center. The archive
material at the Media Center will be made available to the public and students.

The Media Center will also use its reasonable best efforts to generate revenue
from licenses, research fees, grants and similar sources. All revenue generated
by the Media Center will be dedicated to Media Center operations.

The Media Center is presently located at the Main Library of the Miami-Dade
County Public Library System in downtown Miami. It will eventually be housed at
a state-of-the-art facility in a new building to be constructed on MDC`s Wolfson
Campus in downtown Miami. In the interim, the Media Center will continue
operating at its current location in the Miami-Dade County Public Library.

Last October, in what is one of the largest single gifts ever made to MDC, the
Mitchell Wolfson, Sr. Foundation donated nearly $11 million to the college to
address the region`s nursing shortage. The donation, which included matching
funds, is aimed, in large part, at increasing the number of nurses who are
trained at the college and placed into the local workforce.

This and other MDC releases are available on the web at www.mdc.edu.

Miami Dade College
Juan Mendieta, MDC director of communications, 305-237-7611
jmendiet@mdc.edu
or
Tarnell Carroll, 305-237-3359
tcarroll@mdc.edu
or
Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710
sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu
or
Alejandro Rios, 305-237-7482
arios1@mdc.edu

Copyright Business Wire 2009