"We are recognizing one of the University of Miami's true heroes, a man who can make miracles happen as he restores the sense of hearing to those who have never heard a sound -- Dr. Tom Balkany," said University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala, as the evening's first speaker.

"Under his leadership, the department has grown in national and international stature, climbing up the U.S. News & World Report rankings every year, consistently in the top twenty."

Dr. Balkany stepped down as chair at the end of the summer, and will now focus on running the UM Ear Institute. As Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., told the gathering on the sixth floor of the Clinical Research Building, it is the perfect position for him.

"The UM Ear Institute would not exist if not for Tom Balkany and it will truly be his legacy," said Dean Goldschmidt. "Tom started the institute when he arrived at UM in 1990 and has built it into the best anywhere. It includes one of the world's busiest cochlear implant centers."

Guided by the evening's emcee, Fred Telischi, M.D., professor and interim chair of otolaryngology, more than a dozen people offered their personal reflections on how Dr. Balkany changed their lives. The families of children who received cochlear implants were unanimous with their praise, saying, for example, "He gave our son and therefore our whole family the gift of hearing," and "Not a day goes by that we do not experience immense gratitude for Dr. Balkany."

When it came his turn to speak, an emotional Dr. Balkany expressed gratitude to everyone in attendance and to Dean Goldschmidt for helping him realize his dream of a new facility for the Ear Institute in the Clinical Research Building.