As a region internationally recognized for our multicultural diversity, it is important for South Floridians to acknowledge our evolution from an insular society blemished by discrimination and exclusion to a flourishing community committed to integration and inclusion. It is only by exposing and examining our collective history that we can fully mitigate the legacy of past injustices and help build a promising future for everyone.

Over the next several months, the University of Miami is presenting “Unity in Diversity,” a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of desegregation at UM. This celebration honors our core institutional values — openness, equality, and an impartial devotion to knowledge and learning. As chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, the parent of a current student, and a lifelong Miamian, the recognition of this milestone is also profoundly personal.

My grandfather, Arthur A. Ungar, was a member of the university’s board of trustees who voted on Jan. 31, 1961 to admit qualified students without regard to race or color. With the first group of 75 African-American students starting classes the following summer, both the University of Miami and the greater community were opening the door to opportunity and prosperity, thereby strengthening our social and economic foundation for future generations.

It must be nearly impossible for current students to imagine a time when blacks could not attend classes. I am old enough to have vivid memories of living in a segregated community — based on not only racial but also ethnic and religious differences as well.

I was 13 when UM desegregated. I grew up on Miami Beach. Buses in Miami-Dade County required “colored people” to sit in the back except for buses that were “colored only,” and there were separate bathrooms and water fountains as well. Many private clubs and residential communities in Miami Beach and other areas not only prohibited people of color but also Jews. Jews established the Westview Country Club in Opa-locka to host social activities and founded Mount Sinai Hospital so that Jewish doctors could work at a hospital in Miami Beach.

These disturbing memories helped to shape the person I have become. I am delighted that younger generations will never experience these overt and sanctioned acts of discrimination firsthand, making the public commemoration of the end of segregation in our community all the more poignant and appropriate.

Today University of Miami students come from varied socioeconomic backgrounds and all walks of life. Nearly half are Hispanic, Asian American, or African American, placing us among the nation’s most ethnically diverse institutions of higher learning — and about one in eight UM students are from outside the U.S. In all, UM is the academic home of nearly 1,700 foreign students of all levels from more than 110 countries. The University has consistently ranked among the top universities by The Princeton Review for “Lots of Race/Class Interaction” as rated by our students. Increasing globalization underscores the need to increase educational opportunities for all people if our country is to maintain a competitive edge.

The impact of this diversity for our community is priceless. Thanks to our multicultural community of students, scholars, and citizenry who enrich learning and campus life, our University of Miami graduates are poised to succeed in a world that is brimming with the promise and possibility we could only dream of 50 years ago.

Leonard Abess is chair of the University of Miami board of trustees.