Dr. Modesto A. Maidique | |
---|---|
Born |
Havana, Cuba |
March 20, 1940
Education | BS MIT, MS, MIT, PhD MIT |
Occupation | Administrator Engineer |
Dr. Modesto Alex "Mitch" Maidique (pronounced my-DEEK-eh, born in Havana, Cuba March 20, 1940) was the fourth president of Florida International University (FIU), a public university in the United States. Appointed in 1986, Dr. Maidique was the longest-serving university president in Florida and the second longest-serving research university president in the United States . On November 14, 2008, Maidique presented his resignation to the FIU Board of trustees. On April 25, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg was chosen to succeed Maidique and assumed office on August 3, 2009.
Modesto Maidique was president of FIU for 23 years. During his tenure, the Colleges of Law and Engineering and a School of Architecture were established. The FIU College of Medicine was also founded in 2006. The first class of medical students began their studies in August 2009.
On November 14, 2008 Modesto Maidique announced his resignation from his post as President of FIU. On June 12, 2009, FIU's Board of Trustees voted to rename the University Park campus to the Modesto A. Maidique Campus.
Maidique was born in Havana, Cuba, on March 20, 1940, to a family with a strong tradition of public service and political involvement. Both of his parents were educators and his father served as a Congressman and Senator in Cuba. As a supporter of Fulgencio Batista's authoritarian rule, Maidique chose to leave Cuba after the Fidel Castro overthrew the regime. He came to FIU with an elite background in both academe and business. From 1976-1986, he held academic appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Stanford University.