Modesto Maidique

Modesto Alex "Mitch" Maidique (pronounced /maɪdiːkɛ/; born March 20, 1940) is a Cuban-American electrical engineer, businessman, and educator. He was the fourth president of Florida International University (FIU), a public university in the United States, whose main campus is named after him. 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.

President of FIU

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, 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.

Professional background

Maidique was born in Havana, Cuba on March 20, 1940.

In 1989, US President George H. W. Bush appointed him to the President’s Educational Policy Advisory Committee, and he served in a similar capacity for President George W. Bush. Maidique was a member of the Presidential Scholars Commission.

An article he co-authored, "The Art of High Technology Management" was published in the Sloan Management Review.

Personal Maidique earned a Bachelor of Science (1962), Master of Science (1964), and Doctor of Philosophy (1970) in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.