Post by FIUFanatic on Sept 7, 2005 7:13:27 GMT -5
An article in the Sun Sentinel mentions the trustees' support for the job Mitch has done for FIU. You know, I was there in 1986 whtn "Mitch" arrived at FIU as president with all his ideas and change taken place, starting with changing to Golden Panthers from Sunblazers, and almost changing FIU's name (I loved Miami State U).
Here's the link and reproduction of the article:
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pfiu07sep07,0,419944.story
Here's the link and reproduction of the article:
www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pfiu07sep07,0,419944.story
Trustees support FIU president
He's given a rating of `superior'
By Jennifer Peltz
Staff Writer
Posted September 7 2005
It may have been a rocky year at Florida International University, but trustees said Tuesday they're delighted with the job President Modesto "Mitch" Maidique is doing.
A trustee committee rated his work "superior," the highest possible ranking in the evaluation system. The full board of trustees will take a final vote this month.
It won't immediately affect Maidique's more than $285,000-a-year salary. Trustees will address his pay and the rest of his contract later this year.
But Tuesday's evaluation was a firm vote of confidence in the longtime president after a year marked by a costly settlement in a federal spending inquiry and standoffs with faculty and staff unions.
"We're very, very proud of him,... and we stand with him," said trustee Albert E. Dotson Sr., who heads the committee in charge of Maidique's review.
The Cuban-born, MIT-educated Maidique has been president of FIU for 19 years. He has been credited with steering the university through a period of enormous growth, in physical terms and in prestige.
In the past year, FIU's enrollment surpassed 35,000 students. A major health-science building opened, and work began on new digs for FIU's law school, business school and Frost Art Museum. Yearly fund raising hit $38 million, more than twice as much as two years earlier. FIU's 3-year-old football team began playing in highly competitive Division I-A this fall. And the university made inroads on a cherished project: starting a medical school. Eight students launched a pre-med program designed to funnel them to medical school at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and FIU's own medical school proposal received a respectful reception from a key state panel.
To student trustee Alex Prado, all that is evidence that "when Maidique wants something, he goes after it."
Still, at least one other trustee was surprised at the effusive praise for the president.
"This was the most challenging year that I'd experienced at FIU, [and] one of the things that made it challenging was the concern expressed about administrative style," said Faculty Senate Chairman Bruce Hauptli, who is a trustee but was not on the committee.
The administration's negotiations with both the faculty union and a staff union have turned tense, with the unions saying the administration is trying to weaken important worker protections by turning them into administrative "policies" rather than enforceable contract provisions. Administrators say the changes are intended to instill the same treatment for all employees.
Meanwhile, FIU agreed in January to repay $11.5 million in federal Energy Department grants to the university's most profitable research arm, the Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology. FIU acknowledged "inadequate policies and procedures".
"This is a year that had some significant accomplishments but also had some significant turbulence," Maidique said. "But ... we're only getting better."
Jennifer Peltz can be reached at jpeltz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6636.
He's given a rating of `superior'
By Jennifer Peltz
Staff Writer
Posted September 7 2005
It may have been a rocky year at Florida International University, but trustees said Tuesday they're delighted with the job President Modesto "Mitch" Maidique is doing.
A trustee committee rated his work "superior," the highest possible ranking in the evaluation system. The full board of trustees will take a final vote this month.
It won't immediately affect Maidique's more than $285,000-a-year salary. Trustees will address his pay and the rest of his contract later this year.
But Tuesday's evaluation was a firm vote of confidence in the longtime president after a year marked by a costly settlement in a federal spending inquiry and standoffs with faculty and staff unions.
"We're very, very proud of him,... and we stand with him," said trustee Albert E. Dotson Sr., who heads the committee in charge of Maidique's review.
The Cuban-born, MIT-educated Maidique has been president of FIU for 19 years. He has been credited with steering the university through a period of enormous growth, in physical terms and in prestige.
In the past year, FIU's enrollment surpassed 35,000 students. A major health-science building opened, and work began on new digs for FIU's law school, business school and Frost Art Museum. Yearly fund raising hit $38 million, more than twice as much as two years earlier. FIU's 3-year-old football team began playing in highly competitive Division I-A this fall. And the university made inroads on a cherished project: starting a medical school. Eight students launched a pre-med program designed to funnel them to medical school at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and FIU's own medical school proposal received a respectful reception from a key state panel.
To student trustee Alex Prado, all that is evidence that "when Maidique wants something, he goes after it."
Still, at least one other trustee was surprised at the effusive praise for the president.
"This was the most challenging year that I'd experienced at FIU, [and] one of the things that made it challenging was the concern expressed about administrative style," said Faculty Senate Chairman Bruce Hauptli, who is a trustee but was not on the committee.
The administration's negotiations with both the faculty union and a staff union have turned tense, with the unions saying the administration is trying to weaken important worker protections by turning them into administrative "policies" rather than enforceable contract provisions. Administrators say the changes are intended to instill the same treatment for all employees.
Meanwhile, FIU agreed in January to repay $11.5 million in federal Energy Department grants to the university's most profitable research arm, the Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology. FIU acknowledged "inadequate policies and procedures".
"This is a year that had some significant accomplishments but also had some significant turbulence," Maidique said. "But ... we're only getting better."
Jennifer Peltz can be reached at jpeltz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6636.
