Post by FIUVoice on Feb 3, 2008 22:10:08 GMT -5
Sometime this week, Florida International University should find out if its new medical school will receive accreditation, an accomplishment FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique says would be the most important for the school since it was founded in the 1970s.
It would also be a crowning achievement for Maidique, currently the longest-serving president of any university in Florida, who is hinging much of his 22-year legacy on getting the medical school approved.
''It's the most important goal for this entire year and really for the next several years. There's nothing even in the ballpark,'' Maidique said. ``Getting the medical school accredited is a phenomenal step. It's the most important thing that has happened in the university.''
If accredited, FIU would immediately start recruiting its first class of about 40 medical students, who will be temporarily housed in a building on campus that now houses the Nursing and Health Science school. A new high-tech building on the corner of Southwest Eighth Street and 107th Avenue would be built as a permanent home for the College of Medicine.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a national professional accrediting board, is expected to make its decision this week. Dr. Barbara Barzansky, secretary to the committee, declined to comment on the status of the review.
''We will inform the school,'' Barzansky said. ``The letter will go to the university president.''
To Maidique, the medical school would position FIU to become one of the great public urban research universities in the United States. But it would also mean a multimillion dollar commitment in public funding -- up to $28 million a year -- at a time when higher education budgets are being slashed by the state Legislature. University executives worry they may be forced to face unpleasant choices like cutting back on summer courses, freezing positions and perhaps worse.
In the past 20 years, only one new medical school has been accredited in the United States, at Florida State University, Barzansky said. Today, two of the three schools waiting to hear from the accrediting board are in Florida.
The University of Central Florida this week is also awaiting its accreditation results for a medical school.
''Florida has made a collective case about physician undersupply,'' Barzansky said.
Many FIU students view the medical school as a source of pride.
Graduate student Shrada Ramchandani said it will help improve healthcare in South Florida -- and FIU's image.
''If they have a good business school, why not have a new medical school as well?'' she said.
Maidique recently led a Miami Herald reporter on a tour of the campus he helped build, musing about his health and legacy and showing off some of the school's new buildings, most of which were built during his presidency. Maidique, who turns 68 in March, said he has no plans to retire and would like to see through the beginnings of the medical school as president.
''I feel like a million bucks,'' he said when asked about possible retirement. ``I work out four times a week, both cardio and physical conditioning. My trainer, who's a pretty serious guy, told me I was in the top 3 percent of people my age and in better condition than most people that are 45 years old. So if one day I decide [to retire], it doesn't look like it's going to be because of lack of energy or health.''
MAN ABOUT TOWN
On FIU's south campus, Maidique is a man about town, recognized by many as he weaves his way through the mini-metropolis. Those who don't know him get a quick introduction and a handshake.
Maidique lives in a villa on campus -- which boasts architecture inspired by an Italian palace. His carriage is a silver Lexus, whose tires travel not just the roadways but the sidewalks and pedestrian pathways.
''It's much more efficient when we have limited time,'' he explained of driving on sidewalks. ``I have not yet run into anyone.''
Maidique stopped by the new Graduate School of Business building, which just opened its doors in January. He popped in on a professor preparing a lecture and on a group of students studying in a small classroom. Like a mayor walking his city, Maidique introduced himself to people in the hallways and greeted those he knew.
He noted the overcrowding already plaguing some classes. At one point in his tour, he walked into an auditorium lecture where students were standing because there was nowhere to sit.
''This gives you an idea of how crowded this place is,'' he said.
Not everyone is pleased with the way Maidique is handling FIU's future. Fred Frost, president of the South Florida AFL-CIO and co-chairman of the advisory committee for FIU's Center for Labor Research and Studies, said FIU is spreading itself so thin that it is planning to shut down the labor center.
''Modesto Maidique has made this his No. 1 goal, but at what cost?'' Frost asked. ``A medical school is great, and I think it's probably a big plus for Modesto Maidique and what he is relying on for his reputation. But do everything that you can to be fair and balanced.''
Others feel that FIU is making the right moves for its future.
`A TIPPING POINT'
''There is a tipping point beyond which FIU is going to be very attractive to top faculty,'' said David Weinstein, an FIU visiting professor of marketing from France's renowned Insead business school.
''The next stage is for people to come here because FIU is going to be good for them in their career, and that takes time to get there,'' Weinstein said.
``Accreditation is part of it, and reputation-building is another. That just takes time, but they are taking the necessary steps.''
www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/405134.html
It would also be a crowning achievement for Maidique, currently the longest-serving president of any university in Florida, who is hinging much of his 22-year legacy on getting the medical school approved.
''It's the most important goal for this entire year and really for the next several years. There's nothing even in the ballpark,'' Maidique said. ``Getting the medical school accredited is a phenomenal step. It's the most important thing that has happened in the university.''
If accredited, FIU would immediately start recruiting its first class of about 40 medical students, who will be temporarily housed in a building on campus that now houses the Nursing and Health Science school. A new high-tech building on the corner of Southwest Eighth Street and 107th Avenue would be built as a permanent home for the College of Medicine.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a national professional accrediting board, is expected to make its decision this week. Dr. Barbara Barzansky, secretary to the committee, declined to comment on the status of the review.
''We will inform the school,'' Barzansky said. ``The letter will go to the university president.''
To Maidique, the medical school would position FIU to become one of the great public urban research universities in the United States. But it would also mean a multimillion dollar commitment in public funding -- up to $28 million a year -- at a time when higher education budgets are being slashed by the state Legislature. University executives worry they may be forced to face unpleasant choices like cutting back on summer courses, freezing positions and perhaps worse.
In the past 20 years, only one new medical school has been accredited in the United States, at Florida State University, Barzansky said. Today, two of the three schools waiting to hear from the accrediting board are in Florida.
The University of Central Florida this week is also awaiting its accreditation results for a medical school.
''Florida has made a collective case about physician undersupply,'' Barzansky said.
Many FIU students view the medical school as a source of pride.
Graduate student Shrada Ramchandani said it will help improve healthcare in South Florida -- and FIU's image.
''If they have a good business school, why not have a new medical school as well?'' she said.
Maidique recently led a Miami Herald reporter on a tour of the campus he helped build, musing about his health and legacy and showing off some of the school's new buildings, most of which were built during his presidency. Maidique, who turns 68 in March, said he has no plans to retire and would like to see through the beginnings of the medical school as president.
''I feel like a million bucks,'' he said when asked about possible retirement. ``I work out four times a week, both cardio and physical conditioning. My trainer, who's a pretty serious guy, told me I was in the top 3 percent of people my age and in better condition than most people that are 45 years old. So if one day I decide [to retire], it doesn't look like it's going to be because of lack of energy or health.''
MAN ABOUT TOWN
On FIU's south campus, Maidique is a man about town, recognized by many as he weaves his way through the mini-metropolis. Those who don't know him get a quick introduction and a handshake.
Maidique lives in a villa on campus -- which boasts architecture inspired by an Italian palace. His carriage is a silver Lexus, whose tires travel not just the roadways but the sidewalks and pedestrian pathways.
''It's much more efficient when we have limited time,'' he explained of driving on sidewalks. ``I have not yet run into anyone.''
Maidique stopped by the new Graduate School of Business building, which just opened its doors in January. He popped in on a professor preparing a lecture and on a group of students studying in a small classroom. Like a mayor walking his city, Maidique introduced himself to people in the hallways and greeted those he knew.
He noted the overcrowding already plaguing some classes. At one point in his tour, he walked into an auditorium lecture where students were standing because there was nowhere to sit.
''This gives you an idea of how crowded this place is,'' he said.
Not everyone is pleased with the way Maidique is handling FIU's future. Fred Frost, president of the South Florida AFL-CIO and co-chairman of the advisory committee for FIU's Center for Labor Research and Studies, said FIU is spreading itself so thin that it is planning to shut down the labor center.
''Modesto Maidique has made this his No. 1 goal, but at what cost?'' Frost asked. ``A medical school is great, and I think it's probably a big plus for Modesto Maidique and what he is relying on for his reputation. But do everything that you can to be fair and balanced.''
Others feel that FIU is making the right moves for its future.
`A TIPPING POINT'
''There is a tipping point beyond which FIU is going to be very attractive to top faculty,'' said David Weinstein, an FIU visiting professor of marketing from France's renowned Insead business school.
''The next stage is for people to come here because FIU is going to be good for them in their career, and that takes time to get there,'' Weinstein said.
``Accreditation is part of it, and reputation-building is another. That just takes time, but they are taking the necessary steps.''
www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/405134.html
