Florida International University

FIU May Drop Name of Former President From Its Main Campus

Florida International University's Board of Trustees is considering dropping the name of its outspoken former president from its main campus.

Modesto Maidique served as FIU's president from 1986 until 2009. FIU's colleges of law, engineering and architecture were established during his tenure, in addition to the College of Medicine.

At the end of his tenure in 2009, the Board voted to rename the main campus to the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. On Monday, they voted to recommend removing his name from it.

"It is something that disappoints me more for the university than for me, I mean, my record stands there," Maidique told NBC 6 in a phone interview.

Maidique has been outspoken about the future of the university.

"My criticisms were criticisms of the board, and I felt the board was not properly supervising the direction of the University.

He feels there has been too much growth in a short amount of time on the main campus and says FIU has lowered its admission standards over the years.

"The university was already 40,000 students when I left in August 2009, and I did not think adding another 25-30,000 additional students was in the interest of the university," he said.

The full Board of Trustees is expected to take up the matter in two weeks.

"The board is taking steps to align FIU with other higher education institutions, as it relates to naming practices," said Claudia Puig of the Board of Trustees. "We are researching other ways to honor President Emeritus Maidique."

Contact Us