Modesto Maidique
President Emeritus and Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Eminent Scholar Chair in Leadership
Conexión con Miami
As FIU president, Maidique built Miami's public research university from the ground up, establishing essential colleges in engineering, law, architecture, public health, and medicine that educated tens of thousands and added 5 million square feet of campus space. His vision elevated FIU to Top 50 public university status, attracting companies and talent to South Florida while fostering community growth through innovations like a Division I football team and national honors. The main campus bearing his name stands as a lasting testament to his role in positioning Miami as an educational powerhouse.
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Born in Havana, Cuba in 1940, Maidique immigrated to the US after high school and earned his BS, MS, and PhD in electrical engineering from MIT. He served as CEO of high-tech firms like Analog Devices Semiconductor and Collaborative Research, and as a senior partner at Hambrecht & Quist Venture Partners, holding several US patents for semiconductor devices. In 1986, he became FIU's fourth president for 23 years, the longest-serving in Florida and second-longest for a US research university, during which he founded key schools including Engineering, Law, Architecture, Public Health, and Medicine, tripled campus size, grew enrollment to 40,000, added Division I-A football, and secured Phi Beta Kappa status. The FIU main campus was renamed the Modesto A. Maidique Campus in 2009. After retiring as president in 2009, he continued as a professor teaching leadership, founding the Center for Leadership, and holding the Eminent Scholar Chair at FIU College of Business. In 2025, he fully retired from the faculty after nearly 16 more years of service.