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. Appointed in 1986, Maidique was the longest-serving university president in Florida and the second longest-serving research university president in the United States .[citation needed] On November 14, 2008, Maidique presented his resignation to the FIU Board of trustees.[3] On April 25, 2009, Mark B. Rosenberg was chosen to succeed Maidique and assumed office on August 3, 2009.
In 2006, Maidique had a dispute with long-time University supporter Herbert Wertheim over the naming of the medical school building, which resulted in the revocation of a $20 million donation. Wertheim had initially offered to donate the funds to have the medical facility named in his honor. However, Wertheim wanted to pay the donation over a period of months, and Maidique insisted that it would have to be paid in a lump sum in order for the school to get crucial matching funds from the state. During discussions of the matter, Maidique told Wertheim that he was getting the naming rights "on the cheap", and that they were really worth $100 million, prompting Wertheim to withdraw his offer.[4]
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.[5]
Maidique co-founded the Analog Devices, Inc., Semiconductor Division, in 1969. He served as CEO of Collaborative Research, a genetic engineering company that is now Genome Therapeutics, from 1981 to 1983, and as senior partner in Harbrecht & Quist Venture Partners from 1984 to 1986. He holds three US patents for semiconductor devices.[citation needed]
Maidique serves on the boards of National Semiconductor and the Carnival Corporation. He is past chairman of the Beacon Council, Miami’s economic development authority.[citation needed]