On Nov. 4, voters approved a referendum that sends a clear message that they want more and better educational opportunities for our community. They have given FIU a mandate.
“The voters have spoken and they have said ‘Yes’ to FIU,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “We are thankful for the support of Miami-Dade voters, including FIU students, alumni, faculty, staff and the entire FIU family. We also would like to thank the county commission and Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his staff for their hard work and the vision they have shown for the future of FIU and Miami-Dade County.”
The referendum provides that FIU may expand onto 64 acres in Tamiami Park that are currently occupied by the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition. The referendum asked whether to amend the county charter to exempt FIU from the public park purposes use restrictions and construction limitations in Article 7 of the charter. The exemption is currently in place for the Fair.
FIU will continue to work with Miami-Dade County and the Fair to find a suitable location to relocate the Fair. As specified in the ballot question, no county money will be used for the expansion. FIU leaders will work with state officials to identify funds to finance the expansion.
“We look forward to continuing to work with county and Fair officials to find a win-win-win solution,” Rosenberg said.
The expansion is expected to bring an initial economic impact of $1.8 billion and an additional annual recurring economic impact of $541 million to South Florida, above the $8.9 billion FIU already provides.
Possible uses for the land are: academic space, including the College of Engineering and Computing; research space; academic health center space; an incubator to support entrepreneurship; student housing and other support space.
For more information on Expand FIU, please visit http://expand.fiu.edu/
To read President Mark B. Rosenberg’s letter to the community, click here.
Glad to see Florida got one thing right this election. Go FIU!
Hopefully FIU will explore more educational opportunities for unskilled and lower income students. Miami DESPERATELY needs affordable vocational job training, not just undergrad and graduate programs. Our workforce is way behind in job skills for in-demand jobs that provide a living wage. FIU, do the right thing for your community. Expand your non-credit, vocational and AS degree programs. We don’t need anymore lawyers or MBA’s…….Miamians need job-ready skills in Tech, healthcare and skilled trades.
community colleges and tech schools provide vocational job training. FIU is credit and degree based and as an alumni, I hope it stays that way. how else are we to compete with ivy leagues? I say congrats to FIU for expanding and staying competitive.