President’s Message — February 20, 2009

Dear members of the university community:

While national and state economic conditions continue to deteriorate, we must redouble our efforts in the pursuit of alternative sources of funding.

A significant opportunity became available this week when President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus package, as it is commonly known, provides more than $787 billion in tax credits and federal spending for education, health, housing and infrastructure. The bill recognizes the importance of science, technology, engineering and math in fostering economic growth. It also anticipates significant investments in educational and training programs designed to address the unemployment crisis. Of particular interest to us is the $53.6 billion provided for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund and additional assistance provided directly to students in the form of Pell Grants, increased work-study funds and tax credits.

This represents a massive infusion of federal dollars into areas where we are well positioned to benefit and make a difference. I have asked Senior Vice President George Walker to work closely with deans, top researchers and our governmental relations team to put in place a competitive strategy to pursue these funds.

Some of the money – the State Fiscal Stabilization portion – will likely flow through Tallahassee. But Florida must first be declared eligible to receive these funds. Eligibility is related to having maintained 2006 funding levels in certain areas. We are already working with Board of Governor’s staff to present our most urgent projects.

Other moneys will be administered directly by many of the federal agencies that we already work with, i.e. National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy. It is important that all of our researchers be alert to the opportunities and stay in touch with federal contacts.

For example, Naphtali Rishe, director of our High Performance Database Research Center, has been in touch with the National Science Foundation and is working on a new proposal for instrument development to be funded by this new money. Director Dario Moreno of the Metropolitan Center is developing new partnerships with local governments to increase the likelihood of receiving funding.

The next 30 to 60 days will be critical to our success in harnessing these funds for the benefit of our university, our students and the entire South Florida community. I urge everyone – researchers and non-researchers alike – to think creatively about how FIU can seize this uncommon opportunity. I look forward to sharing some of our successes with the entire community in coming weeks.

Please continue to think about new ways to save money and other ways to generate additional funds. As always, I welcome your ideas; please email me at presmail@fiu.edu. Thank you for your active participation in this budget process. Working together we will overcome this crisis and emerge a stronger institution.

Modesto A. Maidique

President