Advisory Search Committee selects four finalists for FIU president


MIAMI (April 20, 2009) – After two days of back-to-back interviews, the FIU Presidential Search Advisory Committee has narrowed the field to four candidates who will be presented to the Board of Trustees Presidential Search Committee on Tuesday.

The candidates who will advance are: Ronald Berkman, Brooks Keel, Mark Rosenberg and Carlos Santiago.

“The Presidential Search Advisory Committee had a strong pool of candidates to work with and we feel strongly that each of the four individuals we are presenting to the BOT Search Committee has the potential to be an excellent leader for FIU,” said Executive Dean of the FIU College of Business Administration Joyce Elam, who chairs the Presidential Search Advisory Committee.

The FIU presidential search process entered this final, intensive phase last Friday when 34 candidates were discussed and 13 were selected for personal interviews. The field was narrowed again on Monday to four, who will be interviewed by the BOT Presidential Search Committee. On Tuesday, the BOT search committee will meet at the Hotel Sofitel in Miami to interview the candidates and select up to three, each of whom will be invited to participate in day-long campus interviews on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. After each session, members of the university community who attend will be asked to complete a candidate evaluation form.

The final phase of the selection process will take place when the BOT Search Committee meets Saturday morning at University Park to discuss feedback on the candidates who visited both FIU campuses and select up to two to recommend to the full board.

The full Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet on Saturday, April 25 at 11:30 a.m. in the Graham Center Ballrooms, FIU-University Park, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami. A new university president is expected to be announced at that meeting. The new president, who will need to be confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors, will succeed Modesto A. Maidique, who is stepping down after serving as president of FIU for 23 years.

More information on the search, including the position description and a detailed timeline of events, is available at the official presidential search site.

Questions or comments to the BOT search committee should be submitted to trustees@fiu.edu

Questions or comments regarding the process should be directed to Senior Vice President Vivian Sanchez, vivian.sanchez@fiu.edu. 305-348-2101.

Media inquiries should go to Media Relations Director Maydel Santana-Bravo, santanam@fiu.edu, 305-348-1555.

– FIU –