[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10241-S10242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATION OF FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S SILVER ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, this month the people of Florida 
join with faculty, staff, students, and more than 70,000 alumni in 
honoring Florida International University on its 25th anniversary. For 
the past quarter century, this outstanding institution's commitment to 
academic excellence and its constant celebration of diversity has 
enriched communities throughout Florida, the United States, and the 
entire world.
  This milestone anniversary is particularly special to members of the 
Graham family. In 1943, State senator Ernest R. Graham--my father--
introduced legislation to establish a public university in south 
Florida. Twenty-two years later, on May 26, 1965, the Florida State 
senate unanimously passed legislation to fulfill his vision. On 
September 19, 1972, Florida International University opened its doors 
for the first time.
  That would have been a proud day for my father. When I was growing up 
in the Miami area, he used to tell my brothers, sister, and I that the 
best investment he ever made were his Dade County school taxes. He was 
proud, even enthusiastic, about paying those taxes because they enabled 
his children to get a strong education in the Dade County public school 
system. If he were alive today, my father would agree that the time and 
energy he put into laying the groundwork for a Florida International 
University was yet another wise educational investment.
  After only a quarter-century in existence, FIU has already gained 
acclaim as one of the most academically challenging and culturally 
diverse universities in the entire United States. This distinction is a 
credit to Florida International University's hard-working staff, 
dedicated faculty, bright student body, loyal alumni, and especially 
the wise, dynamic leadership of FIU's four presidents--Charles Perry, 
Harold Crosby, Gregory Wolfe, and Modesto Maidique.
  Each of these four outstanding individuals have contributed to 
Florida International University's popularity, prestige, and 
reputation. When Charles Perry took the reins of FIU in 1969, a full 3 
years before the university opened, the campus was a run-down airport 
tower, old empty hangars, and 342 acres of land in west Dade County. 
His boundless energy and zeal for establishing an outstanding public 
university in south Florida led to the largest opening day enrollment 
of any university in American history. On September 19, 1972, nearly 
6,000 students started classes at Florida International University.
  Presidents Harold Crosby and Gregory Wolfe continued the outstanding 
work that president Perry had begun. President Crosby placed special 
emphasis on fulfilling the international vision espoused by FIU's 
founders, hiring faculty members from a number of foreign countries and 
establishing the multilingual, multicultural center. President Wolfe 
led Florida International through its critical transition from 2- to 4-
year university.
  For the last 10 years, Florida International University has had the 
good fortune to be guided by a dedicated, hard-working leader with an 
eye for excellence, a passion for education, a keen insight into 
bringing town and gown together in support of academic success, and a 
determination to make FIU second to none in preparing students for the 
United States' future in an increasingly international economy and 
society.
  It might have been destiny that brought President Modesto ``Mitch'' 
Maidique to Florida International University. He has helped to mold FIU 
in his own image--president Maidique's own background contains the same 
ethnic and cultural diversity, financial savvy, and academic excellence 
that have come to characterize south Florida's preeminent public 
university.
  The son of German-Czech emigrants who settled in Cuba during the 
early 1800's, president Maidique was born in Havana in 1940. At the end 
of his formal education, he had earned three degrees from the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology--bachelor of science, master of 
science, doctor of electrical engineering--and another from the 
business program at MIT's Cambridge neighbor, Harvard University. By 
the time he assumed Florida International University's presidency in 
1986, he had added professor and distinguished businessman to his 
resume, teaching at prestigious institutions like Harvard and Stanford 
and lending his scientific knowledge and business know-how to several 
prominent firms.
  Success followed president Maidique to Florida International. His 
decade of leadership has spurred a number of impressive academic, 
financial, and cultural achievements. In academics, U.S. News & World 
Report consistently ranks Florida International University as one of 
the top 150 national universities in the United States. Money magazine 
says that it is among America's best public commuter universities.

[[Page S10242]]

  Perhaps Florida International University's greatest academic 
achievement is the fact that it so earnestly works to provide an 
outstanding education to all students, regardless of socioeconomic 
background. Thanks in part to low tuition rates, and to the work ethic 
and frugality of FIU administrators, faculty, and staff, its students 
are the fifth least indebted in the Nation. U.S. News & World Report 
rates it as one of the 10 best educational buys in the United States.
  Finally, Florida International University is one of the most diverse 
colleges in the United States that is increasingly benefited by its 
ethnic diversity. For the last 25 years, it has been training young 
adults to live, work, and succeed in a world that speaks multiple 
languages and celebrates a variety of cultural achievements. More than 
half of its student body is Hispanic, and the university produces more 
Hispanic graduates than any other university in America. All in all, it 
has 70,000 alumni that represent all 50 States and more than 146 
countries.
  Mr. President, I join with all Floridians in congratulating president 
Modesto Maidique and every past and present member of the Florida 
International University community on its historic 25th anniversary. As 
the university prepares to begin its next quarter-century, its abiding 
commitment to academic excellence, affordability, and diversity is 
leading the United States into the 21st century.

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