Madeline Pumariega, executive vice president and provost at Tallahassee Community College, was raised in Hialeah. She went to Miami Dade College and later became president of the Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami.
And now she’s coming home to MDC as its new president — the first female president of the largest and most diverse community college in the country.
After last year’s selection process was tossed out and restarted due to political interference, the MDC Board of Trustees and the presidential search committee must have felt the pressure. Because on Tuesday, they went the right way and, instead of a political crony, named someone stakeholders agree is the best choice to replace President Emeritus Eduardo Padron.
“The community was very concerned after the failed search about whether or not we could fully collaborate together and have a transparent and productive search,” said Mark Richard, former president and current attorney of the MDC faculty union.
Read related: Political palanca puts Miami-Dade College president search on pause
He ain’t kidding. There were protests. Letters. Editorials. Resignations. The board scrapped the process and changed the selection committee.
“And they kept their word. This time around, it was a very transparent process,” Richard said. “And the person chosen exemplifies much of the success of Miami Dade College and Miami in general.”
After the first search ended in that epic fail, the board brought former Provost Rolando Montoya out of retirement as interim president in August 2019, and started a second national search in January. Alas, something called COVID19 interrupted that. It started again last month. On Nov. 6, the 17 member search committee recommended four finalists, including MDC Provost Lenore Rodicio, who was Padron’s favorite, but apparently the search committee’s last choice. Each candidate made on-campus pitches last week and were interviewed by the Board of Trustees Tuesday.
Pumariega, who will make about $500,000 a year in salary and benefits, will start in January.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to lead Miami Dade College, one of the country’s finest higher education institutions and a true beacon of hope for this community,” Pumariega said in a statement. “I look forward to serving MDC, its students, faculty and staff and working together to achieve more than we ever thought was possible.”
Read related: Miami Dade College trustees meet re scrapped search, urge ‘decorum’
MDC’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously for her, citing an impressive record of achievement, experience, vision, passion and consensus-building.
“It has been a great experience serving on MDC’s Presidential Search Committee,” added former State Rep. and MDC Board of Trustees Chairman Michael Bileca, who is suspected of having orchestrated the political machinations last year. “After an exhaustive process, my fellow trustees and I are certain we have chosen the right individual to lead Democracy’s College into a new era of success.”
A thought leader in student success, workforce innovation and higher education policy, Pumariega was appointed as the first female and Hispanic Chancellor of the Florida College System in 2015. Prior to that, she was president of Take Stock in Children, a statewide nonprofit focused on breaking the cycle of poverty through education.
Pumariega began her academic career at MDC and returned to work at the College for 20 years, growing her career and culminating as President of the Wolfson Campus. She is known for her support of workforce programs and may bring more trade training programs to the college.
Said Montoya: “I feel confident that I am leaving Miami Dade College in good hands.”
Miami Dade College board gets it right, makes Hialeah homegirl new president added by Ladra on
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