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University prez ruined $20 million donation, countdown to firing begins
Posted on November 11, 2006 5:34 AM
Fresh off Florida International University's appearance on SportsCenter for starting a brawl with Miami, I found that the school hasn't lost its edge when it comes to major stupidity.
Here's the Spark Notes version – rich guy agrees to give $20 million to FIU. President of FIU disses rich guy, who wants to give the payout in a series of payments instead of a lump sum. Rich guy reacts...
Herbert Wertheim took back the gift offer after the call last week and resigned from Florida International University's board of trustees.Mitch makes my short list for needing to finetune his CV and send his interview suit to the dry cleaners really really soon. Unless he can pull off the $100 million boast. I'm thinking...no.
"The conversation just wasn't what it should have been. There were things said that shouldn't have been said, and Humpty Dumpty is broken," Wertheim said.
In the phone call, he said, university President Modesto "Mitch" Maidique told him he had gotten the naming rights "on the cheap" and that the university "could now get $100 million for it."
Maidique responded in a letter Thursday, apologizing and leaving the door open for further negotiations, but saying that receiving the $20 million in a lump sum had been "pivotal" in the naming-rights agreement because it ensured the state would match the gift.