One of these four candidates may be named president of Miami Dade College on Tuesday

Four finalists toured campuses, sipped café and pitched the community this week in hopes of being named the next president of Miami Dade College next week.

Spread out over two days, the candidates — Morgan Phillips of Pima Community College, Lenore Rodicio of Miami Dade College, Gregory Fowler of Southern New Hampshire University and Madeline Pumariega of Tallahassee Community College — each had day-long itineraries to acquaint themselves. Their days centered on giving 90-minute presentations and taking questions from the audience of faculty and Board of Trustee members.

The Board will meet at 8 a.m. Tuesday to interview the final candidates, deliberate and select a winner. That’s 19 months after the original search first launched and 16 months after the retirement of Eduardo Padrón, Miami Dade College’s president for nearly a quarter century.

Former provost for operations Rolando Montoya came out of retirement to serve as interim president.

Phillips, the vice chancellor for academic excellence at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, arrived in a black cowboy hat to give the first presentation Thursday morning. He spoke for 15 minutes about artificial intelligence, college funding systems and improved student results before taking questions from the audience.

“When I applied for this position at Miami Dade, I did that because of Miami Dade,” Phillips said, adding that he was satisfied with his job in Arizona. He said he would take what he’s seen from his visit at MDC and try to apply it at Pima College.

MDC executive vice president and provost Rodicio, the sole internal candidate and automatic finalist from the first presidential search that began in spring 2019, went next. She spoke directly to the audience for 45 minutes straight without a Powerpoint, citing specific statistics about Miami Dade College and how the college has managed through the pandemic.

“A lot of individuals asked me why I chose to stay and see this process through,” Rodicio said. “Quite simply, I stayed because I hope. I have hope in this institution. I have hope in each and every one of you today. ... I have hope in this community. I have the connections; I have the experience to lead this institution into its future.”

“We’ve walked very far together. I’m willing to walk a little farther with you,” she added. “I am ready today to help us rebuild from this storm, and I’ve already started the work.”

On Friday morning, Fowler, the president of Southern New Hampshire University’s global campus, talked about VUCA — volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous — future of higher education. He showed examples of how higher ed must evolve like other industries, like music and entertainment.

“I don’t think I have ever been to one (school) that actually used the terms competency, skills and community more than I’ve heard this morning as part of the regular vocabulary,” Fowler said. “Regardless of what happens with my candidacy, make sure that story’s out there, because you have so much to offer.”

Pumariega, the provost of Tallahassee Community College and former chancellor of the Florida College System, gave the last presentation. She spoke about strengthening the pipeline from K-12 education into college, making the case for a $15 minimum wage in Florida and the world of online education.

A Hialeah native and former Miami Dade College student and Wolfson Campus president, she touted her roots.

“This is the place that changed my life,” Pumariega said. “This is the place that gave me the opportunity not only as a student but to serve our state.”

She added: “The truth is, I’m still that girl from Hialeah.”

Before the pandemic, the United Faculty of Miami Dade College held a funeral procession mourning the integrity of the college’s presidential search process after its reboot. The union took issue with the lack of interest in the job, their decreased representation on the search committee and the preference — not requirement — of a doctorate degree.

All finalists except Pumariega have a doctorate. Pumariega says she’s a dissertation away from her doctoral degree in higher education from Barry University.

Elizabeth Ramsey, president of the UFMDC, sat through all four of the finalists’ presentations. She said she felt encouraged by the “good group” of qualified candidates.

“What we want is a fair process, a transparent process for selection,” she said. “That was our beef in the first search.”

Ramsey said the union has not picked a favorite. She said she thought there were strengths in each of the presentations, and thought the presentations gave better insights into the priorities of each candidate.

“The questions surrounding the future leadership have just been an added layer of uncertainty,” she said. “We’re very hopeful that the Board of Trustees will select the best person.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 6:00 AM.