|
November 8, 2006 Mitch Maidique,
President Dear Mitch, I would first like to thank you for the opportunity to have worked with you and the other members of the FIU University staff for almost 20 years. The joy and pleasure of being a member and past Chairman of the FIU Foundation and the capital campaigns, and knowing such terrific people, will always bring happy memories. My most recent years as a member of the FIU Board of Trustees allowed me to work with many other talented and dedicated trustees. Together we have achieved many wonderful and worthwhile things for the school and for our community. Among my greatest challenges and pleasures as a trustee was serving as Chairman of the Medical Education Initiative and Academic and Student Affairs committees. My chairmanship of these committees was especially meaningful to me in that it allowed me to work and interact with the FIU students and faculty members in the pursuit of our common goal of making the university the best it could be. Notwithstanding all of the above, however, I have decided to step down as an FIU Trustee effective immediately. While the university has been an important part of my life for many years, and I will miss each and everyone I have worked with, I feel that the recent course of events involving the medical college makes this the right decision at this time. One week after the trustees met and named the medical college in my honor, I called our accountants to be sure that all the tax matters were in order for the $20 million transfer to the FIU Foundation. At that time they explained to me that I would lose approximately $4-$6 million dollars of tax deductibility in the case of a single lump sum payment. I then contacted Marcos Perez, and a few days later Christina Mendoza, to explain the tax problem our accountants had and to discuss ways to amend our gift agreement to accommodate their concerns, while at the same time honoring our commitment of $20 million to the university. I proposed an adjustment whereby $5 million would be paid by the end of this calendar year (of which a $700,000 cash payment has already been made), $5 million would be paid in January, 2007, $5 million in January, 2008, and $5 million in January, 2009. Such an arrangement would allow the university to receive the $20 million pledged by the Wertheim Family Foundation, as well as $20 million in state matching funds, within approximately 26 months. Given that such a payment schedule would allow the university to receive the funds well ahead of its actual expenditures, and given our past commitment to and relationship with the university, I felt that the request was very reasonable. Several weeks passed, and I heard nothing back from you or your staff about this matter, until Paul Gallagher phoned me a few days ago saying you urgently needed to speak with me. After several attempts we finally spoke two days ago about our foundation’s gift, the naming of the medical school, and how best to arrange the transfer of funds to the FIU Foundation. I expected a cordial conversation aimed at seeking a joint solution that would satisfy both the needs of the FIU Foundation and Wertheim Family Foundation – just as we have managed to jointly solve many problems in the past. What took place, however, was a conversation that quickly became confrontational rather than accommodating. Most offensive to me was your comment that I was given the naming rights of the medical school “on the cheap,” and that you could now get $100 million for it. After we finished speaking I felt hurt, empty and disappointed. This is not how I should be made to feel after spending years of effort to obtain approval for the medical college and pledging $20 million of our family’s hard-earned money to the project. It is my understanding that after our unpleasant phone call the university was going to send me a letter terminating our foundation’s gift agreement, but then reconsidered that decision. This action, in light of our years of working together for the medical college and in light of all we have achieved together, was beyond my comprehension. Your sole attempt at accommodation was delivered yesterday by phone by Christina Mendoza. On your behalf she requested that our foundation pay the university $5 million a year for the next 8 years, for a total of $40 million dollars - double the original $20 million figure that was pledged. After our conversation and the series of events outlined above, I met with our foundation board. We discussed our accountants’ tax concerns and proposed payment schedule, as well as my personal feelings of disappointment and despair. More importantly, we discussed the university’s apparent ability to receive as much as $100 million for the naming rights of the new medical college, an amount that would be doubled by state matching funds. After careful consideration of all the circumstances, our board has concluded that the best course of action for FIU and us is to terminate our foundation’s gift agreement with the university. We therefore request that my name be removed from the FIU College of Medicine, and suggest that it be renamed for the donor that makes the $100 million donation to the college. It would be selfish for us not to extend this financial opportunity to the university. I will always remember the great things we have achieved together, but it is time for me to move on to another challenge. I will miss working with you, the students, the staff and our dedicated trustees. Sincerely, Herbie Wertheim |