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Miami Dade College will have its first female president starting in January.
The Florida community college's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to hire Madeline Pumariega to be Miami Dade's fifth leader, according to a news release.
Pumariega is currently the executive vice president and provost of Tallahassee Community College. In 2015, she was the first Hispanic woman to be appointed chancellor of the Florida College System. Previously, she was president of the statewide nonprofit Take Stock in Children, which aims to reduce poverty through education.
“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 the release. “I look forward to serving MDC, its students, faculty and staff and working together to achieve more than we ever thought was possible.”
Pumariega grew up in Miami-Dade County, in Hialeah, and attended the college, according to The Miami Herald. She began her career at Miami Dade as a professor, leaving with the title of Woolfson Campus president. She is expected to receive a salary of $500,000 in her new position, the Herald reported.
She is succeeding Rolando Montoya, who has served as interim president of Miami Dade since August 2019, and Eduardo Padrón, who led the college for 24 years.
The search for the college's next president began in January but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A search committee recommended four finalists to trustees on Nov. 6.
