Winter 2007

Volunteers reach out for campaign

From different walks of life, but sharing their Miami pride, five volunteers for the Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor all say that their commitment to the university motivated them to be a part of the excitement.

At a series of events this fall in Columbus, Cincinnati, Chicago and New York, Sue Rogers '57, the regional gifts committee chair, called on alumni to support faculty, students and the overall direction of the university as the 2009 bicentennial nears.

Rogers said the effort means reaching out to 174,000 alumni who are making an impact all over the world.

“I am privileged to serve our university on this incredible campaign,” Rogers said. “I say that I am privileged because I have been working with some incredible people during the life of this campaign.”

As Miami prepares to expand the regional effort before launching the national campaign, the regional chairs who hosted events this past fall explained their own commitments to Miami.

“Miami has broadened its footprint in the United States as well as abroad,” said Gary Killian '81, who co-chairs the New York regional campaign with his wife, Julie. “Our great university has been a significant part of all of our lives.”

Killian said his own volunteer work, first as a member of the Foundation Board, showed him that a tremendous group of caring people give their time and talent to the university. “I receive far more from my own interactions than I would have thought was possible,” he said. “Miami is a great university with wonderful staff members, faculty and students.”

Killian, who said that through endowing a scholarship to enable students to study abroad, he became “convinced that Miami’s focus on providing students with international experience… is well-placed.”

But, Killian said, given changes in state funding “there is a growing need for alumni like ourselves to work with parents and other Miami supporters to create the legacy that ensures that Miami will remain a welcoming community of learners and a top-flight institution of scholarship.”

Jim DeRoberts '78, the Central Ohio regional chair, said financial support is needed “as we compete for the best and brightest minds with the top public and private institutions in the country. The strength of our students, faculty and staff will carry Miami’s legacy.”

DeRoberts said the direction of Miami has become more clear to him as he has worked with President David Hodge, who spoke at all four events. “He is a people person,” DeRoberts said. “A smiling fisherman, no less. His clear vision and sense of purpose make me certain Miami is poised for even greater undertakings as we approach our third century.”

John Peck '66, the Greater Cincinnati regional chair, said Hodge has brought Miami a “very focused vision and a sense of purpose which makes me certain that Miami is poised for even greater heights.”

Peck highlighted accomplishments of some of the 44,000 alumni, friends, faculty and staff who live in his area and said the impact of Miami is powerful.

“Miami is a very well regarded public university. That has not changed since I, as a student, avoided stepping on the seal as I walked across campus,” Peck said. “But what also hasn’t changed is the need for alumni like ourselves to reach out to those who come after us.”

For Chicago, the regional co-chairs are Jim '82 and Beth Herrmann Mynhier '82. Jim Mynhier said Miami is special “to each of us in its own way. That’s why we have volunteered with this effort.”

The campaign’s cornerstone may be endowed scholarships, Mynhier said, but “it is more than that. We have the opportunity to assist students who will learn not only in traditional classrooms like we remember, but in labs and learning centers that are filled with technology and tools which reflect the 21st century world.

“We can be catalysts, creating opportunities for more students to go beyond Oxford and learn in places like Beijing and Tanzania and Antarctica, as well as Luxembourg.”

Mynhier said to bring the most talented students to Miami, donors must also support our faculty. “Our financial commitment will encourage research and provide endowments for professorships. This kind of support can help the university attract scholars who draw other top teachers to Oxford,” he said. “We must help make this happen.”