Winter 2009

There is nothing like a common cause to inspire uncommon results.

In 2005, a group of alumni from Miami University’s Department of Architecture and Interior Design gathered in northwestern Ohio for a presentation discussing the department’s achievements and challenges. At its conclusion, a conversation began between architects and designers from several area firms, and the idea for the Northwest Ohio Scholarship in Architecture and Interior Design was formed.

“We felt it was unlikely that any one firm could generate enough support to fund a scholarship at a high enough level, but we thought, if we all got together, we might be able to make it happen,” said Paul Hollenbeck `70 of The Collaborative Inc.

That idea became a reality last November, when the donors came together to celebrate their scholarship’s endowment reaching $50,000. It will be awarded each year, beginning in the spring, to one or more northwest Ohio students in Miami’s Department of Architecture and Interior Design.

According to Hollenbeck, a transfer student who came to Miami in 1965 specifically to study architecture, the scholarship serves the dual role of supporting Miami students and promoting the profession in northwest Ohio.

“Northwest Ohio is no different than many other parts of the country in that recruitment is one of our biggest challenges. As the baby boomers retire, we’re going to need more architects than universities are producing. Northwest Ohio doesn’t have a school of architecture, so this was a good way to get students at Miami to notice us and recognize the opportunities in this region.”

Among those contributing were both alumni and parents of current and former Miami students. Some were undergraduate students at Miami, while others were in the graduate program. They graduated from as far back as 1959 and as recently as 1991. And they all share a bond directly linked to their area of study.

“People have great feelings about their experience at Miami in general, but the architecture program, because of the relationships you form with students and faculty, is a little different,” said Michael DiNardo `84, who earned his master’s of architecture while on a similar scholarship. “It’s almost like being in a fraternity or sorority because you’re together so much of the time.”

Hollenbeck, who recalls an initial class of approximately 50 architecture students being pared down to his graduating class of roughly a dozen because of the program’s competitive nature, remains in close contact with former classmates and faculty members. He sees the collective effort behind the scholarship as capturing that spirit of camaraderie that defined his time in the program.

“This is not about our firms, though at least four are represented, it’s about us as a group of architects and related professionals. It is a divergent group, with more than three decades between some of us, and we gave in varying amounts to make this possible. Hopefully this isn’t the end, and people will continue to see this as a great philanthropic outlet.”

For information on how you can contribute to the Northwest Ohio Scholarship in Architecture and Interior Design, contact Heather Kogge, director of development for the school of fine arts, at koggeha@muohio.edu or 513-529-5217.

NW Ohio Architecture Scholarship Donors:
Allan Brown `91
Michael DiNardo `84
Mike Duket `70
Bert Elliott `81
Edward `80 and Mary `79 Glowacki
Joseph Kunkle Paul `70 and Pamela Hollenbeck `70
Robert Seyfang `59
Robert Siebenaller `82