Successes and challenges featured in

State of Schools address

January 19, 2006

In his State of the Schools address, Dean of Miami University Hamilton, Dr. Daniel E. Hall, invited audience members to celebrate the role of the campus in the community and to ponder some of the challenges it faces.

Hall addressed members of Hamilton's Chamber of Commerce and Hamilton Rotary during the annual State of the Schools luncheon held at the Hamiltonian. Hall was joined by other area educators, including Frank Margello, principal of Badin High School; Robert Sommers, chief executive officer, Butler Tech; Janet Baker, superintendent of the Hamilton City School District.

Celebrating the successes of 2005, Hall mentioned The Conservatory, which opened in September. "I can’t say enough how grateful we are on Campus to the Richard J. Fitton family for this gift," he said. "This beautiful botanical oasis is a true testimony to Richard’s life and to the love he had for his community."

He also thanked Hamilton's Mayor, Don Ryan, and the City of Hamilton for their help in transferring ownership of the Hamilton Sports Arena from the City of Hamilton to the university. Renamed University Recreation Park, we will maintain the tennis courts and horseshoe pits for public recreation use while the old ice rink will be converted to other use.

Academically, Hall described several grants received which will further current programs and help students. The first is a new $1 million grant to The Michael J. Colligan History Project to extend the Teaching American History project to Fairfield City Schools and Northwest Local schools. Currently, the History Project is finishing its third year with its first grant with the Hamilton City Schools. In addition, the Hamilton Community Foundation and the Michael J. Colligan Committee extended its support to the History Project.

In yet another grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Campus, in partnership with our Oxford Campus, received over $300,000 to support our childcare center. The grant dollars will be used to subsidize day care for low-income students. "On a related note,"he added, "we are quite proud that our daycare center received accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children this year."

Development of New Academic Programs to meet challenges

This past year, the campus initiated and implemented several new academic programs. "We launched the first regional campus honors program in the fall. We also added new concentrations in Information Technology Support and Visual Media to our computer technology degree. We began the development of two new bachelor’s degree programs – a traditional BSN in nursing to complement our 2 + 2 BSN and a bachelor’s degree in organizations. We also have new associate’s degrees in development, such as a new degree in criminal justice."

Much of the new programming is an answer to recommendations from a University-wide task force and community feedback of area needs. A decline in enrollment in the fall also added to new program development to better meet student needs.

Additional challenges came with reductions in state funding. The university had to raise its regional campus tuition in 2005, but, Dr. Hall was pleased to report "that Miami’s regional campuses continue to have the lowest tuition of all public universities and regional campuses in Ohio."

Hall closed by saying, "We have not forgotten that Miami Hamilton was founded by this community and continues to be supported by this community.  He listed numerous initiatives the campus staff and faculty are working on with community members to support economic development, cultural understanding, and intellectual opportunities.

• Our performing artists series, through Dr. Howard Epstein, brought  high quality bluegrass, newgrass, and new age music to Hamilton.
• The Racial Legacies Series continued its efforts to seed community thought, discussion, and action.
• The Harry T. Wilks lecture series and the Michael J. Colligan series hosted national scholars and other compelling events.
• The Harry T. Wilks Conference Center was residence to the United Way, the Mercy Health Partners Festival of Trees, Hamilton school district training, Leadership Hamilton Alumni Association, and other  fun events.
• The Harry T. Wilks Conference Center also provided a safe haven for leaders to meet and discuss the racial tensions that resulted from the unfortunate crimes that occurred in community last year. "We are indebted to our own assistant professor Shelley Bromberg for her efforts with the growing Hispanic population."
• Through continuing education and business and industry centers and through partnerships with Butler Tech, Miami Middletown, and the West Chester Chamber Alliance, we are providing workforce training for companies and individuals throughout the region.