More than 4,500 degree candidates were on hand for Miami University’s 184th Spring Commencement ceremony. The celebration capped an eventful academic year that saw the opening of an innovative new hub for creativity and talent cultivation, as well as continued progress toward the university’s Corridors of Excellence. 

The Lee and Rosemary Fisher Innovation College@Elm made its debut in February, as the doors opened for the incubator and workforce development center. Joining College@Elm soon will be the Clinical Health Sciences and Wellness Facility, slated to open this month, followed by the McVey Data Science building in early 2024.

Other noteworthy news stories from the recently completed academic year of 2022-2023 include:

Celebrations

• The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and Miami University commemorated 50 years of their relationship in 2022, culminating in November with Celebrating Miami: Tribe and University Week.
• In September, Miami honored the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for its efforts in advocating for social justice with the university’s Freedom Summer of ’64 Award. 
• Homecoming marked the official debut of For love. For honor. For those who will., Miami’s $1 billion fundraising campaign.

Student Success

• Cameron Tiefenthaler was one of 62 students selected nationwide as a 2023 Truman Scholar, given to juniors who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential.
• Camber Hayes, a junior on the Miami soccer team, became the first student-athlete from the Mid-American Conference to earn the prestigious Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year award from Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
• Hannah Wudke was one of 413 students in the nation named a Goldwater Scholar for 2023-2024. The Goldwater Scholar is the premier undergraduate award for students intending a research career in mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering.

Around Miami

• In October, Miami and Cincinnati Public Schools announced an expansion of the pilot TEACh Cincinnati program, a partnership designed to increase the critical teacher shortage and increase diversity among educators.
• Miami is a core participant in Intel’s Ohio Semiconductor Education and Research Program, which will see the university develop and offer courses to train technicians and engineers for Intel’s workforce.  
• The Miami University Art Museum was named the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum in December in honor of a pair of longtime donors.
• An award from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments put Miami and the city of Oxford on track for a 2026 construction date for the Amtrak platform project at Chestnut Fields.
• Miami Regionals’ Early College Academy was created to give local high school students new opportunities to reach their college goals with this dual enrollment program.
• Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay became the newest inductee in Miami’s Cradle of Coaches Plaza during a May ceremony.
• A trail camera captured a video of a bobcat in November in the Miami University Natural Areas, signaling the area is of high conservation value for native wildlife. 

Recognition

• The John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship in the Farmer School of Business reached new heights in November when it was ranked No. 9 in the world in the Princeton Review’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program rankings.
• Miami was again selected as a top 50 public school among national universities by U.S. News & World Report. The university also was tied for fifth among public schools for Best Undergraduate Teaching and was second among public universities (excluding military institutions) in Best Undergraduate Engineering.