Wealthy alumni giveMiamiboost
Oxford campus gets $40Mgift from retired Cintas CEO.
For Miami University, OXFORD — 2016 was a record breaking year in fundraising, thanks in large part to a famous alumni couple.
The university and its supporters raised a record $92.1 million in gifts.
The fundraising mark for last year, which was up 73 percent from2015, was broken thanks to a $40 million gift from alumni Richard T. “Dick” (Miami ’56) and Joyce Farmer (Miami ’57) and the Farmer Family Foundation.
It was the largest gift from a single foundation or individual in Miami’s 207-year history.
InOctoberwhenthedonationwas announced, Farmer said, “we have suchwonderful memories here, Joyce and I, as do our children and grandchildren,” said Farmer, retired chairman and CEO of Cintas Corp.
“TheFarmer School is one of the greatest undergraduate business schools in the country, and to remain great requires constantinnovation. It requires talented, motivated students learning relevant skills from dedicated faculty,” he said.
In 2005, the Farmer Family Foundation was the lead donor for the construction of the MiamiUniversity Farmer School of Business building and faculty support.
The $40 million gift will support all elements of the Farmer School of Business, including its faculty, students, emerging programs and curriculum, according to Miami.
“Our alumni’s unwavering commitment to their school continues to drive Miami’s fundraising momentum,” Miami University President Greg Crawford said.
“Donorsupport plays such a crucial role for the university and greatly enriches the experience of our students as it allows us to sustain our position as a top public university,” said Crawford.
MiamiUniversity— with its main campus in Oxford, two regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown and a learning center inWestChester Twp. — is Butler County’s largest employer.
University officials said highlights of last year’s giving include:
$38 million in scholarships were raised for 42 percent of total giving. Halfway into the five-year Miami Promise Scholarship Campaign, the university has raised $67 million toward the $100 million goal.
Alumni gave more than $65 million, 71 percent of total contributions, followed by friends (19 percent), corporations and foundations (7 percent), andparents(3percent).
Ongoing fundraising initiatives include the Graduating ChampionsCampaigninsupport of intercollegiate athletics (ICA). The campaign, the largest in ICA history, has raisedmore than $60 million toward its $80 million goal.
“The generosity of our donors makes a profound difference for our students,” saidTomHerbert, vice president forUniversityAdvancement. “It is humbling to see such overwhelming assistance, especially in a record number.”
Local students have two weeks left to apply for scholarships through the Dayton Foundation, which offers close to 1,200 college scholarships per year from more than 170 individual funds.
The scholarships, created by donors, range from$500 up to $5,000, according to the Foundation, and many are multi-year renewable awards if students meet stated requirements. The applicationdeadline isMarch 10.
ScholarshipConnect is the Dayton Foundation’s online scholarship search and college readiness resource, available at www.daytonfoundation.org/scholars.
“TheFoundationhasmade it easy for students to search for a lot of scholarships in one, online system,” said Michelle Brown, program officer for the Dayton Foundation. “The process is simple and cuts down on the amount of time spent completing individual applications.”
The system uses a detailed questionnaire tomatchDayton-area high school and current college students to possible scholarship opportunities, based upon their educational interests and background.
Dayton Foundation officials said there are scholarships for students who are interested in creative arts, and for students who attend particular schools (including Dayton Public Schools, Miamisburg, Oakwood and Vandalia-Butler), plus scholarships for students who want to major in journalism or math, and for children and spouses of police officers and firefighters, among others.
In the last 10 years, the Dayton Foundation has awarded more than $14.5 million in scholarships.
“All students have to do is complete the generalapplication,” Brown said. They will be matched with opportunities that are local and fit their interests, versus national scholarships that students are competing against the entire country to receive.”