As former Deans of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, or Western College Program, we have good, even strong, ties to the alumni of Miami University and the alumnae of the Western College for Women. We therefore read with alarm of plans to demolish Patterson Place in order to make room for a 300-bed residence hall.
Patterson Place, as you know, is the former home of Western College presidents and has been, for 40 years, the home of the Western College Alumnae Association, an organization that has given generously to Miami University. Patterson Place is far more than a "museum" or a "house," as it has been recently characterized.
It remains of enduring historical importance to generations of Miami and Western students, as well as to the community. It was named for James R. Patterson, a Cincinnati businessman, a Miami graduate, a Miami trustee and a contributor to Miami's Alumni Library. James Patterson was awarded a Miami honorary degree in 1912. His sisters gave the building to Oxford's Western College for Women, a daughter college of Mount Holyoke that graduated numerous important women leaders during Western's 125-year history.
It was the home of William W. Boyd, who was Western's president in the 20th century, greatly expanded Western College and commissioned the distinctive stone bridges on that campus built by Oxford's African-American stonemason, Cephas Burns. It was home to Dr. Herrick Young, who, as President of Western in 1964, made the courageous decision to host Mississippi Freedom Summer volunteers for training as civil rights workers. It is the place chosen by Miami Vice President John Dolibois as home to the Western College Alumnae Association.
To our knowledge, this is the only such organization ever created by graduates of a small college that merged into a larger institution for the purpose of supporting students and programs that were yet to come.
In fact, the importance of Patterson Place was recognized by Miami's Board of Trustees in their 1982 Resolution R83-26, where they listed it as one of the eleven buildings of "greatest historical significance" to Miami University.
We are also concerned about the stone bridges in the vicinity of Patterson Place built by Cephas Burns. We have not read of plans to harm them, but it is a challenge to imagine how the several envisioned construction projects on Western Campus can occur without placing them in jeopardy.
All of us served as academic deans, and we understand that Miami, like other higher education institutions, faces significant new challenges that require it to adapt, change and grow. We recognize, as well, the utilitarian appeal of this particular proposal for a new residence hall site. That said, we also understand that execution of this plan will destroy a landmark of Oxford, Western College and Miami University history.
We believe that without enduring respect for what was best in the past, there is not much hope for what is essential for the future. In Oxford, we have a distinguished past that deserves to be studied, taught and applauded as fundamental to our best identity as our community moves into an uncertain future. This fine home of a prominent Miami alumnus and of memorable college presidents is a deep part of our best identity. We hope it can be cherished for its inherent value to all of us.
Judith de Luce
Dean, 1996- 1997
Curtis W. Ellison
Dean, 1980-1996, 1997-1998
William J. Gracie, Jr. Dean, 2003-2008 Burton I. Kaufman
Dean, 1998-2003 Myron J. Lunine
Dean, 1974-1980
School of Interdisciplinary Studies (Western College Program) Miami University