By Megan Zahneis, News Editor
On the heels of a restructuring campaign that brought in five new bachelor's degree programs and its first master's degree offering, Miami University's Middletown campus will celebrate its 50th anniversary next week with a full slate of celebratory activities.
Monday will mark the date in 1966 when Miami University Middletown (MUM) opened its doors, becoming the first permanent university branch campus in Ohio. But the festivities will kick off Saturday, with an official ceremony, live music, food trucks and an on-site remote broadcast by local radio station K 99.1 FM.
Organizers have been preparing for the anniversary since the beginning of the year by featuring Middletown alumni success stories and a series of written historical vignettes on a dedicated webpage. They've staged monthly themed "Sweet MUMories" events as a means of compiling an oral history of the campus from its alumni, with the help of a professional videographer.
The university hopes one legacy project will have a lasting physical impact on the Middletown campus. Funds are being solicited to retrofit its basketball court in honor of widely respected former athletic director and men's basketball coach Lynn Darbyshire. A local foundation has pledged to cover half the cost of the renovations -- $75,000 -- provided donors and the university can raise the remaining funds.
The Middletown campus, which enrolled about 1,880 students last fall, can trace its origins back to 1959, when Miami University first began hosting courses in local high school classrooms. When the makeshift nature of this "Academic Center" proved too inflexible for the community's growing demand for education, city officials broke ground in 1965 on a dedicated branch campus.
"The governor at that time wanted a higher education to be accessible to all students within so many miles of where they lived," said Cathy Bishop-Clark, who is interim dean of Miami's regional campuses and has been with Miami Middletown for 27 years.
While the complex has since expanded to include a handful of buildings, an athletic program and a variety of degree programs, according to Bishop-Clark, its goals have remained constant.
"We still offer that same quality Miami liberal education and that's always been the hallmark of what we do," Bishop-Clark said. "No matter what, students are students and learning is learning. That part has remained the same, and our commitment to our communities has remained the same."
Email Megan Zahneis at zahneime@miamioh.edu
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