Miami University Student Foundation resurrects bike race, hosts fundraisers

The Miami University Student Foundation (MUSF) is a student-run, philanthropic organization dedicated to providing scholarships to Miami students.

The organization sponsors many events across campus including fundraising and networking events, as well as interacting with Miami University Alumni from around the world.

In recent years, MUSF has seen a great deal of change. Former President Caroline Rowell said the organization was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing membership to wane. She said meetings and events couldn’t be held in person, which made carrying out the foundation’s goal of helping students’ well-being very difficult.

“Student organizations all over campus were kind of struggling knowing what to do in this new wave of having to stay home and not be able to be together as an organization.”

Rowell joined in 2021, along with a group of first years who said they were dedicated to bringing it back to what it was prior to COVID.

During the 2022 school year, when Rowell was a sophomore and the marketing chair for the club, she, along with other members, carried out a very successful social media marketing campaign that worked to “spread the word and get our name put back out there.”

This went on to win MUSF a SEAL Award for “Best Social Media Campaign.” Rowell also said it increased the club’s membership by 45 people that year.

The Student Foundation is built on three pillars: raising funds for student scholarships, maintaining alumni relations and celebrating Miami traditions, according to its website.

Current President of MUSF David Pultz, a junior at Miami, described how in past years, the organization has passed out chapstick on Valentine’s Day with a card for Miami that students could sign. The foundation did a similar pass-out event on Charter Day, where they handed out hot chocolate and information about the history of Charter Day.

During homecoming, MUSF organizes events to celebrate, including “painting the town red,” where students go Uptown and paint windows red and decorate the president's house, Lewis Place, for the festivities.

Pultz said in order to provide 10 annual $2,500 scholarships to students in need, the foundation sponsors and hosts a variety of events throughout the academic year. For every official break Miami has, MUSF sponsors bus trips back to Chicago, Columbus and Cleveland.

The foundation also hosts a silent auction during family weekend every fall semester. Pultz said donated items are auctioned off to visiting families, and all funds collected go directly into the MUSF scholarship endowment.

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The biggest event they sponsor is the resurrected bike race. MUSF has historically held this bike race in the fall semester every year. Pultz said it began in 1974 and continued for decades until being discontinued in the early 2000s. However, in 2021, MUSF decided to bring the bike race back.

This year, MUSF moved the race to the spring semester. It will be held on April 26 on Chestnut Track, behind SDS Pizza. Teams of four will compete in a 10-mile, relay-style bike race.

Pultz said MUSF encourages anyone to form a team; no experience is necessary to participate. Entry fees are $20 per team, and MUSF will also provide bikes for anyone who doesn’t own one.

The event will also have a DJ, multiple food truck options and other activities available.

Rowell discussed how MUSF provides tours to alumni family and friends. Along with tours, MUSF also hosts alumni meet-ups in Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus. One of their most recent ones was in 2023 before they celebrated their 50th anniversary.

“Just to see it really shift from a slow, COVID-impacted organization that didn't have a ton of members or a ton of engagement to an event where we had people from all five decades coming back and interacting with us giving speeches,” Rowell said. “It was incredible to witness that transformation.”

gollispd@miamioh.edu