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First In 2009 Winds Down As Hodge Takes the Reigns on 6-year Endeavor

Elizabeth Kemp

With three years remaining until Miami University's bicentennial, First in 2009, the university's strategic planning vision for the future, is being brought to a close.

President Hodge said he would like to finish up work on the eight-goal plan soon to make way for bicentennial and capital campaign activities.

"Our hope is that we can wrap up (First in) 2009 either this year or next as we place more institutional energy on the bicentennial and the capital campaign," Hodge said.

"We have accomplished most of what we set out to do. The new emphasis is on using the bicentennial to reaffirm our missions and to launch ourselves into the next century."

Hodge said past First in 2009 councils and committees have done a good job of making recommendations for improving Miami, but now the focus needs to be on implementing those recommendations.

"We don't want to get too big a gap here between recommendations and implementation," Hodge said.

Next week Provost Jeffrey Herbst is set to name a new chair of the First in 2009 Coordinating Council who will oversee the progress of this implementation and work toward taking stock of what has been accomplished in order to create a comprehensive summary. Hodge said the summary will serve as a tool for future planning projects to learn from what was done during First in 2009.

First in 2009, launched in February 2000, sought to make Miami one of the top public institutions in the nation by improving its curriculum and preserving Miami's spirit as a liberal arts institution.

A Coordinating Council was created to monitor the progress, establish subcommittees and task forces and make recommendations for the campaign. The council focused on eight goals for the university to accomplish during a nine-year span, including developing greater campus diversity, generating a stronger revenue base for the school and producing a more highly qualified student body.

The members of the council; including faculty, administrative staff and a few students; have changed from year to year.

However, this past year has seen a delay in action from the Coordinating Council because there has not been a chairperson.

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Initially, the future of the council was uncertain because of the change in presidential administrations. In fact, Carolyn Haynes, who is the director of the Honors and Scholars Program, a six-year member of the council and was its chairwoman from 2003-06, thought the delay meant that the council no longer existed.

Others have confirmed that the council is still in operation.

"It's still moving along," said Judith Sessions, a three-year member of the coordinating council. Sessions served in the committee created under President James Garland and said that President David Hodge has handed the responsibility of the council to Provost Herbst.

Herbst will name a new chair for the council to address the future goals and progress of First in 2009, ultimately getting the show on the road.

Hodge said that under the new council, projects will continue until they are completed. However, no new committees will be formed because the focus needs to be on implementing the suggestions made by previous councils.

"The things that have been put into place will continue on," Hodge said. "What we're not going to do is start some new committees."

This means that the construction projects still underway will continue. In fact, the goal of enhancing Miami's physical facilities is winding down, as work has been completed on some buildings. Others, such as the Psychology Building and the Goggin Ice Center, have already been put to use.

Hodge said any new projects will be under a different heading, such as the bicentennial.

"We will be talking publicly and actively about the possibility of a new student center," he said.

As for the new council, Hodge said one of their goals will be to identify big issues that still need to be examined, but any actions or improvements based on their recommendations will not be under the rubric of First in 2009.

"Our goal now is to wrap it up in a thoughtful manner, reflecting on all that has been accomplished and launching a new phase of university direction," Hodge said.

To celebrate its 200th anniversary and the culmination of the First in 2009 campaign, Miami has plans for a celebratory ball, a bicentennial symposium, an anniversary Web site, a special Associated Student Government, homecoming, and reunion weekend activities.

In September, it was announced that the deadline of the For Love and Honor fund-raising campaign, which fell under the First in 2009 goal of creating a stronger revenue base, was extended from 2007 until 2009. While the goal was formerly set at $350 million, the new goal will be to raise $500 million for university enhancement.

Hodge believes this will be beneficial to Miami and its bicentennial.

"The extension of the capital campaign to include the bicentennial gives us a powerful platform to (launch Miami into the next century) and to raise the resources needed to achieve our goals," Hodge said.