News Archive

(04/29/05)

MUM Alum Janeway to Speak on May 6

Michael Janeway, senior director of advanced programs at Oracle Corporation in Washington, will speak at 1 p.m. on May 6 at Miami Middletown's Dave Finkelman Auditorium as part of the Scholars and Donors celebration.

A 1972 graduate of Franklin High School, Janeway attended Miami Middletown while working at Armco Steel in the 1970s. He graduated from Miami University in 1978 with a degree in education and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

During his 20-year career in the Air Force, he served in a variety of positions including that of a combat instructor and director of a stealth aircraft support system. Janeway also commanded the largest permanently deployed Air Force unit in Saudi Arabia and was assigned to the Pentagon where he wrote for Presidential and Congressional presentations.

After retiring from the Air Force, he joined BancTech Corporation as director of federal programs. He is currently senior director of advanced programs for Oracle Corporation where he runs a $40 million profit and loss center with over two dozen US intelligence agency and military clients located across the United States and several foreign countries.

This lecture is free and open to the public.

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(04/29/05)

Sommers named Associate Executive Director

Sommers, who has been on the Miami Middletown faculty since 1981, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and master's and doctorate degrees from New York University. He was named a Carnegie Scholar in 2003 and received Miami University's Knox Teaching Award in 2005. He is the co-author of several textbooks on college-level writing as well as numerous articles and book chapters.

"Jeff is an eminent scholar as well as a dedicated citizen of Miami University Middletown," said current Associate Executive Director for Academic Affairs Kelly Cowan. "His interest in teaching and learning crosses disciplinary boundaries, and he is an enthusiastic colleague to staff and faculty across the campus."

Dr. Cowan has been named Interim Executive Director of Miami Middletown, also beginning July 1.

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(04/27/05)

Phi Theta Kappa Inducts 39 Students

Thirty-Nine Miami Middletown students were recently inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.

The inductees included: Nika Briann Bevis, Anessa E. Greenwell, Paula Kay Holland, Rebecca Marie Koch, Timothy John Koch, Wanda June Miller, Rachel Ann Nusbaum, Jacob Micha Pitts, Johnna Shiloh Roark, Danielle Lesley Rhodus, Sarrah L. Schultz, Toni Michelle Slusher, Amanda Dawn Swartz, Susan Lynn Woodrome of Middletown; Dawn E. Morgan of Franklin; Michelle Marie Bowling, Shari Lynn Brown, Sharon Lou Montgomery, and Tamera Lynn Murphy of Trenton; Pamela J. Camilliere, Suzanne Lemay-Bradshaw, Daniel Russ Newman, Kandice Michelle Paslay and Rhonda Lynn Shepherd of Hamilton; Ashely Layne Collins and Stephanie Jane Seale of Springboro; Kerry Edwyna Willet of West Chester; Jason M. Williamson of Mason; Jamea Elizabeth Williams of Maineville; Joseph M. Moberly, Kathleen Michele Pena, Jon Paul Starr and Kristen Lynn Williams ofLebanon; Alan Ray Belcher of Ottawa; Sarah Renee Doll of Monroe; Bryan Fletcher Gabbard and Michael William Stremel of Dayton; Michelle Lynn Lawrence of Centerville; M. Beth Davis of Oxford.

To be eligible for membership, a student must complete a minimum of 12 hours of associate degree course work and earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Both part- time and full-time students are eligible to join.

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(04/27/05)

Kids in College Continues in July

Miami Middletown is offering summer enrichment programs for children who will be entering grades 1-9 in the fall. These interactive, creative programs highlight science, math, reading, computers, fitness and more!

Classes will be held the weeks of July 11 and July 18 with unique programs offered during each session. Costs range from $69-$79 with most classes costing $69. Times are from 9-11 a.m., Monday - Friday, unless otherwise noted.

Week of July 11:

- Creations in Clay, (grades 3-7), $69 + $10 materials fee

- Logo Crystal Rain Forest, (grades 3-6), $79

Week of July 18:

- Express Yourself!, (grades 1-2), $69

- Magic Tree House, (grades 1-2), $69

- Edible Math, (grades 3-4), $69

- Computers Don't Byte, (grades 3-4), $69

- "CSI-Miami U", (grades 7-9), $69

- Staying Fit - Body, Mind & Spirit, (grades 5-8), $69. A sticky mat is recommended for the yoga portion of this class.

- Becoming a Master Student, (grades 7-9), $69

Try something new this summer! For more information, to request a brochure, or to register log onto: www.mid.muohio.edu/conted/ or call the Office of Continuing Education at 513-727-3300. The 2005 Kids in College program is sponsored by The Palmer Group.

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(04/20/05)

Five MUM Students Receive Miami President's Award

Five Miami Middletown students were the recipients of the Miami University President's Distinguished Service Award, presented in Oxford this month. Etta Juanetta Caver, Chenney Chen, Marcia Coddington, Lisa K. McGuire and Angela Margaurite Polachek all received the prestigious award, given to those students whose service to the university has been extraordinary. Only 27 students from all of Miami's campuses received the award.

Etta Caver, a social work major from Middletown, received the President's Distinguished Service Award for her dedication to the Middletown community. She is affiliated with Citizens Against Domestic Violence and is executive director of the Dream Center Project, which houses the Louella Thompson's Feed the Hungry project.

Chenney Chen, a mass communications major from Fairfield, received the award for her work with students transitioning from the Middletown to Oxford campus, and also for her work with prospective students and their families on the Oxford campus. As a member of the Dean's Student Advisory Committee, she was instrumental in the creation of the College Ambassador Program, helping to recruit and manage over 80 student ambassadors.

Marcia Coddington, a botany major from Springboro, was recognized for her work with the American Chestnut Foundation, leading to the formation of an Ohio chapter of that national organization. She also volunteers at the Middletown City nursery where she assists in growing trees for use in the city.

Lisa K. McGuire, a nursing major from Middletown, received the award for her work with the American Heart Association. She volunteered for many fundraising efforts such as the "heart sale" to honor women who live with or have lost their lives to heart disease and helped create a poster that will be used in the Tri-State area to help educate the community about women and heart disease.

Angela Polachek, a botany and English literature major from Middletown, was honored for her work with the Botany Club. As club president, she organized activities which resulted in the landscaping of perennial beds and creation of holiday centerpieces for Middletown's Dream Center outreach ministry. Funds from the sale of chrysanthemums, poinsettias, and Valentine's Day flowers were used to purchase more plants for the campus and to support club field trips. She also organized a group of students to give guided tours of the campus and its nature trails. Angela attends campus athletic events as "Flash" the ThunderHawk mascot.

(From left) Chenny Chen, Angela Polachek, Etta Caver, Marcia Coddington and Lisa McGuire were awarded the President's Distinguished Service Award by Miami University President James Garland.

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(04/12/05)

Cowan Named Interim Executive Director

Marjorie "Kelly" Cowan has been appointed Interim Executive Director for Miami University Middletown effective July 1, 2005.

The national search for a successor to Dr. Michael Governanti will continue this fall. Dr. Governanti, who has served Miami Middletown as Executive Director since 1986, will begin serving as a special assistant to the Provost for regional initiatives in Oxford on July 1.

"As Miami continues its search for a successor to Mike Governanti, I am pleased that Dr. Cowan is willing to assume the broad responsibilities of that position for the coming year," said Dr. John Skillings, Interim Provost. "Her teaching and research background, combined with her administrative experience as Associate Executive Director for Academic Affairs, makes her uniquely qualified."

Dr. Cowan joined the faculty at Miami Middletown in 1993, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of microbiology in 2000, and in February 2005 was promoted to the rank of full professor by the Miami University Board of Trustees. She has been Associate Executive Director for Academic Affairs at Miami Middletown, the campus' lead academic officer, since July 2003.

She holds a doctorate from the University of Louisville, where her research focused on applying physicochemical methodologies to describing the adhesion of bacteria to human tissues. She held a postdoctoral position at the Center of Marine Biotechnology in Baltimore where she studied environmental bacterial adhesion, and continued her physicochemical research as a research associate at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Dr. Cowan is the co-holder of two patents on antiadhesive approaches to fighting microbial infection, and has worked with AK Steel in development of their anti-microbial steel. She has authored numerous articles on bacterial adhesion mechanisms, and given research presentations in Switzerland, Canada, Israel, Romania, and the Netherlands.

Her book The Microbe Files: Cases in Microbiology for the Undergraduate was published in 2001. In January 2005 her textbook Microbiology: A Systems Approach, co-authored with Kathleen Park Talaro of Pasadena City College, was published by McGraw-Hill.

A nationally recognized figure in teaching and pedagogy, Dr. Cowan is the editor of a national microbiology education newsmagazine and active in the study of undergraduate teaching.

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(04/12/05)

Rhonda Vincent To Perform on April 23

Legendary bluegrass singer Rhonda Vincent comes to Miami University Middletown's Dave Finkelman Auditorium on Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m.

Vincent is a consummate musician, with nine solo albums, a Grammy nomination, and a host of awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, including five consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year trophies.

This concert is the final event of the season for Miami Middletown's Cultural Arts Series, which also featured journalist Seymour Hersh, the Nego Gato Dance Ensemble from Brazil and "My Soul is a Witness," a documentary play.

Tickets are $15 and are available online at www.tickets.muohio.edu or by calling (513) 727-3383 or (513) 529-3200. Tickets may also be purchased at the Miami Middletown information desk in Johnston Hall. Miami Middletown is located at 4200 E. University Blvd.

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(04/11/05)

Fire Engulfs Student House in Oxford, Three Die

Three Miami University students died in an early-morning off-campus fire Sunday, April 10, at a two-story brick student rental house located three blocks north of uptown Oxford, at 122 N. Main St.

Sunday night the Butler County Coroner's office and university officials identified the three students as Stephen J. Smith, a senior marketing major from Bethesda, Md.; Kathryn (Kate) Welling, a junior business major from Bronxville, N.Y.; and Julia Turnbull, a senior mass communication major from Milford, Ohio.

“We are doing everything we can to help and provide support to the families and friends of the victims, but this is a tragedy that is touching everyone in the university community,” said Miami President Jim Garland.

Grief counseling will be available to all students through the university’s student counseling service. No memorial service is scheduled as of today, although such an event is anticipated.

Miami officials met with survivors from the house early Sunday morning to provide emotional support and to offer on-campus housing and other emergency assistance.

Oxford officials received a 911 cell phone call at 4:31 a.m. and arrived on the scene in less than one minute, only to find the rental home engulfed in flames.

The cause of the fire is unknown, according to Oxford officials. An Ohio Fire Marshal investigator will assist the Oxford fire department in investigating the fire.

Two residents were escorted to McCullough-Hyde Hospital; both were treated for injuries and released.

There have been several off-campus fires involving Miami students in recent years, the most serious of which occurred Dec. 10, 1994, at 501 N. Campus Ave., when Robert Scherrer III died of smoke inhalation in a house fire.

Other major fires include an April 2002 fire at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, 410 E. Church St., and a November 2000 fire at the Sigma Chi House, 401 E. Sycamore. No one was injured in the Pi Kappa Alpha fire, but a student was hospitalized with smoke inhalation as a result of the Sigma Chi fire.

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(04/04/05)

CIT Offers New Concentrations, Updates for Fall

The Computer and Information Technology department has two new concentrations and updates of two current programs available for Fall.

IT Support concentration (NEW!) - This interdisciplinary curriculum combines technical, business, and communications to prepare help-desk personnel who are familiar with standard support methodologies, have an understanding of business processes, strong problem solving skills, and good interpersonal communication skills.

Visual Media Technology concentration (NEW!) - This new and innovative curriculum combines the study of art and technology and prepares students to produce and manipulate visual media for computer-based communication, marketing, education, and entertainment.

Software Development and Support concentration (UPDATED!) - Software development skills are always in-demand and this curriculum prepares students to design, create, and maintain software in a variety of current programming languages, understand and use operating systems, and support application programs.

Networking concentration (UPDATED!) - This concentration prepares students to design, install, support, and maintain computer networks, analyze and troubleshoot problems, and develop solutions for network security.

Get enrolled now for these exciting programs. Please contact your advisor for assistance with course selection, scheduling, understanding your DAR, and other academic and career advising issues. Call (513) 727-3271 for more information.

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