Miami University

Miami University was founded in 1809, as provided for under the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Miami University is a 'public ivy', rated as one of the best 25 American public universities. It is located in Oxford, Ohio (not in Florida) in the southwestern corner of the state (between Dayton and Cincinnati). The Miami in this school's name refers to the Miami Rivers valley, cut by two medium-sized rivers, the little Miami and the big Miami, that flow through the southwestern corner of Ohio; the rivers were in turn named after the Miami Indianss who lived in that area before European settlement.

Miami was once known as the "Cradle of Coaches" because several prominent football coaches worked there before achieving greater fame at more prominent college programs or the NFL. Among these coaches were Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian, Weeb Ewbank, and Bo Schembechler. It is also considered the Mother of Fraternities and the Mother of Ohio Governors.

Miami graduated an American President (Harrison) putting it in a prestigious category of a league of Presidential alma maters, including Harvard, Yale, etc. Some schools, like Hampden-Sydney are included in this category, while others, like Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth, are not.

For many years, the athletic teams at Miami were nicknamed Redskins, but in the 1990s, the nickname was changed to RedHawks. The RedHawks participate in NCAA Division I in all sports (I-A in football). Its primary conference is the Mid-American Conference; its hockey program competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

It is also famous for its School of Education, the McGuffey School, named for Professor William Holmes McGuffey who taught there and wrote America's most widely used pioneer text books.

Miami University was first provided for under the Northwest Ordinance which would regulate the free states of the Midwest. On May 5, 1792, "the President of the United States was authorized to grant letters patent to John Cleves Symmes and his associates . . . provided that the land grant should include one complete township . . . for the purpose of establishing an academy and other public schools and seminaries of learning. After Ohio became a state in 1803, the State legislature assumed responsibility for making sure that John Cleves Symmes would set aside a township of land for the support of an academy. Such a law was passed by the State legislature April 15, 1803. . . . Finally, on February 17, 1809, the State legislature created Miami University and provided that one complete township in the State of Ohio in the district of Cincinnati was to be vested in Miami University for its use, benefit, and support."[1]

Ohio was chartered by the government but was considered a private college engaged in classical training. Antebellum Miami University took students from all over the West, and became known as the Yale of the West. It was at one point the 4th largest university after Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth. As the East-West rivalries subsided, but the North-South rivalries surged, Miami University split apart at the time of the Civil War. Most graduates volunteered for the Union, more than any other school bar the military academies. The majority of those that didn't, primarily from Southern states (such as Jefferson Davis' nephew) volunteered in the rebel armies. Because its students had left for war, because many alumni and professors died in the War, because the West opened up to other universities, and because Southern families no longer sent their sons to the North for an education, 'Old Miami' passed on and Miami University nearly died. Over a decade later, with the help of alumni and Ohio legislators, 'New Miami' was restarted as a coeducational school of education and liberal arts. Althouth Ohio State University had been launched in the meantime, Miami University gained a fair share of Ohio students by the 1890's, and by the 1950's had massively grown. Today, Miami University remains a semi-private and publically assisted university, considered a 'Public Ivy' and top public university. Miami disproportionately attracts intelligent, suburban Ohio students, but also attracts American and international students attracted by its competitive and quality education. The rural Oxford campus with Georgian architecture is considered to be similar to Jefferson's UVA campus and one of the most beautiful in the U.S.

Several womens' colleges in Oxford were associated with or effectively merged with Miami University. Miami University was an early progressive university admitting African Americans, and was coeducational long before most schools in the Ivy League. Miami has been a non-sectarian school as were other pioneer universities in the Midwest, though its early leaders were often Presbyterians.

Famous graduates have included:

• Several U.S. Presidents and Senators and Governors of Ohio, including: Benjamin Harrison, Andrew L. Harris
• P. J. O'Rourke, conservative satirist
• Wally Szczerbiak, NBA player

• Official school website
• Official athletics site