The record gift to the Farmer School of Business was from Richard T. “Dick” and Joyce Farmer and the Farmer Family Foundation, said Miami officials.
The gift will support all elements of the Farmer School of Business, including its faculty, students and programs, and will propel the Farmer School of Business as a leader in undergraduate business education, officials said.
Crawford, who began work as Miami's president in July, said the gift is indicative of "the incredible commitment and generosity the Farmers have to their alma mater…"
“It’s this type of vision and leadership that will position Miami at the forefront in groundbreaking programs and solutions that enable all students to excel in the fast-changing global economy,” he said.
The Farmer School of Business serves more than 4,000 students and nearly 40,000 alumni worldwide. It has consistently ranked in the top tier of public university undergraduate business school programs and in 2016, Money magazine noted it as a top 10 producer of Fortune 500 CEOs.
“The support and guidance the Farmers have provided to the School of Business are major to our students’ continued success,” said Matt Myers, dean and Mitchell P. Rales Chair of Business Leadership of the Farmer School of Business. “Their generosity allows talented students the access to a Miami education and allows us to attract and retain top faculty and staff and to develop visionary programming – all vital to a world-class educational institution.”
The unexpected announcement capped a historic day at Miami as it formally installed its 22nd president amidst pageantry and a parade.
The parade — which featured academic and student representatives, a bagpiper and the Miami University marching band among other participants — strolled from the center of the school’s main campus down Tallawanda Road to Millett Hall for speeches by Crawford and others.
Crawford replaced retired Miami President David Hodge, who left office on June 30.
The former Notre Dame University official, who was raised in Elyria in northern Ohio, is the 22nd president of Miami, which was first chartered as a university in 1809.
During ceremonies at Millet Hall — Miami’s sports arena — Crawford praised Miami’s rich academic and liberal arts traditions and stressed the future for the school lies in “meaningful connectivity.”
“In our coming months and years you will hear me talk much about this,” Crawford told more than 4,000 in Millett Hall.
In a wide-ranging speech Crawford included the importance of Miami's regional campuses in the future and described the Middletown and Hamilton schools as "our first and best collabortives."
Miami is Butler County’s largest employer, with nearly 3,300 full-time employees at its main Oxford campus, and Hamilton and Middletown campuses. Total university employment is more than 4,000 workers, including part-time employees.
More than 19,300 students attend classes at Miami’s main campus with 17,000 undergraduates and 2,300 in graduate studies.
The high-energy leader has already become a recognizable face on Oxford campus and often rides his bicycle through and around the campus community.
Crawford earns $495,000 annually as the school’s president.
Miami alum Lana Rook made the trip from her Cleveland home to see her first inauguration parade and ceremony. As a long-time alumni society official, Rook looks forward to Crawford’s leadership of her old school.
“They (Crawford and his wife Renate) seem to have in less than 90 days fit into the campus pretty well,” Rook said.
MORE: A timeline of Miami University’s previous 21 school presidents
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