In celebration of Miami University's bicentennial, President David Hodge and his wife Valerie Hodge are touring alumni chapters across the United States for Miami's Bicentennial Tour.
Carole Johnson, assistant director of news and public information, said this event is taking place in various states across the country including California, Washington, D.C., and North and South Carolina.
Johnson described the tour as a method of remaining in touch with alumni who may not be within a close proximity of the school and allowing them to reminisce upon their years at Miami.
"The tour is trying to reach out and bring alumni back home," Johnson said. "The tour goes where they are and meets them where they live."
Junior Amanda Buss accompanied the Hodges as a guest speaker on their tour to New York on Sept. 30.
"To be nominated as the guest speaker, the student must be nominated and complete an application process," Buss said. "After being suggested by a faculty member, I was sent information regarding the tour and an application. After submitting that, I had a phone interview.
According to Buss, she worked with a speechmaker to ensure the quality of her speech, which focused on her personal experience at Miami.
According to Johnson, the tours are intended to combine historical aspects of Miami with its current and future components.
"They are events where alumni and friends of the university can get together and meet with President and Mrs. Hodge and other staff and hear about the university updates and history, and also see various displays," Johnson said.
Buss said the event allowed the audience to reminisce through Miami artifacts and a pop quiz.
"There was a display area that people could walk through before or after the speeches," Buss said. "President Hodge even quizzed the audience on Miami trivia to see how much they remembered."
Johnson said the purpose of this nostalgia was to allow the alumni to feel connected with the university regardless of where they are now.
"The tour is really trying to reach out to the alumni and give them the opportunity to re-visit Miami, even if they cannot come back to the university," Johnson said.
Buss said although Miami's history was celebrated, there was much discussion regarding the future of the university including the Bicentennial Student Center, how the university is improving and what is needed to ensure further success.
Brad Bundy, associate vice president for university advancement, said the bicentennial provided the ideal opportunity for Miami to connect with its alumni.
"We are taking the tour to the 20 to 22 cities that have the highest number of Miami alumni located there," Bundy said. "We hope to engage the alumni located in these areas and allow them to reconnect with each other and hear more about the direction of the community. We used the bicentennial year to celebrate and allow our alumni to celebrate as well."
According to Bundy, the tour is also closely associated with the Bicentennial Ball that took place last spring.
"After the Charter Day Ball at Miami, we also had charter day balls in different cities throughout the country," Bundy said. "These tours were also a follow up on each of these cities."
Bundy also said the admittance to each bicentennial tour is between $30 and $50 per person.
"The tours are really just celebrating Miami's history and updating alumni on what they can expect for the future," Buss said.
