2008 Woodie Awards
President Hodge's annual address leaves much hazy
Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: Editorials
Miami University President David Hodge gave his annual address to faculty, staff and students Sept. 6, speaking of Miami's accomplishments in the past year and articulating nine goals he hoped to achieve in the future. The Miami Student editorial board applauds these noble and lofty goals outlined by Hodge. Yet even though some of the nine goals may sound worthwhile on paper, they are in reality a mismatched fit-or simply unattainable-for Miami.
Hodge's first outlined goal was to make Miami the best undergraduate program in the country. But not only is the feasibility of that goal highly questionable, Miami students do not come to this campus to be No. 1 in a college-ranking book. What "makes Miami more Miami" are the myriad of experiences both on and off campus-and these values make Miami's undergraduate experience unique. Miami has succeeded in certain areas, as Hodge pointed out, with the development of the Confucius Institute, a new and improved Howe Writing Center, new buildings on campus … and the list goes on. But being No. 1 in undergraduate education should be incidental to Miami's focus-not
the motivating factor in improving the school.
Among Hodge's academic goals was the push to increase the proportion of minority students on campus to reflect the same total proportion in the Ohio population and reinforcement of the Top 25 Initiative. An increased presence of minorities on campus would certainly be a positive step, but to increase the percentage to reflect Ohio demographics seems arbitrary and constrictive. The other poignant academic goal focused on the Top 25 Initiative, with the intriguing claim by Hodge that this program enables students to take control of their learning. But with elimination of the Western College Program and continued defense of the Miami Plan, it appears Miami students are still restricted in their class choices. Many students do not experience true student-centered learning until their senior capstones, if ever during their time on campus.
Hodge's first outlined goal was to make Miami the best undergraduate program in the country. But not only is the feasibility of that goal highly questionable, Miami students do not come to this campus to be No. 1 in a college-ranking book. What "makes Miami more Miami" are the myriad of experiences both on and off campus-and these values make Miami's undergraduate experience unique. Miami has succeeded in certain areas, as Hodge pointed out, with the development of the Confucius Institute, a new and improved Howe Writing Center, new buildings on campus … and the list goes on. But being No. 1 in undergraduate education should be incidental to Miami's focus-not
the motivating factor in improving the school.
Among Hodge's academic goals was the push to increase the proportion of minority students on campus to reflect the same total proportion in the Ohio population and reinforcement of the Top 25 Initiative. An increased presence of minorities on campus would certainly be a positive step, but to increase the percentage to reflect Ohio demographics seems arbitrary and constrictive. The other poignant academic goal focused on the Top 25 Initiative, with the intriguing claim by Hodge that this program enables students to take control of their learning. But with elimination of the Western College Program and continued defense of the Miami Plan, it appears Miami students are still restricted in their class choices. Many students do not experience true student-centered learning until their senior capstones, if ever during their time on campus.
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