Miami University announced Thursday that it has landed a commitment of up to $100 million from the Farmer Family Foundation, which officials are calling the largest gift in the 217-year-old school’s history. The money is earmarked for the Farmer School of Business and is expected to fund everything from career preparation to new technology and experiential learning programs over the next decade.
President Gregory Crawford announced the donation at the end of his State of the University address on Nov. 5, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Accounts of the commitment vary slightly: Forbes reported Miami received a $100 million commitment from the foundation, while Poets&Quants for Undergrads described it as a plan to give up to $100 million over the next decade, with $55 million arriving over the first three years and terms for the remaining $45 million still to be determined.
Matching Funds Target Career Readiness
Regardless of how the full figure ultimately plays out, the first $55 million is set, and it comes bundled with a $25 million matching component, per the same account from Poets&Quants for Undergrads. Miami says the foundation will match school donations of $25,000 or more dollar-for-dollar, up to $2.5 million from any single donor, with the matching funds steered toward quantitative skills, technology, experiential learning and career readiness.
Farmer School of Business Dean Jenny Darroch said the investment will help define the school’s next era of excellence, and that the goal is to give every student a personalized career-preparation plan. Darroch also pointed to artificial intelligence as a driving force behind the urgency, noting that it is changing where every career begins. The gift could help students earn industry certifications, take part in global experiential learning and build skills in emerging technologies, according to the same Enquirer report.
A Family’s Decades-Long Ties to Miami
The Farmer name has been attached to Miami’s business school for decades. Dick Farmer graduated from Miami in 1956 with a business degree, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and then joined his family’s business before founding what would become Cintas in 1968; he retired as the company’s CEO and chairman in 2009. His wife, Joyce Barnes Farmer, earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Miami in 1957, according to Miami University…