Miami University President Gregory Crawford highlighted several accomplishments as well as ongoing and future initiatives during his State of the University Address on Wednesday, Sept. 28. 

Among the key points were:

• A $5 million grant through a partnership between the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Ohio Department of Education to prioritize mental health and wellness for K-12 students and staff across the state. The grant will allow Miami to transform the Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs into a new School-Based Center of Excellence for Prevention and Early Intervention to address an ongoing mental health crisis.

• A new sponsorship from Eli Lilly and Company that will rename Miami’s Leadership Institute within the College of Engineering and Computing as the Lilly Leadership Institute. The institute offers a one-of-a-kind, transformational leadership program focused on developing effective leadership among undergraduate students.
• The announcement of Nicole Fleetwood (Miami ’94) as the spring commencement speaker. Fleetwood is an academic, curator, and author, and the inaugural James Weldon Johnson Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Miami’s spring commencement will be May 13, 2023.

“It’s been an extraordinary year,” President Crawford said during the address. “The accomplishments and the hard work have been great to see. … The compassion and the fortitude that we have really has advanced excellence in so many different ways. I look forward to taking this forward momentum and moving it into 2023.”