By Maddie Dulle —
Miami University and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College officials came
together during a press conference on Monday, December 5 to announce the opening of a
Cincinnati State branch location at Miami Regionals Middletown Campus. With this agreement,
the two will be able to provide students with seamless transfers between universities. This
agreement will also allow the institutions to combine resources such as academic advising,
student support services, and facilities.
Miami University President Gregory P. Crawford expressed the value in the collaboration: “Any
modern organization today, you can’t simply do anything on your own, so partnerships are so
important.”
Thanks to this agreement, Cincinnati State students will be able to utilize all resources offered,
while taking classes at the branch location at Miami’s Middletown campus. They will also have
an easier experience moving into a four-year degree program at Miami University after
completing their associate degree or program at Cincinnati State.
As Ande Durojaiye, Regional Dean and Vice President, said, “Cincinnati State and Miami are
not looking to be competitors; we are looking to be collaborators.”
To demonstrate the impact this agreement can have on students, two Cincinnati State students
were invited to speak about their experiences and excitement about the opportunities this will
provide them. Also present at the press conference were representatives from the community,
such as Nathan Cahall, Assistant City Manager for the City of Middletown, and Gary Cates,
Senior Vice Chancellor of Ohio. These individuals focused their time on explaining the positive
impact this collaboration will have on Middletown and Butler County.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for both of these fine institutions to improve the person, to
improve our local economy, which then uplifts our community, and ultimately—very
aspirational—hopefully change the world for the better,” said Cahall.
Even though this announcement was focused on Middletown, Ande Durojaiye explained in an
interview following the press release that “any Cincinnati State student who wants to go to
Miami should have the opportunity to. So, we think this will be the beginning of stronger
pipelines, stronger pathways, and how we can get [students] through that two-year, four-year
degree, and… into the workforce.”
This isn’t the first time Miami and Cincinnati State have worked together. They partnered with
Northern Kentucky University and Gateway Community and Technical College for the Moon
Shot for Equity. This program, which started back in September of 2021, focuses on reducing
equity gaps for higher education.
As explained by Monica Posey, Cincinnati State President, the two universities “share some
common core values such as access, and the opportunities and support for students” and “are
truly committed to Middletown, truly committed to Butler County, and want to see how [they]
can do more.”