Miami University - Recensio Yearbook (Oxford, OH)

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MIAMI I7

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16

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UNIVERSITY ox far babies and the increasing need for a college educa- tion forced Miami, faced with an ever-increasing enrollment, to rely on student, faculty and alumni organiza- tions to solve the problem. The school year of 1964-65 was the last before the change to tri-mester, a system designed to put the class and residence halls into year-round use. Every section of the University, besides their regular duties of keeping the school functioning, had to master the prob- lems incurred by this change. Also important was the need to build an image of Miami, in Ohio and other states, in order to attract superior students. Last year Miami found herself with numerous difficulties but no actual head. Dr. Charles R. Wilson was appointed acting President to fill the vacancy left when Dr. John D. Millett resigned. In Dr. Wilson,s words, llLong range planning, thus committing the new administration, was out. In my role as acting President, I have conducted the Presi- dentls oche on a sort of caretaker basis? Change through cooperation continued, however. The newly created office of director of educational serv- ices was responsible for cooperation between Miami and its extensions, particularly the Dayton campus. Another new oHice, director of institutional development, will assume the responsibility of coordinating intra-University departments and setting up a fund-raising campaign to supplement Miamiis hearty expansion. 18 As always, working with the President was the 27- member Board of Trustees. Most vital of the issues before the Board was the need for more facilities to accommodate the growing freshman classes each year. The Board, faced with constant pressure from the state legislature to take more freshmen, approved the tri-mester program in hopes that the year-round use of University facilities would allevi- ate some of the problems. The housing shortage remained on the agenda again this year, as it has in the past. The number of students accepted at Miami each year is limited by the amount of housing available, and the Board has been trying to meet this demand. One solution to the housing problem has been the use of uptown apartments by upperclass men. This, however, has led to a deeper, related problem, one which raised a great deal of controversy on campus during the past year. Stricter enforcement of the old apartment rule which prohibited women to visit men in their uptown housing led to vigorous protests all over campus. Letters to the editor of the llStu- dentll generally reflected shock at Miamils antiquated policy. The Council on Student Affairs, under the leadership of President Wilson, tried to calm the storm and fmd a solu- tion acceptable to all. For Miami students, the Council was one of the most important policy-making groups for representation of the student voice. Primarily concerned with the exchange of ideas to promote understanding among all parts of the University, the Council has broad- ened its scope to include student problems. Besides the apartment ruling, the Council discussed the car impounding lot, the Miami-Western Resume' and the Southern School Exchange. The main administrative committee for decision-making was comprised of the deans representing all of the depart- ments of Miami. An advisory body to the President, the Council of Deans also worked with the faculty and students. Their main job in this respect was the scheduling of classes, lectures, concerts and other academic and social events. Setting up a calendar for the new trimester required most of the CounciPs time in the past year, but they also man- aged to become involved in the campus controversy over the Voices of Dissent program, a forum deeply involving the first test of House Bill 800 after its passage last year.