Chapter 3339 | Miami University

Section 3339.01 | Appointment of trustees - term.

• Effective: March 31, 2005
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 224 - 125th General Assembly

(A) The government of Miami university shall be vested in eleven trustees, who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Two of the trustees shall be students at Miami university, and their selection and terms shall be in accordance with division (B) of this section. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum. Except for the terms of student members, terms of office shall be for nine years, commencing on the first day of March and ending on the last day of February, except that upon expiration of the trustee term ending on March 1, 1974, the trustee term which succeeds it shall commence on March 2, 1974 and end on February 28, 1983; upon expiration of the trustee term ending on March 1, 1977, the trustee term which succeeds it shall commence on March 2, 1977 and end on February 28, 1986; upon expiration of the trustee term ending on March 1, 1978, the trustee term which succeeds it shall commence on March 2, 1978 and end on February 28, 1987; and upon expiration of the trustee term ending on March 1, 1979, the trustee term which succeeds it shall commence on March 2, 1979 and end on February 29, 1988. Each trustee shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the trustee was appointed. Any trustee appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the end of the term for which the trustee's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any trustee shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the trustee's term until a successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. No person who has served a full nine-year term or more than six years of such a term shall be eligible for reappointment until a period of four years has elapsed since the last day of the term for which the person previously served. The trustees shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be paid their reasonable necessary expenses while engaged in the discharge of their official duties.

(B) The student members of the board of trustees of Miami university have no voting power on the board. Student members shall not be considered as members of the board in determining whether a quorum is present. Student members shall not be entitled to attend executive sessions of the board. The student members of the board shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, from a group of five candidates selected pursuant to a procedure adopted by the university's student governments and approved by the university's board of trustees. The initial term of office of one of the student members shall commence on March 1, 1988 and shall expire on February 28, 1989, and the initial term of office of the other student member shall commence on March 1, 1988 and expire on February 28, 1990. Thereafter, terms of office of student members shall be for two years, each term ending on the last day of February. In the event that a student member cannot fulfill the student member's two-year term, a replacement shall be selected to fill the unexpired term in the same manner used to make the original selection.

Section 3339.03 | Purchase of university-owned land.

• Effective: September 28, 1959
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 88 - 103rd General Assembly

The owners of leases of land or town lots from the president and trustees of the Miami university may pay to the treasurer of the university such sum of money as, placed at interest at four per cent, would yield the amount of rent reserved in the original lease, or in the case of a division of the original tract or parcel leased, would equal the proper aliquot part thereof, or the part agreed upon by the several owners. But a person so surrendering and releasing to such university shall pay the necessary expenses incident to such change of tenure, and procure the services of an agent to perform the necessary labor thereof. Upon payment of such sum and of all rents due upon the land, on demand of such owners, the treasurer shall give him a certificate of such payment.

The owner shall be entitled to receive a deed of conveyance for such land, to be signed by the president of such university, countersigned by its secretary, and sealed with the corporate seal of the Miami university, conveying the premises in fee simple to him.

The deeds shall vest in the grantee an absolute estate in fee simple in the premises, subject to all liens, equities, or rights of third persons in, to, or upon the premises.

Section 3339.04 | Registry of payments, certificates, and deeds.

• Effective: September 28, 1959
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 88 - 103rd General Assembly

The secretary of the Miami university shall keep an accurate registry of all payments, certificates, and deeds, as provided for in section 3339.03 of the Revised Code, with an accurate description of the tract or lot of land so paid for or deeded. Thereafter, the land so deeded shall be subject to taxation in like manner as other freehold estates in such county. The original leases therefor, insofar as regards the land, shall cease to be effective.

Section 3339.05 | Board of trustees to receive and hold funds.

• Effective: September 28, 1959
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 88 - 103rd General Assembly

The board of trustees of the Miami university may receive and hold in trust, for the use and benefit of the university, all funds received in payment under the provisions of section 3339.03 of the Revised Code.

Section 3339.06 | Miami university center for civics, culture, and society.

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A)(1) The Miami university center for civics, culture, and society is established as an independent academic unit within Miami university, physically located in the college of arts and sciences. The center shall conduct teaching and research in the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society.

(2) The center shall establish bylaws requiring the center to do all of the following:

(a) Educate students by means of free, open, and rigorous intellectual inquiry to seek the truth;

(b) Affirm its duty to equip students with the skills, habits, and dispositions of mind they need to reach their own informed conclusions on matters of social and political importance;

(c) Affirm the value of intellectual diversity in higher education and aspire to enhance the intellectual diversity of the university;

(d) Affirm a commitment to create a community dedicated to an ethic of civil and free inquiry, which respects the intellectual freedom of each member, supports individual capacities for growth, and welcomes the differences of opinion that shall naturally exist in a public university community.

The requirements prescribed under divisions (A)(2)(a) to (d) of this section shall take priority over any other bylaws adopted by the center.

(3) The board of trustees of the university may name the center in accordance with the philanthropic naming policies and practices of the university.

(B) The center shall be an independent academic unit physically located at the college of arts and sciences with the authority to house tenure-track faculty who hold their appointments within the center. Faculty appointed to the center shall not be required, but may, hold joint appointments within any other division of the university. Not fewer than ten tenure-track faculty positions shall be allotted to teach under the center. No faculty outside of the center shall have the authority to block faculty hires into the center.

(C)(1) The center shall offer instruction in all of the following:

(a) The books and major debates which form the intellectual foundation of free societies, especially that of the United States;

(b) The principles, ideals, and institutions of the American constitutional order;

(c) The foundations of responsible leadership and informed citizenship.

(2) The center also shall focus on both of the following:

(a) Offering university-wide programming related to the values of free speech and civil discourse;

(b) Expanding the intellectual diversity of the university's academic community.

(D)(1) Not later than December 31, 2023, the board of trustees of the university shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, a seven-member center academic council. An initial member shall not begin service until confirmed by the senate. Four members shall form a quorum.

(2) The academic council shall be comprised of scholars with relevant expertise and experience. Not more than one member of the council may be an employee of the university. Best efforts shall be made to have not fewer than three members of the advisory board be from Ohio.

(3) Three members of the academic council shall serve initial terms of two years and four members shall serve initial terms of four years, which the members shall determine at their first meeting, and select replacements for vacant seats.

(E)(1) The academic council established under division (D) of this section shall conduct a nationwide search for candidates for the director of the center and shall strictly adhere to all relevant state and federal laws. The academic council shall submit to the president of the university a list of finalists from which the president shall select and appoint a director, subject to approval by the board of trustees. Future directors shall be chosen in the same manner.

(2) The director shall have the protection of tenure or tenure eligibility. The director shall consult with the dean of the college of arts and sciences; however, the director shall report directly to the provost or the president of the university.

(3) The director shall have the sole and exclusive authority to manage the recruitment and hiring process and to extend offers for employment for all faculty and staff of the center, and to terminate employment of all staff. The director shall oversee, develop, and approve the center's curriculum. The center shall be granted the authority to offer courses and develop certificate, minor, and major programs as well as graduate programs, and offer degrees.

(F) The director of the center shall submit an annual report to the board of trustees of the university and the general assembly in accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code. The report shall provide a full account of the center's achievements, opportunities, challenges, and obstacles in the development of this academic unit.

Last updated October 4, 2023 at 5:39 PM