Centers and Institutes

Miami University establishes Centers and Institutes to facilitate research, public service, and educational initiatives that cross disciplinary, departmental, and/or divisional boundaries. They are essential to the University’s mission of advancing knowledge and learning at the highest level and serving the public good.

Centers are typically organized to conduct research or provide a specific educational or public service, usually focused on a specific interdisciplinary theme or topic. They may involve faculty from one or more departments and divisions, but also may include individuals from within the same department or division of the University. Miami University has two types of centers. Research Centers are specifically focused on research, while Service/Consultation Centers are usually focused on providing an academic or public service, such as faculty development, program evaluation/assessment, connecting with community stakeholders, or tutoring. 

Institutes share the Center’s focus on research, provision of opportunity for interdisciplinary activity, involvement in continuing education activities, value in facilitating efforts to obtain extramural funding, advancement of diversity and equity principles, and service as a link between the academic and professional communities. An institute, however, is a more formalized structure and may be equivalent to an autonomous unit within the internal structure of the college or university such as a department or division. However, it can also be housed within a division (but not a department).  It may, unlike a “Center,” be involved in the offering of credit-bearing courses and may offer degree programs and formal credentials. An Institute may also include a number of centers or laboratories within it, and may also be involved in community outreach or clinical services.

Research Centers

Center for Advanced Microscopy & Imaging

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Zach Ostreicher
  • Website

Center for American & World Cultures

  • Division/Campus: Global Initiatives; Oxford
  • Director: Tarah Trueblood
  • Website

Center for Analytics and Data Science

  • Division/Campus: Office of Research & Innovation; Oxford
  • Director: David Scoville
  • Website

Center for Aquatic and Watershed Sciences

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Mike Vanni
  • Websit

Center for Assistive Technology

  • Division/Campus: College of Engineering & Computing; Oxford
  • Director: James Chagdes
  • Website

Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics

    • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
    • Director: Andor Kiss
    • Website

Center of Excellence for Structural Biology & Metabonomics

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Michael Kennedy
  • Website

Center for Neuroscience & Behavior

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Directors: Dawn Blitz and Ann Radke
  • Website

Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts and Science; Oxford
  • Director: Dawna-Cricket-Martita Meehan
  • Website

Center for the Study of Integrative Metabolism

  • Division/Campus: College of Education, Health & Society; Oxford
  • Director: Paul Schaeffer
  • Website

Center for the Study and Support of Children and Families of the Incarcerated

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Yvette Harris
  • Website

Center for Visual Sciences

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Directors: Katia Del Rio Tsonis, Michael Robinson
  • Website

Dennis L. Carlson Center for Sexuality Education Studies

  • Division/Campus: College of Education, Health & Society; Oxford
  • Director: Megan Kuykendoll
  • Website

Doris Bergen Center for Human Development, Learning & Technology

  • Division/Campus: College of Education, Health & Society; Oxford
  • Director: Chris Wolfe and Kevin Bush
  • Website

Ecology Research Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Ann Rypstra
  • Website

Geospatial Analysis Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Robbyn Abbitt
  • Website

Global Health Research Innovation Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Cameron Hay-Rollins
  • Website

Havighurst Center for Russian & Post-Soviet Studies

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Stephen Norris
  • Website

Humanities Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Tim Melley
  • Website

Leading the Integration of Faith and Entrepreneurship (L.I.F.E.) Center

  • Division/Campus: Altman Institute of Entrepreneurship; Farmer School of Business; Oxford
  • Director: Brett Smith
  • Website

Myaamia Center

  • Division/Campus: Office of Research & Innovation; Oxford
  • Director: Daryl Baldwin
  • Website

Scripps Gerontology Center 

  • Division/Campus: Office of Research & Innovation; Oxford
  • Director: Katy Abbott
  • Website

Service/Consultation Centers

Art Center 

  • Division/Campus: College of Creative Arts; Oxford
  • Director: Ron Stevens
  • Website

Bernard B. Rinella, Jr Learning Center 

  • Division/Campus: Student Life; Oxford
  • Director: Christina Carrubba-Whetstine
  • Website

Career Services & Professional Development

  • Division/Campus: College of Liberal Arts & Applied Science; Regionals
  • Director: Doug Reichenberger
  • Website

Cecilia Berg Center for Environmental Education

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Julia Robinson
  • Website

Center for Career Exploration & Success

  • Division/Campus: Enrollment Management & Student Success; Oxford
  • Director: Jennifer Benz
  • Website

Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine

  • Division/Campus: College of Creative Arts: Off Campus
  • Director: John Blake
  • Website

Center for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

  • Division/Campus: College of Liberal Arts & Applied Science; Regionals
  • Director: Bennyce Hamilton
  • Website

Center for Public Management & Regional Affairs

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Patrick Haney
  • Website

Center for Social Entrepreneurship

  • Division/Campus: Altman Institute of Entrepreneurship, Farmer School of Business; Oxford
  • Director: Brett Smith
  • Website

Center for Social Impact

  • Division/Campus: College of Liberal Arts & Applied Science; Regionals
  • Director: Collette Loskoch Thompson
  • Website

Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion

  • Division/Campus: Student Life; Oxford
  • Director: Dasha Wood
  • Website

Center for Teaching Excellence

  • Division/Campus: Office of Provost; Oxford
  • Director: Ellen Yezierski
  • Website

Discovery Center for Evaluation, Research & Professional Learning

  • Division/Campus: College of Education, Health & Society; Oxford
  • Director: Sarah Woodruff
  • Website

English Language Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Liberal Arts & Applied Science; Regionals
  • Director: Jerry Wright
  • Website

English Language Learner Writing Center

  • Division/Campus: Office of Provost; Oxford
  • Director: Larysa Bobrova
  • Website

Exploratory Studies, Office

  • Division/Campus: Office of Provost; Oxford
  • Director: Chelsea Potts
  • Website

Heckert Center for Children’s Reading and Writing

  • Division/Campus: College of Education, Health & Society; Oxford
  • Director: Paula Saine
  • Website

Isaac and Oxley Center for Business Leadership

  • Division/Campus: Farmer School of Business, Oxford
  • Director: Megan Gerhardt
  • Website

Mallory-Wilson Center for Healthcare Education

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science
  • Director: Joseph Carlin
  • Website

Miami University John E. Dolibois European Center (MUDEC)

  • Division/Campus: Global Initiatives; Oxford
  • Director: Raymond Manes
  • Website

Miller Center for Student Disability Services

  • Division/Campus: Student Life; Oxford
  • Director: Stephanie Dawson
  • Website

Ohio Small Business Development Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Liberal Arts & Applied Science; Regionals
  • Director: David Riggs
  • Website

Roger & Joyce Howe Center for Writing Excellence

  • Division/Campus: Office of Provost; Oxford
  • Director: Elizabeth Wardle
  • Website

Statistical Consulting Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Michael Hughes
  • Website

Student Success Center

  • Division/Campus: Enrollment Management & Student Success; Oxford
  • Director: Craig Bennett

Sue J. Henry Center for Pre-Law Education

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Elizabeth Zimmerman
  • Website

Tutoring & Learning Center

  • Division/Campus: College of Liberal Arts & Applied Science, Regionals
  • Director: Tori Myles
  • Website

Western Center for Social Impact & Innovation

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Jacqueline Daugherty
  • Website

Institutes

Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship

  • Division/Campus: Farmer School of Business; Oxford
  • Director: Tim Holcomb
  • Website

Armstrong Institute for Emerging Technology

  • Division/Campus: College of Creative Arts; Oxford
  • Director: Glenn Platt
  • Website

Institute for Environment and Sustainability

  • Division/Campus: College of Arts & Science; Oxford
  • Director: Jonathan Levy
  • Website

Institute for Responsible Gaming, Lotteries & Sport

  • Division/Campus: ASPIRE and College of Education, Health & Society; Oxford
  • Director: Randi Thomas
  • Website

Institute for Supply Chain Excellence

  • Division/Campus: Farmer School of Business; Oxford
  • Director: Monique Murfield
  • Website

More Information:

 Center & Institute Establishment Guidelines

Contact:

If any of the information on this page needs updating, please notify Carolyn Haynes, Senior Associate Provost, haynesca@miamioh.edu