A generous gift establishes the Gary and Glenda Philbin Farmer School of Business Passport Support Fund and the Dr. Bruce Olson Passport Scholars Scholarship.

The Passport Program is a comprehensive four year high-touch student success program for students beginning in their first year on the Oxford campus who have been accepted to Miami University and directly admitted to the Farmer School of Business. Passport targets talented students who have strong academic credentials and have an interest in studying business. Passport students will receive comprehensive academic support along with professional development and service learning opportunities.

Farmer School Dean Jenny Darroch was especially pleased with the nature of the gift, “This gift will directly impact our ability to attract, support and retain talented students who provide a diversity of voice, thought and experiences that is very important to the Farmer School. Gary and Glenda’s thoughtfulness will positively impact not only the lives of the students, but of their families and communities as well.”

Gary Philbin, a 1979 accountancy graduate, noted, “This endowment represents our interest in two important areas. We benefited from our parents all being first-generation students. We hope this scholarship can accomplish the same."

"Secondly, my career was assisted by many of the great faculty at Miami, and one in particular was Dr. Bruce Olson (Professor Emeritus). He was able to encourage and teach the fundamentals in a way that, even if you weren’t a finance major, delivered common sense, practical teachings, that I’ve used throughout my career. He was also an advisor for our fraternity, and always made time to guide students in scholastic or personal vocations, even after graduation. We wanted to honor his efforts and his memory with scholarships with the creation of the Dr. Bruce Olson Scholar program.”