About Miami University
Miami University, in the small city of Oxford, Ohio, is tucked away near the southwestern corner of the state, in Butler County, approximately forty miles northwest of Cincinnati and forty miles southwest of Dayton, not far from the Indiana and Kentucky borders. Conclave was held here twice before, in 2014 and 2017. Oxford is very much a college town, with a modest selection of restaurants and shops, all a short walk from the campus.
Photo credit: American Galvanizers Association
Conclave housing will be in Beechwoods and Hillcrest Halls, LEED certified buildings, each with ample common areas, kitchenettes, and a full kitchen opening onto an expansive lounge on the ground floor. Classes will take place, for the most part, in the residence halls. The Vendors’ Emporium will also be conveniently located there. The residence halls share a patio between their entrances, with a picturesque pond beside it. This
Getting to Miami University
By air: Cincinnati/Northern International Airport (CVG) and Dayton International Airport (DAY) are both about an hour’s drive; Indianapolis International Airport and Columbus International Airport are about two hours away.
By car: State Route 27 and State Route 73 are the local highways into Oxford, with I‑70 to the north, I‑75 to the east, and I‑74 to the south. More details about directions can be found here.
outdoor seating area provides an ideal spot for relaxing, gathering with friends, or even some outdoor consort playing!
Our dorms, dining hall (Western Dining Commons), and Kumler Chapel–the venue for our Thursday and Friday evening concerts–are all situated on Miami University’s Western Campus. Formerly Western College for Women until it merged with Miami University in 1974, this part of the campus is notable for its gray stone buildings, curving paths, and picturesque stone bridges criss crossing creeks and connecting grassy hilltops. Kumler Chapel, completed in 1918, built of Fieldstone in Gothic-Romanesque style and inspired by a 9th-Century church in Normandy, is a beautiful and resonant space for our concerts. Alongside the chapel is the Freedom Summer Memorial, made of stone panels engraved with newspaper headlines and other bits of information telling the story of the 1964 Freedom Summer and honoring of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, activists who were killed while working to register Black voters in Mississippi. Western College had hosted training sessions in non-violent resistance to prepare students for their Freedom Summer work in Mississippi.
Like Conclaves in 2014 and 2017, our opening evening gathering, the Live Auction, and the Banquet will all be held in the Heritage Room of Shriver Hall. For the student concert and Town Meeting we will be in Wilkes Theater in the Armstrong Student Center.
Planning for your Wednesday afternoon and evening off, you might explore the campus with a visit to the University Art Museum and Sculpture Park, a walk along the numerous walking trails in the university’s nature preserves, or check out the university’s Recreational Sports Center with its Olympic-size swimming pool. If you’re thinking of venturing slightly farther afield, Hueston Woods State Park, well known for its abundant marine fossils, is seven miles north of the campus. Enjoy Oxford, with an office in Oxford, and Butler County Tourist information both have lots of information, including maps and brochures for self-guided tours in Oxford and the surrounding area.