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Armstrongs establish AIMS Scholars at Miami

Gift from Mike '61 and Anne '61 benefits students in Interactive Media Studies

By Josh Chapin, assistant director editorial services, university advancement.

mike-and-ann-armstrongMiami University recently announced a $6 million donation from Mike and Anne Gossett Armstrong (both Miami '61) that will establish the Mike and Anne Armstrong Interactive Media Studies (AIMS) Scholars.

Awarded to incoming first-year students majoring in Interactive Media Studies with a preference to those with demonstrated financial need, the scholarships are renewable and may be awarded to the recipient for up to four years.

The Armstrongs’ desire to help students in need comes from persevering through hardships. Mike was forced to leave Miami as a student after losing his football scholarship due to an injury. Needing to earn a living wage and with no college education at the time, he worked a year on the docks of Detroit before returning to Miami to finish school, ultimately graduating with a degree in business.

“Supporting Miami students in need is one of our priorities,” Mike said. “We want to give deserving students opportunities to enrich their lives as much as they possibly can from their Miami education.”

Mike and Anne in previous years had provided the lead gifts of $15 million for the Armstrong Student Center and $14.7 million for the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies.

“Mike and Anne Armstrong are great Miamians,” Miami President Gregory Crawford said of the Miami Merger couple, celebrating their 58th anniversary this year. “They show their generosity to their alma mater by engaging with our students, supporting our academic excellence and student experience, and living out their lives with Love and Honor. We are thankful for their continued support and mentorship.”

Now retired, Mike was chairman and director emeritus of Comcast Corporation and the former chairman and CEO of AT&T and Hughes Electronics. He has served on Miami’s Board of Trustees, the AIMS Advisory Board, his class reunion committee, the Campaign for Love and Honor Steering Committee, Corporate Gifts Committee and the Business Advisory Council.

Mike recently was awarded the 2019 Earnest T. Stewart Award for Alumni Volunteer Involvement from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This national honor recognizes an individual for service to one’s alma mater and is the highest distinction CASE presents to an alumni volunteer.

“The Armstrongs are steadfast supporters of Miami who understand the impact scholarships have on the lives of our students,” said Tom Herbert, Miami’s senior vice president for University Advancement. “Their unwavering commitment to Miami is, and will continue to be, a force for good for the university.”