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Memorial Service for Thomas A. Dutton

Celebrating the life and legacy of Miami's Professor of Architecture

A memorial service celebrating the life and legacy of Thomas A. Dutton will be held on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. located in the Dolibois Room in the Shriver Center on the Oxford campus. A formal program will begin at 2 p.m. with light refreshments to follow. The Oxford community as well as family, friends, and alumni are invited to attend.

Tom Dutton spent his entire academic career at Miami University, teaching in the Department of Architecture and Interior Design from 1977 until his death in June, 2017 at the age of 65. Among many other accomplishments, he founded Miami’s Center for Community Engagement in Cincinnati that has provided students opportunities to experience hands-on, inter-cultural service learning. He held the endowed title of Cincinnati Professor of Community Engagement, a title he embodied in both his work and his life. 

Tom continued to work and teach full-time throughout his 8-month treatment for pancreatic cancer. A month before his passing he attended Miami's graduation ceremony. 

The Thomas A. Dutton Legacy Fund

Through trust and relationships built up over time, the Center for Community Engagement fosters collaborations between Miami University and community groups in Over-the-Rhine in order to provide opportunities for student, faculty, and community learning in cross-disciplinary and inter-cultural experiences. The purpose of the Thomas A Dutton In Memorium Fund at Miami University will be to sustain the Center and its educational programs, and to foster the values and goals of racial, economic, and social justice it embodies.

Tom was a caring and passionate person whose life’s work was to serve the underserved and the poor, and to fight for basic civil and human rights for all. His deep wish was that this work continues beyond his death. Current and former students, colleagues, friends and family have the same wish to further his legacy.

Gifts to the Tom Dutton Legacy Fund in memory and honor of Professor Dutton may be made online or by mail at the Miami University Foundation, 725 East Chestnut, Oxford, OH 45056. 

Learn more about Dutton’s life and work>>