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A grant worth $90,000 will be used by Miami University for a survey of historic buildings, structures and designed landscapes on the Oxford campus.

The Getty Foundation grant is intended to be used for a comprehensive survey and aid in the preservation efforts on behalf of the Georgian Revival style buildings.

According to Stephen Gordon, curator at the William Holmes McGuffey Museum, the application process to find a consultant to work with Miami on the survey should begin this month with interviews in the early fall.

The survey is scheduled to begin in January of 2008 with the final report due in July of 2009 and followed by a public presentation to be delivered the same year.

The preservation effort is intended to be part of Miami's bicentennial celebration and will be focusing on more than 80 buildings built before 1961; this includes structures like the Tri-Delt sundial, Western bridges, and the WRA cabin.

The survey proposal includes hiring a professional consultant to collaborate with Miami's project planning team. The consultant will prepare a historic preservation plan that will be incorporated into the university's master plan, helping guide campus renovations and facilitate physical expansion in the years ahead.

"The project will enable the university to identify its most significant building resources and better plan for the inevitable growth and changes that lie ahead," President David Hodge said.

Also, a new Presidential Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation Planning will provide guidance regarding campus historic preservation issues. As part of the project's outreach the university will coordinate historic preservation planning efforts with the city of Oxford and community residents.

The preservation plan will "...not be treating the university as an island unto itself, but rather as it exists within the community," Gordon said.

Findings will be maintained in user-friendly electronic and print formats readily accessible to university staff, students and the public.

The $90,000 grant is low compared to the majority of 2007 recipients, but the survey will be less demanding than some other campuses.

"Miami University's funding requirements within the Getty Grant are lower than many other schools because the university has well established building maintenance specifications and practices," Gordon said.

"American colleges and universities are frequently unique repositories of some of the country's finest historic architecture and designed landscapes," said Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation. "While other buildings may have had a variety of owners and uses over the years, campus buildings have for the most part remained under the same stewardship, which presents wonderful opportunities for preservation and education."

The Getty Foundation provides support to institutions and individuals throughout the world, funding a range of projects that promote the understanding and conservation of the visual arts. Since 2002, through its Campus Heritage Initiative, the foundation has awarded grants to 86 colleges and universities for preservation planning, as well as funding surveys of hundreds of small liberal arts colleges. The current round of grants represents the final year of the initiative.

2007 Campus Heritage Grant Recipients

• Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., $160,000

• Clemson University, Clemson, S.C., $160,000

• Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vt., $120,000

• Miami University, Oxford, $90,000

• Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pa., $130,000

• Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pa., $200,000

• University of California San Diego, San Diego, Calif., $99,800

• Rocky Mountain College, Billings, Mont., $110,000

• Talladega College, Talladega, Ala., $90,000

• University at Albany Foundation, Albany, N.Y., $180,000

• The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., $170,000

• University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, $100,000

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C., $100,000

• University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, $175,000

• Virginia Union University, Richmond, Va., $120,000