By Julie Kemble Borths

Just after C. Michael Armstrong graduated from Miami University in 1961, the Berlin Wall went up, first as barbed wire and then concrete. It became a symbol of a world of walls and borders, of good guys and bad, of a free market that existed only in pockets of the world.

As his career took him through the ranks of IBM to chairman of IBM World Trade Corp., chairman and CEO of Hughes Electronics and AT&T, and finally chairman of Comcast, Armstrong saw the walls — literally and figuratively — come down.

“Global communications showed people around the world what was going on in the West,” he said. “They wanted to be a part of that free exchange of goods and ideas. The free-market system became global often by the click of a mouse.”

Armstrong, who lives in Naples, Fla., with his wife, Anne Gossett Armstrong ’61, is bringing his global, tech-savvy view to campus. This is making a “profound impact” on Miami’s commitment to integrate technology and teach the strength of convergence, said university officials, by crossing traditional academic disciplines to create business leaders who appreciate that the wisdom and skills of others make them “stronger, smarter, and more nimble.”

“It is not sufficient,” Armstrong said, “for today’s business school graduates to simply master a single discipline.”

That’s a change from when Armstrong earned a bachelor’s in business and economics from Miami and completed the advanced management curriculum at Dartmouth Institute. An enthusiastic supporter of higher education, he is chairman of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Hospital and Health Systems and vice chairman of Johns Hopkins University. He is also a visiting professor of the practice of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Glenn Platt, director of Miami’s Interactive Media Studies Program — the platform that launched AI — has been working with cross-disciplinary teams of students since 2000.

“AI is all about convergence,” he said. “By focusing on solving real business problems, the students learn that industry is not about their major, but rather about being part of a team, communicating with others, and understanding how the space where disciplines converge is where business innovation takes place. Traditionally, universities place information and digital technologies in their own boxes. AI creates a new model.”

A business major may not need to know how to program a router,” Armstrong added, “but a business major better know what a router is and what it does.”

In the coming years, AI will extend its reach further into the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) as new degree programs evolve and the AI Lab in SEAS opens. AI projects can also be used to fulfill capstone requirements — now part of all majors — that ensure students have integrated what they have learned.

At the same time, the AI project manager will identify opportunities for any program or department looking to extend learning experiences in technology and business.

AI also will provide a graduate student assistant who will work with faculty who want to integrate technology experiences into their classes and use communication technologies to link Oxford and industry leaders. Armstrong’s gift will allow the construction of cutting-edge communication spaces where students can work with clients from around the world.

For example, AI worked for an HP client in Brussels earlier this fall and is currently working for Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm, communicating with offices as far away as Dubai and Tokyo. And while AI took 21 students to Shanghai, China, this summer for a client project, Platt believes this was just scratching the surface.

“With Armstong Interactive,” he said, “Miami is perfectly positioned to cultivate globally aware problem solvers and the next generation of successful broad-based visionary business leaders like Mike Armstrong.”

To sample AI’s award-winning work or to find out about becoming a client, visit www.muohio.edu/ims.

Julie Kemble Borths is publications assistant for University Advancement at Miami.

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