Claire Beaumont

Off the Court

Miami (OH) alumni, as Claire Beaumont tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• Rita DoveFirst Black U.S. Poet Laureate

  Rita Dove, a Miami alumna, became the first African-American Poet Laureate of the United States. We do like to say this is a place for writers. She is the proof.

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• Jennifer BrunnerFirst woman Ohio secretary of state

  Jennifer Brunner, Miami class of 1978, was Ohio's forty-ninth secretary of state, from 2007 to 2011. Somebody has to run the elections in this state, and for four years it was a Miami graduate.

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• Brian NiccolStarbucks chief executive

  Brian Niccol, class of 1996, runs Starbucks. His 2024 compensation came to 97.8 million dollars, or 6,666 times the median employee's pay, with a commute of roughly a thousand miles on the company jet. We do hope he tips.

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• Benjamin Harrison23rd U.S. president

  Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third president of the United States, 1889 to 1893, was a Miami man. Not every school in this conference can put a president on the alumni list. We can.

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• Art ClokeyCreator of Gumby

  Art Clokey, claymation artist and creator of Gumby and Pokey, was a Miami alumnus. A president on one hand, a green clay figure on the other. We contain multitudes.

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