by Miami of Middletown staff:
Miami Middletown student athletes Jonathan Evans and Shelby Pettus have been named recipients of the 2007 C. Eugene Bennett Award at Miami University Middletown.
Evans, a freshman from Springboro majoring in business, is a member of the MUM baseball team. He earned Academic All-Conference honors this year with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He is the son of David and Becky Evans of Springboro.
Pettus, a sophomore sports studies major from Monroe, is a member of the MUM women's basketball team. She has earned Academic All-Conference for the past two years and currently has a GPA of 3.9. She is the daughter of Skip and Marsha Pettus of Monroe.
The C. Eugene Bennett Award was established in 1985 in honor of Dr. Bennett, Miami University Middletown's first executive director (1965-1986), in recognition of his emphasis on scholarship and his strong support of the Middletown campus athletic program. This award is presented annually to the male and female student athletes with the highest grade point average for the academic year.
About Eugene Bennett (Source: Library of Miami University, Middletown)
On the northeastern edge of Middletown, originally the George M. Verity estate, including a deer park and golf course, these grounds became the campus of Miami University-Middletown.
Under the executive direction of C. Eugene Bennett, Miami 1948, and the guidance of Dean Earl V. Thesken, the institution flourished. To its first buildings--Logan Johnston Hall, Gardiner-Harvey Library, Verity Student Center--(names from the paper and steel industries)--have been added the Finkleman Auditorium and the Thesken Hall of Science and Technology.
Nature trails, gardens, terraces, and outdoor sculptures enhance the hill-and-dale setting. Secluded and serene, the atmosphere at MUM helps students to find their own identity and encourages personal relationships between students and faculty. It is perhaps the most friendly and certainly the most attractive community college in the land.