From teaching to farming: the retirement of Annie-Laurie Blair

After working at Miami since 2004, Blair is retiring from teaching.

While finishing her bachelor’s degrees in news writing and political science from the University of Missouri, Blair worked as a correspondent reporter for the Kansas City Times, now known as the Kansas City Star, for four months.

But Blair turned down a reporting position in Manhattan, Kansas, following graduation. Instead, she joined the army.

“I lived in Japan, lived in Korea [and] served with the 101st Airborne Division,” Blair said. “I earned my wings, my Air Assault Wings … I was the first woman that the 101st Airborne Division ever let graduate from … the sniper school.”

Cincinnati Enquirer.

Bruce Drushel, a professor in the media, journalism, and film department, said Blair is dutifully committed to her involvement as a professor.

“She also has been very active with graduate education here on campus, not just undergraduate [education],” Drushel said. “That’s, I think, an example of where she has kind of been willing to extend herself … to do things that are beyond what are really expected.”

Blair is well-known for her role as director of Miami’s Inside Washington program and her advising positions in the student publications UP Magazine and GreenHawks Media.

She’s connected many students with internships, especially through the Inside Washington program. Morgan Schneider, a senior journalism and environmental science major, recounted that Blair helped her get two internships, one of which was for the Inside Washington program through a personal connection of Blair’s.

Schneider was the only journalism major in the program and felt that if it had been run by a professor from another department, they might not have had the same set of connections that fit so well with her majors.

“I would have been kind of overlooked,” Schneider said.

On campus, Schneider said that Blair’s previous work in environmental communications helped create a space for students like her to blend science and communication together.

When Bridget Vis, a 2013 Miami alumna, did not attend a staff meeting for Miami University’s student publication GreenHawks Media, journalism and environmental science professor Annie-Laurie Blair knew something was wrong.

Blair learned Vis was at McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital.

“I came back from some procedure. I was still super groggy, and I’m opening my eyes,” Vis said. “I can still see it clear as day. There’s Annie sitting there … and so the fact that she cared enough about me to come to the hospital to check in-person if I was OK meant the world to me.”

Blair worked as a military intelligence analyst for four years with the army, then as a military intelligence technical writer for Boeing Aerospace for one year before applying to graduate school.

At Boston University, Blair earned her master’s in journalism. She worked for various news outlets, including the Ithaca Journal, Star-Gazette, Cincy Magazine, Dayton Daily News and

Blair now plans to work in environmental education and teach children in urban areas about growing and cooking food. She and her husband own 65 acres of land in upstate New York and hope to farm it one day.

“I feel like I’m young,” Blair said, “and I want to do some other good stuff.” sanderhp@miamioh.edu

RAQUEL HIRSCH STAFF WRITER

For Jane Lance, teaching at Miami University is all about relationships. From students to families and colleagues, Lance never grew tired in her role as an educator for more than 30 years because each new interaction re-energized her.

“That’s what I really enjoy,” Lance said. “Getting to know all the students.”

After the spring 2023 semester ends, Lance, an assistant clinical lecturer in the educational psychology department, will retire from Miami.

Lance started at Miami eight years ago. She spent her first two years working at both the Middletown and Hamilton campuses as an instructional designer and then moved to the Oxford campus six years ago.

Before she came to the university to teach, Lance graduated from Miami in 1984 with a degree in special education. She worked in the public school system as both a second-grade teacher and intervention specialist in Wyoming, Ohio.

Lance has taught classes in both the inclusive special education and primary education programs at Miami. She also helped develop the dual pathway program which allows primary education majors to earn a special education license.

“That’s sort of my niche,” Lance said. “Teaching future educators about how to teach all students in their classrooms.”

Though Lance retired from the public school system, she decided to teach at Miami after working as an adjunct professor.

“I didn’t feel like I was done working,” Lance said. “I just felt like if I’m not gonna teach the little people, I’d like to teach the people who are going to teach the little people.”

Throughout her career, Lance’s proudest moment is helping develop the dual pathway program for education majors. The program currently hosts three cohorts since its planning began in 2019.

“The teacher education program and the special education program have been very siloed over the years,” Lance said. “And so just developing those relationships to do away with those silos and bring the people together and understand that we’re here for all students, not just kids with typical needs.”

In addition to piloting new programs, Lance has enjoyed working with her students.

“[My favorite part was] getting to know them and seeing how they grow and develop as [future] teachers, as people and educators,” Lance said. “I love getting to know the students, and my colleagues are really awesome.”

Sarah Watt, an associate professor of special education, is a colleague of Lance’s in the educational psychology department.

“Jane is just incredibly innovative,” Watt said. “She cares deeply about her students and she cares deeply about their learning, and even in her last few weeks here, she is changing assignments and getting feedback from students and working to make our program better.”

The class sizes in the education department are typically smaller since many are grouped off into specific cohorts, which helps Lance focus on her relationships within the classroom.

“The thing is, no matter how big her class is, she can tell you every student’s name,” Watt said. “She just really has that personal connection with students and wants them to succeed in both their personal and professional life.”

Emily Kizior, a senior primary education major with a special education minor, is one of

Lance’s current students in EDP 494: Assessment, Evaluation and Educational Planning for Learners with Exceptionalities.

“[Lance] shows [us how] to have that care for your students,” Kizior said. “Especially with special ed, she shows [how] to think outside the box and … see them for all their strengths.”

For now, Lance doesn’t have any specific plans for her retirement.

“I’m just hoping to enjoy life a little bit more,” Lance said. “More time with my family, being