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CINCINNATI (AP) — It was at the college in John Boehner's home county in southwest Ohio where his successor as House speaker, Paul Ryan, has said he found himself — a place where he took a deep dive into conservative philosophies while dipping his toe into congressional politics.
Ryan, elected speaker Thursday, arrived at Miami University in 1988 after his father's death from a heart attack and found comfort and challenge amid the red-brick Georgian buildings on the small-town campus near the Indiana border, some 40 miles north of Cincinnati. He joined Delta Tau Delta at a school long known for its Greek life and distinguished himself with professors who remember him decades later as a hard-working student with an intellectual curiosity beyond homework and exams.
"I came to Oxford after a very difficult high school experience in which I lost my father," Ryan said at his alma mater in 2009, when he and then-U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, a Cincinnati Democrat and fellow Miami alum, were the commencement speakers. "It is here at Miami where I was able to find myself. I found a sense of direction and a sense of identity."
While a student, he spent many hours talking with a favorite economics professor, Rich Hart, discussing the writings of such conservative thinkers as F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand. Hart, now a professor emeritus, said Ryan came to Miami with core beliefs that he honed with his studies, strengthening his belief in empowering individuals. Ryan has credited Hart with setting him on "a vision quest" to improve the nation's economic approach.
Hart doesn't recall Ryan talking about running for office, but wasn't surprised when he got into politics. Ryan joined the College Republicans and knocked on doors as a low-level volunteer for Boehner in the House district the West Chester Republican is retiring from in his 13th term. Ryan joined Boehner in Congress as a GOP representative from Wisconsin just seven years after his 1992 graduation.
Hart, who has kept in touch with Ryan over the years, said he had mixed feelings when Ryan finally decided to seek the speakership, a daunting challenge in the fractious House. But he thinks he is a good choice for the Republicans and will be proactive with smart ideas for solutions.
"He's a guy that all these disparate groups in the House can coalesce around," Hart said. "That's why I think he'll be so effective."
Ryan returned to the campus in Butler County three years ago as Mitt Romney's running mate in the presidential election and said then he spent much of his "formative years" in Oxford. He also reminisced about student eating favorites such as Cincinnati-based Skyline Chili's five-ways and Oxford's eclectic Bagel & Deli Shop.
Another Miami alum — Rep. Susan Brooks ('82), R-Indiana, who is on the Select Committee on Benghazi — is in his House ranks, and Ryan as speaker would become second in line to the presidency, an office once held by another Miami alumnus.
That would be Benjamin J. Harrison, Class of '52 — 1852.
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This story has been clarified to show that Ryan and then-Rep. Steve Driehaus, a Cincinnati Democrat and a Miami alumnus, both spoke at the 2009 commencement.
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