Paul Miller, WVU’s 15th
president, who passed away June 5 at age 98 in Montrose, Colorado, began on
campus as the 1962 football team under Coach Gene Corum went 8-2 overall and
4-0 in the Southern Conference with Jerry Yost at quarterback (Monongah High’s
Bill Fleming, on the 1968 and 1969 unbeaten Monongah High teams, was his backup QB) and Tom Woodeshick and Glen Holton gaining most
of the ground yardage.
The only losses were to Oregon State and, of course,
Penn State, which had a winning streak of about two decades against the
Mountaineers.
 |
| Paul Miller |
Long-time WVU athletic director Ed
Pastilong joined the football team in Miller’s second year as a quarterback.
Miller was appointed U.S. Health Education
Welfare Secretary in 1966.
Since its founding in 1867 on the grounds of Monongalia Academy of
1814, the Morgantown Female Academy of 1831 and Woodburn Female Seminary of
1858, WVU has had 24 presidents, beginning with
the Rev. Alexander Martin of Scotland (Martin Hall is named for him) to the
current E. Gordon Gee, who previously had the job in 1981-85.
Gee has twice served as president of Ohio
State, from 1990-1997 and 2007-2013. He was also president of Vanderbilt
University (2000-2007), Brown University (1998-2000), the University of
Colorado (1985-1990) and WVU (1981-1985; Jan.-Feb. 2014; and March 2014 and
beyond). He also served as the dean of the WVU College of Law from 1979-1981.
Paul Miller received valuable advice about college from his Extension
agent as a child in Hancock County, West Virginia. Later, as a higher
education leader and West Virginia University's 15th president, Miller would
make Extension an even more powerful tool for improving lives.
The innovative Extension model Miller created is helping WVU in redefining engagement for the 21st century, according to current President E. Gordon Gee.
“Even now, a half-century later, many of nation's Extension offices still reside in university agricultural programs,” Gee said. “Because WVU Extension is an autonomous unit, its experts have the freedom to collaborate with educators from across all university disciplines. Extension gives West Virginians the latest knowledge about science, technology, health, education and economic development. That is a powerful legacy of Dr. Miller's that will continue to improve lives for 1.8 million West Virginians for decades to come.”
Miller's childhood 4-H experiences inspired his educational goals.
“My involvement in 4-H helped to make me a good student, and I became valedictorian of my class," Miller once said. "I began to dream of becoming a county 4-H and agricultural agent,” he once said. “My parents didn't really know what it meant to go to college, nor did I. Hancock County WVU Extension Agent Walter C. Gumbel insisted that I become the first of my family line to have that experience. He was first among those who helped my parents and me to understand college attendance as more than an impossible dream.”
Miller attended Bethany College for one year at the height of the Great Depression, before transferring to WVU and working his way through school. When he graduated, Extension Director J.O. Knapp invited him to serve as an agent in Ritchie County.
“The boyhood dream was reborn and I accepted on the spot,” Miller remembered.
He served as an agent in both Ritchie and Nicholas counties before joining the military when the United States entered World War II. In the U.S. Army Air Corps, he served as a navigator in the AAF Ferry Command. After the war ended, he enrolled in graduate studies at Michigan State University and earned a Ph.D. in anthropology and sociology in 1953.
Miller then launched what was to become a 50+ year academic career, first at Michigan State where he served as a faculty member, Director of Cooperative Extension, and provost. In 1962, he became president of West Virginia University.
With his background with Extension, Miller made expanding the University's land-grant service mission a major priority. At that time, Extension programs generally operated out of schools of agriculture.
“I felt Extension was so powerful that it needed to come out of that narrowly defined role and become an arm of the whole university,” Miller said. “We created the Center for Appalachian Studies and Development to house all the University's outreach programs. It was relatively unique nationally at that time. Though the center no longer exists in name, Extension still acts as an arm of the whole university. I think this was a unique contribution that I was able to make as president.”
Miller built such a strong reputation for academic and service leadership that President Lyndon Johnson appointed him the first Assistant Secretary for Education in the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare in 1966.
After two years in that role and a year as professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, he served for a decade as president of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). After stepping down as president, he continued to serve as a professor there. Following retirement from RIT, he served as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia well into his 90s.
Miller chronicled his career in a memoir, Bridging Campus and Community.
“Dr. Miller was a true inspiration for many in WVU Extension and its statewide 4-H program, and I am deeply saddened at his passing,” said WVU Dean and Director of Extension Steve Bonanno. “He attributed the beginning of his successful career to 4-H and his WVU Extension agent who introduced him to the idea of attending college. Over the years, he did the same for many young people, encouraging them to dream big and go to college. He is truly an example of the possibilities in 4-H to make the best better.”
In 2006, Miller and his wife created the Paul A. and Francena L. Miller Presidential Scholarship at WVU, which provides an eligible 4-Her a guaranteed $3,000 a year for four years. They also created an endowment to support the WVU Libraries' West Virginia and Regional Collection.
Francena, Miller's wife of 44 years, passed away in 2010. He was also preceded in death by his first wife Catherine Spiker Miller and his son Thomas A. Miller. He is survived by his daughter Paula Miller Nolan, son-in-law Michael F. Nolan and faithful canine companion Ben of Montrose, Colorado; grandsons Ryan Thrush of Delta, Colorado; Evan Thrush of San Anselmo, California, and Christopher Nolan of San Tan Valley, Arizona; and seven great-grandchildren.
Contributions in his memory can be made to HopeWest, Montrose, Colorado. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.
The innovative Extension model Miller created is helping WVU in redefining engagement for the 21st century, according to current President E. Gordon Gee.
“Even now, a half-century later, many of nation's Extension offices still reside in university agricultural programs,” Gee said. “Because WVU Extension is an autonomous unit, its experts have the freedom to collaborate with educators from across all university disciplines. Extension gives West Virginians the latest knowledge about science, technology, health, education and economic development. That is a powerful legacy of Dr. Miller's that will continue to improve lives for 1.8 million West Virginians for decades to come.”
Miller's childhood 4-H experiences inspired his educational goals.
“My involvement in 4-H helped to make me a good student, and I became valedictorian of my class," Miller once said. "I began to dream of becoming a county 4-H and agricultural agent,” he once said. “My parents didn't really know what it meant to go to college, nor did I. Hancock County WVU Extension Agent Walter C. Gumbel insisted that I become the first of my family line to have that experience. He was first among those who helped my parents and me to understand college attendance as more than an impossible dream.”
Miller attended Bethany College for one year at the height of the Great Depression, before transferring to WVU and working his way through school. When he graduated, Extension Director J.O. Knapp invited him to serve as an agent in Ritchie County.
“The boyhood dream was reborn and I accepted on the spot,” Miller remembered.
He served as an agent in both Ritchie and Nicholas counties before joining the military when the United States entered World War II. In the U.S. Army Air Corps, he served as a navigator in the AAF Ferry Command. After the war ended, he enrolled in graduate studies at Michigan State University and earned a Ph.D. in anthropology and sociology in 1953.
Miller then launched what was to become a 50+ year academic career, first at Michigan State where he served as a faculty member, Director of Cooperative Extension, and provost. In 1962, he became president of West Virginia University.
With his background with Extension, Miller made expanding the University's land-grant service mission a major priority. At that time, Extension programs generally operated out of schools of agriculture.
“I felt Extension was so powerful that it needed to come out of that narrowly defined role and become an arm of the whole university,” Miller said. “We created the Center for Appalachian Studies and Development to house all the University's outreach programs. It was relatively unique nationally at that time. Though the center no longer exists in name, Extension still acts as an arm of the whole university. I think this was a unique contribution that I was able to make as president.”
Miller built such a strong reputation for academic and service leadership that President Lyndon Johnson appointed him the first Assistant Secretary for Education in the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare in 1966.
After two years in that role and a year as professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, he served for a decade as president of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). After stepping down as president, he continued to serve as a professor there. Following retirement from RIT, he served as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia well into his 90s.
Miller chronicled his career in a memoir, Bridging Campus and Community.
“Dr. Miller was a true inspiration for many in WVU Extension and its statewide 4-H program, and I am deeply saddened at his passing,” said WVU Dean and Director of Extension Steve Bonanno. “He attributed the beginning of his successful career to 4-H and his WVU Extension agent who introduced him to the idea of attending college. Over the years, he did the same for many young people, encouraging them to dream big and go to college. He is truly an example of the possibilities in 4-H to make the best better.”
In 2006, Miller and his wife created the Paul A. and Francena L. Miller Presidential Scholarship at WVU, which provides an eligible 4-Her a guaranteed $3,000 a year for four years. They also created an endowment to support the WVU Libraries' West Virginia and Regional Collection.
Francena, Miller's wife of 44 years, passed away in 2010. He was also preceded in death by his first wife Catherine Spiker Miller and his son Thomas A. Miller. He is survived by his daughter Paula Miller Nolan, son-in-law Michael F. Nolan and faithful canine companion Ben of Montrose, Colorado; grandsons Ryan Thrush of Delta, Colorado; Evan Thrush of San Anselmo, California, and Christopher Nolan of San Tan Valley, Arizona; and seven great-grandchildren.
Contributions in his memory can be made to HopeWest, Montrose, Colorado. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.
No comments:
Post a Comment