President Miller Story

[89rabbit]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...612240325/1001

'Yes we can'
SDSU's D-I president leaves legacy of growth

PUBLISHED: December 24, 2006
Peggy Miller stands before an audience of South Dakota State University alumni and ticks off her cherished memories during an era of sweeping change.

With retirement clearly in sight now, the high-octane president of South Dakota's largest university could tout her leadership of SDSU's successful charge into the 21st century - everything from its booming enrollment to its new research park to its successful jump to NCAA Division I athletics.

Instead, the 69-year-old Miller prefers stories of teamwork, of amazing acts, of caring people. For they best define her nine years at the school, Miller says. And collectively, they confirm the one lesson she hopes she has imparted at SDSU when she gives way Jan. 1 to its 19th president, David Chicoine.

"If I'm lucky enough to have a legacy," Miller says in her Kentucky accent, "it's that the university faculty and students will never again let anyone tell them that they can't do something, and that they will have the confidence to compete in whatever they choose."

Of course, her legacy will include much more than that. . . . (read more)


Go State!

[jackmd]

Re: President Miller Story

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061224/NEWS/612240325/1001

'Yes we can'
SDSU's D-I president leaves legacy of growth

PUBLISHED: December 24, 2006
Peggy Miller stands before an audience of South Dakota State University alumni and ticks off her cherished memories during an era of sweeping change.

With retirement clearly in sight now, the high-octane president of South Dakota's largest university could tout her leadership of SDSU's successful charge into the 21st century - everything from its booming enrollment to its new research park to its successful jump to NCAA Division I athletics.

Instead, the 69-year-old Miller prefers stories of teamwork, of amazing acts, of caring people. For they best define her nine years at the school, Miller says. And collectively, they confirm the one lesson she hopes she has imparted at SDSU when she gives way Jan. 1 to its 19th president, David Chicoine.

"If I'm lucky enough to have a legacy," Miller says in her Kentucky accent, "it's that the university faculty and students will never again let anyone tell them that they can't do something, and that they will have the confidence to compete in whatever they choose."

Of course, her legacy will include much more than that.  .  .  .  (read more)


Go State!  

I like these highlighted points:

Academic scholarships at SDSU have increased from 1,739 to 4,177, and scholarship dollars went from $1.25 million to $4.4 million.

The school moved to Division I-AA in football, and Division I in all other sports, adding women's soccer and equestrian to its athletic offerings.

Research funding for SDSU in 2006 was up 300 percent from 1997 levels, with total grant and contract income of $141.2 million in 2006.

In 2005, the university was moved to a higher Carnegie Foundation designation as a National Research University with high research activity.

More than $72 million was spent on new buildings and renovations, such as the Yeager Hall addition for journalism, the South Dakota Art Museum addition, construction of the Performing Arts Center and the new Caldwell Hall dormitory, and renovation of the Student Union.

During Miller's term as president, the SDSU Foundation's assets have grown from $55 million to about $100 million.

If you, your friends, or family don't appreciate how much the move to DI has meant for academics at SDSU, please point this out to them. The correlation is direct and real. Some may continue to be critical and deny the importance of the DI designation for the institution as a whole, but they can't ignore the facts. Well, they can, but thats their problem.

[filbert]

Re: President Miller Story

The point is, of course, that the D-I athletics move was part of an overall university-wide strategy, rather than a reaction to external events.

Research, academic programs, and campus infrastructure were all in need of upgrades at SDSU just as much as athletics was. It's just that sports gets its own section in newspapers, while research doesn't.

[Haldersham]

Re: President Miller Story

This part of the article was news to me. It does however reflect Dr Miller's sensitivity and care for all in the SDSU family:
quote:
Others on campus were impressed with the stance Miller took on the controversy about the University of North Dakota's team nickname, the Fighting Sioux. Miller wrote a letter to the UND president and asked that its athletes not wear the team logo when competing against South Dakota State. She also asked that they be referred to only by their school name and not their nickname when they went up against SDSU athletic teams.

She did so, Miller says, because Native American students at SDSU found the nickname offensive.

Doris Giago, a Lakota and a journalism instructor at SDSU, was one of the many who appreciated that stand.

"I thanked her for that, and for all her interest in the Native American culture," Giago says. "She didn't just talk about it. She was an active participant."