The University of Akron Board of Trustees today announced the selection of Gary L. Miller, Ph.D., as the University’s 18th president. Miller currently serves as Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. He will assume duties in Akron on Oct. 1, 2019.
Gary L. Miller
“After a careful, thorough and inclusive candidate search, our Board of Trustees unanimously chose Dr. Miller to lead The University of Akron into the future,” said Board Chair Joseph M. Gingo. “Dr. Miller has an outstanding record as an effective higher education leader and consensus builder. He brings not only two decades of senior-level higher education leadership, but also first-hand experience as a member of the teaching faculty and as a researcher. My Board colleagues and I believe he is the right person at the right time to lead our University.”
Interim President Dr. John C. Green will continue in that role until October, then serve as special assistant to the president for strategy and transition until Jan. 31, 2020. While serving as special assistant to Miller, Dr. Green also will retain his titles of director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, and distinguished professor of political science.
President-elect Miller said, “I am honored and excited by the prospect of leading the faculty and staff of The University of Akron. They have done much in a very short time to ready this University for reaffirmation, renewal, innovation and growth. I see a university well positioned for the creative institutional and community discussions needed to develop a new, forward-projecting design.”
Academic and administrative credentials
Miller has served as chancellor of UW-Green Bay since 2014. His administrative credentials also include roles as chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington; provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at Wichita State University; and dean of the College of the Pacific (arts and sciences) at the University of the Pacific.
He earned a doctorate in biological sciences from Mississippi State University, and co-authored the widely used textbook, Ecology, while serving as a professor and chair of the biology department at the University of Mississippi. Miller earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in biology from the College of William and Mary. He and his wife, Georgia, have three adult children.
‘Great optimism’
Board Chair Gingo said, “I want to extend my thanks to Board members and the elected leaders of the six key university constituency groups who participated in the presidential search process. These individuals provided valuable insights, opinions and observations that helped inform the Board’s selection of Dr. Miller.”
Interim President Green added, “I commend the selection committee on a fine choice for this vital position. The selection of Dr. Miller as the 18th president of this University is cause for great optimism and enthusiasm.”
The UA Board has appointed a Presidential Transition Committee led by Board Chair Gingo that includes Trustees Lewis W. Adkins, Jr., Alfred V. Ciraldo, Olivia P. Demas and Student Trustee Taylor Bennington. The committee will coordinate President-elect Miller’s meetings with University and local leaders, as well as other aspects of the seven-week transition period.