John Perry Miller papers

John Perry Miller, economist and academic administrator, was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on March 26, 1911. The son of Fred and Hilda Wagner Miller, he was educated at Harvard University, receiving his B.A. in 1932, M.A. in 1934, and Ph.D. in 1937. Dr. Miller joined the Yale faculty as visiting lecturer in economics after teaching briefly at Harvard and Princeton. He was appointed professor of economics in 1950, and served as the director of Social Sciences, one of three major faculty divisions, from 1959 to 1961. Dr. Miller was named dean of the Graduate School in 1961 and held that post until his resignation in 1969.

Dean Miller's tenure saw a number of major changes in graduate education at Yale. He established the joint M.D.-Ph.D. program, as well as the Master of Philosophy degree, the latter of which was the first of its kind in the United States. Dr. Miller also instituted a combined degree program allowing students to receive a Bachelor's and Master's degree in the same course of study. In 1962, Dean Miller served on the faculty committee that recommended admitting women as undergraduates.

Following his resignation as dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Miller was named Director of Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies, where he played a major role in the planning and negotiations leading to the establishment of the Yale School of Organization and Management. He resigned his directorship in 1974. During this time, he also led the Campaign for Yale, a capital fund-raising drive aimed at collecting $370 million for the university, as its chief executive officer from 1973 to 1977. Dr. Miller served as deputy provost from 1977 to 1978, then briefly resumed teaching economics before his retirement in 1981.

Dean Miller married Dorothy Marie Willard in 1942, and they had two children, Perry and Ann. He died on February 9, 1997, in Hamden, Connecticut.