Miller to be honored by continuing education hall of fame

University Park, Pa. -- Gary E. Miller, associate vice president for outreach and executive director of the World Campus at Penn State, will be inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the continuing and distance education field.

Created in 1995, the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of continuing education and adult learning. The induction ceremony will take place March 3 in Austin, Texas, during the Academy for Human Resource Development's annual conference. A plaque honoring the class of 2004 inductees, the ninth group to receive this honor, will be displayed in the hall of fame at the Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, located at the University of Oklahoma.

The hall of fame organization called this year's inductees "innovative leaders [who] have believed passionately in the evolutionary power of education. All are themselves exemplary lifelong learners and have left lasting impressions on the students, institutions and organizations they serve." The hall of fame describes Miller as "a significant pioneering leader on a national and international scale in adult and continuing education."

Among the Hall of Fame's members are John W. Gardner, secretary of Health, Education and Welfare during the Johnson administration and author of many books, including On Leadership (1990); Jack Mezirow, emeritus professor of adult and continuing education, Columbia University; Janet K. Poley, president, American Distance Education Consortium; Joseph J. Arden, director, University of Maryland University College's Asian Division; Robert G. Simerly, retired dean of University Outreach, Florida State University; and L. Dian Stoskopf, director, Army Continuing Education System.

"Gary Miller has been a pioneer in extending Penn State's educational programs to people around the world," said Craig D. Weidemann, vice president for outreach at Penn State. "His visionary leadership has been invaluable in the development and continuing growth of the University's World Campus and distance learning programs."

Miller is the founding executive director of the World Campus, Penn State's online virtual campus. Launched in 1998 with funding support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the World Campus uses multiple technologies to make some of the University's most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and continuing professional education programs available anytime, anywhere through the Web, computer interfacing and other media. Under Miller's direction, the number of courses and degree and certificate programs available through the World Campus continues to grow, as does enrollment. World Campus and distance education enrollments exceed 24,000 annually, from all 50 states, 40 countries and all seven continents.

Under Miller's leadership, the World Campus also has led several Penn State initiatives to strengthen the faculty member's central role in online distance education and encourage reflection on the teaching process online. With support from the Sloan Foundation, the University has convened gatherings of faculty members from around the country to discuss the faculty member's role in online teaching and begin the establishment of expectations of practice for the field.

Miller, who also serves as affiliate associate professor of adult education at Penn State, holds a doctor of education degree in higher education from Penn State, as well as two degrees in English. He is the author of "The Meaning of General Education: The Emergence of a Curricular Paradigm," published by Teachers College Press, and of numerous articles and book chapters on topics related to the curriculum, continuing education and distance education.

The virtual hall of fame may be viewed at http://www.occe.ou.edu/halloffame/