The university will receive nearly $17.2 million from the estate of Wallace T. Miller, Jr. The gift establishes the Phyllis A. Miller Professorship in health economics, and the university's business college will be named the Miller College of Business. Phyllis and Wally Miller were married from June 1961 until her death in February 1987.

The Ball State University Board of Trustees today approved the naming of the college upon a recommendation from the Ball State University Foundation Board of Directors to accept the gift.

"Wally Miller's generosity will have a dramatic impact on the College of Business for generations to come," said Ball State President Blaine A. Brownell. "It is fitting that the students and faculty who will benefit from his gift will research, teach and learn in a college that bears his name.

"The establishment and naming of the professorship is also a lasting and appropriate tribute to the legacy of Phyllis Miller," Brownell said.

The college does not currently have a professorship in health economics. Besides creating that position, the gift will provide new opportunities for faculty and students, and improve the college's ability to communicate with its alumni and supporters, said Lynne Richardson, dean of the college. 

"The faculty and students are the true beneficiaries of this gift," Richardson said. "This is a transformational gift for the college, putting us in a higher echelon of business schools around the country and allowing us to offer new programs that would not otherwise have been possible." 

Miller earned a master of arts degree in business in 1963 from Ball State. He was a member of Ball State's National Development Council, national campaign committee of the "Wings for the Future" campaign, national steering committee for the Alumni Center campaign, College of Business Alumni Society Board of Directors, and was an Alumni Activity Volunteer. Miller also served as an instructor of economics in the College of Business from 1991 until his death in 1998.

For 20 years prior to his death, Miller was CEO and COO of the Miller's Merry Manor Corporation, now known as Miller's Health Systems, which operates 31 nursing homes and three assisted living centers across Indiana.

"Wally always liked teaching at Ball State because he wasn't an economics professor teaching, he was a businessman teaching economics," said his brother Dick, a former Indiana state senator. "He always felt that having practical business experience helped him be a better teacher.

"Our family is happy that Ball State has accepted his gift. This is his last wish, and we are very happy that it can be carried out."

The Ball State University Foundation will establish endowments from the gift with the revenue generated from those endowments being used to support the operations of the College of Business.

"This is a remarkable gift and places Wally Miller's name among the most generous supporters in the history of Ball State," said Dick Hutson, foundation board president. "Wally's investment will provide the college with the resources it needs to reach its goals and consider new possibilities."

Helping people reach their potential was a driving force in Wally and Phyllis Miller's life, said their daughter, Beth Ingram. Miller's Merry Manor sponsored programs that helped employees gain higher levels of education and achieve promotions within the company.

Those programs mirrored Phyllis Miller's life, which had humble beginnings on a farm in Pierceton, Ind., and included her leaving college because she couldn't afford tuition, Ingram said.

"So she became a secretary, worked hard and rose to be the first female president of the town board in LaGrange (the equivalent of the mayor)," Ingram said. "She was also the first female to be asked to serve on the board of Farmers State Bank. Her professionalism and compassion for people was perhaps the secret of her success. She was very civic-minded and was viewed as a mentor."

The Miller College of Business will remain in the Whitinger Business Building. The building was named for Ralph J. Whitinger, a local philanthropist and founder of the Ball State University Foundation. This is the first time the university has named one of its seven academic colleges based on a benefactor's gift.

"Wally Miller began supporting the university in 1979, and he helped Ball State reach its goals in two successful capital campaigns," said Thomas DeWeese, president of the board of trustees. "The naming of the college provides the Ball State community with a daily reminder of his commitment to the continued success of Ball State."

(Note to Editors: For more information on this story, contact Glenn Augustine, associate director of university communications at (765) 285-1560 (office), (765) 748-4822 (cell) or ggaugustine@bsu.edu.)