September 24, 2008

Miller to discuss education in the Middle East

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Harry G. Miller, a former dean and associate vice president at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, will share his experiences and insights into American-style higher education in the Middle East and North Africa next week.

Miller’s luncheon presentation, “Globalization of Higher Education: American Style Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa,” is set for 11:30 a.m., Monday, Sept. 29. The luncheon is at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 2300 Reed Station Parkway, Carbondale.

Admission is free, but registration is required for meal considerations and seating is limited. To register, contact institute project coordinator Christina Rich at 618/453-4078 or by email at clrich@siu.edu.

“SIUC’s rich international education history is an ideal background for sharing the current developments of higher education in the Middle East and North Africa,” Miller said.

The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute is sponsoring the event.

Miller “has a wealth of experiences in higher education and extensive knowledge of the Middle East, which he will share in this luncheon,” said John S. Jackson, a visiting professor at the institute.

“In an era when SIUC’s international enrollments are a concern for us, Dr. Miller’s comments will be especially timely. He also looks forward to rejoining a lot of old friends here on that day.”

Miller retired as a professor of education at SIUC in 1995. He is an expert on adult education, adult literacy and education in developing nations. After joining SIUC’s faculty in 1970, Miller variously served as dean of the SIUC’s College of Technical Careers, now the College of Applied Sciences and Arts, from 1980 to 1989, and also chaired the departments of secondary education and educational leadership. He also helped guide cooperative education ventures linking SIUC with Saudi Arabia, Korea, Malaysia, Afghanistan, and other developing nations.

He served as SIUCs associate vice president for academic affairs and research from 1989 to 1992, when he left to become dean of the Center for Adult and Continuing Education at The American University in Cairo, Egypt. Miller retired from there in 2005, Jackson said.

“American University in Cairo is one of the most respected institutions of higher education in that region and it enrolls more than 35,000 students from throughout the Middle East,” Jackson said.

Jackson noted that in 2005, Miller became vice president for academic affairs at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait. Miller returned to the United States in 2007, and founded the Middle East/North African Leadership Development Group.

Miller currently works with schools and universities in Kuwait, Egypt and in the United States. Most of the work overseas is with private institutions. He is also a consultant at the University of North Carolina Pembroke.

From the Middle East and North Africa perspective, the interest is in accreditation procedures, faculty recruitment, development and retention, institutional governance, and student exchange programs, Miller said. The focus for schools in the United States is with international student recruitment, internationalization of the campuses, project and grant proposals, and degree affiliations, he said.

Miller and his wife, Mary, now live in Spartanburg, S.C., after moving back to the United States from Kuwait. The couple has five grown children and 14 grandchildren.

Miller is a native of Waukesha, Wis. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Carroll University in Waukesha, and master’s and doctoral degrees in secondary education, both from the University of Nebraska.