Former ‘First Gent’ of SDSU dies; Brookings memorial service set for May 15
Robert “Bob” Miller, whose 65-year association with South Dakota State University was marked by both his financial generosity and volunteer service and punctuated by his role as the “First Gent,” died Wednesday, April 7, in Florida with his wife, Dr. Peggy Gordon Miller, by his side.
A Brookings memorial service for Miller will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at First Lutheran Church on the corner of Main Avenue and Eighth Street. Following the service, there will be a reception at the Innovation Center, 2301 Research Park Way.
A Florida memorial service took place April 9 at Saint Boniface Episcopal Church in Sarasota.
Bob and Peggy Miller enjoy meeting two of the many students who have benefited from the Bob and Peggy Miller Jackrabbit Guarantee Scholarship Fund.
President Emerita Peggy Miller has asked that expressions of sympathy and support take the form of contributions to the Bob and Peggy Miller Jackrabbit Guarantee Fund, an endowment established at the time of their 2001 wedding to provide scholarships to SDSU students. Gifts may be made online or sent to the SDSU Foundation, 815 Medary Avenue, Brookings, SD 57006.
Miller, 83, graduated from SDSU in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He became an active volunteer with the SDSU Foundation in 1986, serving as vice chair of the Development Committee and helping to spearhead the formation of the Jackrabbit Guarantee scholarship program that is credited with the university’s record enrollment growth over the past eight years.
He was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus for Service to SDSU in 2000. In November 2001, following the passing of his wife of 56 years, Betty, Miller married then-SDSU President Peggy Gordon Elliott. He was immediately titled the “First Gent,” spurring his renewed involvement in university initiatives.
He became a leader in developing the 125-acre Innovation Campus, the state’s only university-affiliated research park. In 2003, he became the volunteer director. Under his leadership, a coalition of local business leaders and governmental bodies formed the Growth Partnership to provide funding and direction to develop the site.
The development’s flagship building, Innovation Center, was dedicated in September 2009. The entrance leading to the 28,000-square-foot multi-tenant and incubator building was named Miller Parkway in honor of Bob’s efforts to bring the project to reality.
Bob Miller was born November 9, 1926, in Clay County, South Dakota near Vermillion where his father managed the county farm. The family moved to southwest Minnesota when Bob was 6 years old. He was a graduate of Tyler (Minnesota) High School. He married Betty Nyhus in 1945 and moved to Brookings in 1947 following a stint in the military in Korea, as part of the occupation force after WWII.
While in college, he was active in the Reserved Officer Training Corps, serving as a cadet colonel. After graduating from college and completing a second tour in the U.S. Army, he joined IBM and served the company in executive sales and marketing positions. He later held a similar role with Control Data. In 1977, he and a business partner formed Centron DPL, a computer leasing company in Minneapolis. Miller retired as Chief Executive Officer of Centron Computer Corp., a company that specialized in IBM communications equipment, in 1986.
Miller was then able to devote more time to his alma mater and taught a special undergraduate course in sales. More than 60 students signed up for Miller’s “The Art and Science of Selling” class. When university officials offered to pay him for teaching the course, he suggested that they direct the money to student scholarships instead.
The decision to teach the course was a natural move for Miller, who enjoyed recruiting young people and developing them into high-production sales people.
In a 1990 article, Miller explained his passion for sales. “A career in sales is challenging, financially rewarding, a vehicle for personal development, and the key to an independent lifestyle,” he said. “It’s the road to the top.” He said that every job involves some facet of selling. “Selling is teaching and teaching is selling,” he said.
The SDSU Foundation, recognizing Miller’s knack for sales and passion for his university, enlisted his help in the Visions for the Future capital campaign. The campaign surpassed its $50 million goal, with Miller assigned to a lead role in promoting new scholarships. Nearly one-third of the $52 million raised went for scholarships.
Miller’s roots were evident when he and Betty initiated a $2,000 annual scholarship to SDSU for freshmen from Lincoln (Minnesota) County. At the time, it was one of the largest single scholarship offerings at SDSU. Bob and Betty Miller created the scholarship in hope that SDSU would compete for the top high school students in Lincoln County.
Bob and Betty Miller continued to expand their support for scholarships, establishing a $3,000 Foundation scholarship. Bob became a member of the SDSU Foundation’s Board of Directors in 1996.
In 1999, the Foundation launched a new recognition society to honor donors who made commitments of planned and estate gifts. Bob Miller was the first alumnus to enroll in the Sylvan Circle. Today, more than 600 individuals are members of the Sylvan Circle.
In 2001, Bob and Peggy Miller established a Jackrabbit Guarantee Endowment.
Miller was currently serving on the Council of Trustees, the volunteer leadership of the SDSU Foundation, and was co-chairing the Honors College Development Council with his wife, Peggy.
Miller was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, an avid golfer and a longtime Rotarian.
Bob was the father of Rohn Jay Miller (Claire), and Robert K. Miller (Esther), and the late Kristen Miller Rosenfield. He is survived by his wife Peggy, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, stepson Scott Elliott (Donna) and stepdaughter Anne Elliott.