In Memory of Danny Miller
A memorial service at Greaves Hall on the NKU campus, November 15, 2008
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Danny Lester Miller, the chair of the English Department at Northern Kentucky University, a noted scholar of Appalachian culture and literature, and a beloved figure on campus, passed away Sunday, November 9, after a sudden stroke. He was 59 years old.
Miller was born in West Virginia in 1949, the son of Mary Leona Jones and Howard Lester Miller. While his father's career in the U.S. Navy took the family as far away as Brooklyn, New York, Miller remained deeply connected to his family's Appalachian culture and heritage, especially the land and people in and around Ashe County, North Carolina.
Miller earned his Bachelor's degree in English at Berea College in Kentucky, an institution dedicated to teaching students of Appalachian background, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college.
After Berea, Miller earned his Master's degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1975 before enrolling in the Ph.D program at the University of Cincinnati. He received his doctorate in 1985. Recognizing that the rich literary traditions of Appalachia were still little studied by scholars, Miller wrote a dissertation on women in Appalachian literature. A pioneering work in the field of Appalachian literary studies, the dissertation became the foundation for his first book, Wingless Flights: Appalachian Women in Fiction, published in 1996.
Miller has been part of the NKU community since 1981. Beginning as a part-time instructor in the Department of Literature and Language while still a graduate student at UC, he later became a full-time instructor and eventually an assistant professor of English in 1989. He was promoted to both associate and full professor status before becoming chair of the department in 2000. His tenure as department chair saw a dramatic growth in the size of the faculty as well as the creation of two new departments, English and World Languages and Literatures, out of the previous department of Literature and Language. This year, he oversaw the implementation of a Master's degree program in English, a long time goal of the department.
Miller devoted his life to the study and promotion of Appalachian literature and culture. In addition to Wingless Flights, Miller was the co-author of An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature, and numerous articles and presentations. He was a member of the Urban Appalachian Council of Greater Cincinnati and was involved in a wide variety of projects connected to Appalachian culture and advocacy. He was widely known and beloved throughout the extended community of scholars, writers and activists in Appalachian studies.
As committed as Miller was to Appalachian literature and culture, he was equally devoted to Northern Kentucky University. A passionate believer in the power of humanities education and in the mission of the university to provide an affordable and accessible college education to any student interested in pursuing the dream of a college degree, Miller was an enthusiastic promoter of NKU. His infectious laugh, warm and generous personality, and famous bear hugs became as much a part of the NKU experience as the buildings and classes. He never met a person on campus who didn't become a friend, and he was regarded with love and affection by students, faculty and staff alike. He was passionate about the teaching of literature. Students knew that Dr. Miller's door was always open for advice, help with a scheduling problem, or just a quick boost of encouragement and optimism. He served as advisor for and friend to students from around the world through his work with the International Students' group.
His commitment to NKU extended to the larger community as well, as Miller worked with local high school teachers on the annual Scholastic Writing Awards each year. Collaborating with middle school teachers, Miller established NKU Bookfest, an annual celebration of reading and writing that brings hundreds of middle school students to campus each year.
But the heart of Danny Miller was his family. An avid genealogist, he had completed numerous family histories and was often asked to speak on genealogy. Most recently, he was the special guest at the family reunion of the descendants of the original Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker, where he discussed his own Yates family who were related to the Bunkers by marriage. Miller is survived by his beloved friend Darrell Hovious, his grandmother Della Yates Jones, his sister Deborah Miller Wood, his brothers James Lee and Timothy Lynn Miller, his nieces Rachel Richardson Clark and Emily Elizabeth Miller, his nephew Tommy Ryan Wood, his grand-niece and nephew Laney MacKennan and William Richardson Clark, and his many uncles, aunts, cousins and dear friends.
Donations may be made to the Danny L. Miller Memorial Fund at the Department of English, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099.