Union College - Stespean Yearbook (Barbourville, KY)

Page 6 text:

The Transition of the Presidents Mahlon A. Miller President 1959-1982 As usual, the Union College school year was a conflicting mixture of stability and change with returning upper classmen and the arrival of new students. However, the fall of 1982 was marked by the resignation of Dr. Mahlon A. Miller after 23 years of leadership as President of Union College. Mahlon Miller was born in Verona, Pennsylvania. He received a B.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1943 and did graduate work at the Cast Institute of Technology (mathematics and engi- neering) and at Western Reserve University (psychology, personnel, and management) while he was employed by the Air Force as a civilian research worker from 1943-47. From 1947-53, he studied and taught at Drew Univer- sity, Madison, New Jersey, where he received the degrees of Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology. During these years he taught mathematics, New Testament Greek, philos- ophy, and religion, served as assistant to the dean of the seminary, and served a pastorate in New Jersey. He then attended the University of Zurich, the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, and continued his advanced studies in theology at the University of Tubingen, as a member of the first group of Fulbright students in Germany. Mahlon Miller interrupted these studies to come to Barbourville in 1955 when he was appointed assistant to the president. In 1959, he was named president of Union College. President Miller ' s presence on campus acted as a catalyst for a great deal of reorganization, planning, and eventual growth of the college. For example, very early in his tenure, the president prepared the first issue of the Trustee Newsletter (June 15, 1959), an important means of communication between the campus and the trustees, which has appeared at least once a month and has played a notable role in involving the trustees more deeply in college affairs. Also, the campus was literally transformed by the projects undertaken during the 1960 ' s. The new construction included an additional wing to Pfeiffer Hall, the faculty housing project known as College Park, the Physical Education Building, the Student Center, a new men ' s residence hall, and an addition to College Courts. Baldwin Place was remodeled and Tye House completely renovated. Plans for the most recent building on campus, the science building, were made during this time even though its actual construction was delayed. The Board of Trustees surprised President Miller with a well-deserved honor: When the building was dedicated at Commencement, 1973, it was the Mahlon Miller Science Center.

Page 5 text:

rZFb t ■I. ' EEKSlME! (NION ille, ken yy si VOI Union College Barbourville, Kentucky 106

Page 7 text:

On September 23, 1982, Dr. Miller resigned from the presidency and chancellorship of the college. However, he offered to continue as president emeritus and work out of Louisville part-time, raising funds for the college, until May 31, 1983. In the meantime, a Central Management Team was appointed to direct the college. The team was made up of Edward H. Black, Director of Institutional Planning and Evaluation, as Chairman, with Robert D. Carey, Executive Vice-President; Dwight C. Stewart, Dean of the faculty; H. Warren Robbins, Dean of Graduate Academic Affairs; Boyd R. Todd, Business Manager and Treasurer; and Milton H. Townsend, Vice-President for College relations and Development, as members. The Reverend Dr. Jack Carter Phillips, former president of The National United Methodist Foundation for Christian Higher Education in Nashville, Tennessee, was elected president of Union College at a called meeting of the Board of Trustees of Union College in Lexington, Kentucky, on December 9, 1982. Dr. Phillips, who is 48, began his duties on January 3 on the campus where he received an honorary Doctor of Law Degree in 1981. Dr. Phillips earned the Bachelor ' s Degree at Birmingham-Southern College and the Master of Divinity Degree at Vanderbilt University. The inevitability of change has touched Union College once again in the 1982-83 year. Mahlon Miller and his wife, Laura, had quickly gained the liking and esteem, not only of the Trustees but also of the faculty and students, when they first came to Union. Likewise, Jack Phillips and his wife, Juanita, have already won many of the hearts which lie close to Union College. And so, as history seems to repeat itself in this sense, Union can look hopefully to a new future of planning, reorganization, and growth built upon the firm foundation which has already been laid. Jack C. Phillips President 1982-