News

Published 6/29/20 on UMD Right Now

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland today announces its Main Administration Building will be named in honor of Maryland Senator Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, Jr. For more than 30 years, Senator Miller presided as the longest-serving state Senate president in the history of the United States, tirelessly advocating for higher education institutions in Maryland. His legacy will now be cemented on campus through the Thomas V. Miller, Jr. Administration Building.

“For all that Maryland Senate President Mike Miller has done, over the course of three decades, for the students, the faculty, and the staff of UMD — those who are here now; those who came before; and those who will come in the generations ahead — we proudly, and gratefully, etch his name in stone, upon this landmark Main Administration Building,” said UMD President Wallace D. Loh. 

“I want to thank everybody who made this possible, especially my wife of 55 years who I met here on the College Park campus. We’ve been together ever since. This is our home away from home and I am very grateful for this honor,” said Senator Miller. 

Senator Miller was instrumental in the passing of legislation that reorganized higher education in Maryland in 1988, designating College Park the state’s flagship institution and prioritizing state funding for higher education to help the university become a preeminent national public university. This was a significant turning point for higher education in Maryland, raising the reputation of the College Park flagship and the entire public university system. 

“Every year, tens of thousands of Terps will cross McKeldin Mall, inspired by Senator Miller’s unwavering commitment to propelling our university forward. His name will remind us all of his unwavering pursuit of service to the great state of Maryland and to the world,” said UMD President-Designate Darryll J. Pines. 

Senator Miller’s passion and advocacy for UMD has also helped to transform the physical campus, helping to combine investment from the state with private support to provide world-class facilities for our students, faculty and staff. He provided state support for dozens of university projects, including the Bioscience Research Building, XFINITY Center, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the Physical Sciences Complex and Cole Field House.

“For the first five years that I held office as Maryland’s Governor, I had the privilege of serving alongside Senate President Emeritus Mike Miller. After an historic tenure as the longest continually serving presiding officer in the nation, Mike Miller continues to be a strong, unifying leader for the legislature and for the state of Maryland. And as a proud Terp, his passionate advocacy has had a profound impact on the entire University System of Maryland. The dedication of the Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. Administration Building is a fitting tribute to a lifetime of selfless service,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. 

Senator Miller’s belief in the capacity of public universities to serve our state was made more evident by his unwavering advocacy for the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: Mpowering the State. Through this partnership, UMD and the University of Maryland, Baltimore now have a $1 billion joint research enterprise, 25 joint programs and centers and 600 joint research proposals – all to deliver on a vision of collaboration, innovation, and transformative impact across the state. 

In 1970, Senator Miller was elected to represent Prince George’s County in the Maryland House of Delegates, and in 1974, he was elected to the Maryland State Senate. His current district includes portions of Calvert, Prince George’s and Charles counties. He has been re-elected to the State Senate every four years since 1978.

Senator Miller was first selected by his peers as President of the Maryland Senate at the beginning of the 1987 Session of the Maryland General Assembly, and was the longest serving Senate President in both Maryland and United States history until he stepped down from the role in 2020. From 1983 to 1986, he served as Chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. 

Senator Miller is the 1999 recipient of the Tyser Medallion Award for Outstanding Service to the University of Maryland. He was honored in 1997 as the nation’s outstanding legislator. He has served as the President of the National Senate Presidents’ Forum and as Chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments. Miller is a former Chairman of the National Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Other honors and awards include Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland Hall of Fame, the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame and the William P. Coliton Community Service Award for Excellence from Johns Hopkins University.

Senator Miller is a native of Clinton, Md. He is a graduate of Surrattsville High School, the University of Maryland (B.S. 1964) and the University of Maryland School of Law (LL.B., J.D. 1967). Admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1967, Miller is a member of local, state and national bar associations. 

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents approved the naming in May 2020. 

About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is the state’s flagship university and one of the nation’s preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 40,000 students,10,000 faculty and staff, and 280 academic programs. As one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars, its faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners and 59 members of the national academies. The institution has a $2.1 billion operating budget and secures more than $1 billion annually in research funding together with the University of Maryland, Baltimore. For more information about the University of Maryland, College Park, visit www.umd.edu.