TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
cal Hygiene Consultant, Officer of the Army Surgeon General in the Pentagon. Miller served as Chief Health Physi- cist at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC. In 1960, the U.S. Army Surgeon General selected Miller to attend Roch- ester University to study the effects of the nuclear weapons used in World War II. Miller recalled, "They (U.S. Mili- tary) had gathered up all the stuff from Hiroshima and Nagasaki ... we studied that and obtained masters degrees. I became an expert in nuclear weapons. We had to teach combat units how to survive a nuclear war." He earned an M.S. degree in radiation biology in 1961 from the University of Rochester. After retiring from the U.S. Army, Miller joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1978 as the Branch Chief, Material Licensing ranch. He was promoted to the Senior Execu- tive Service, a military two-star general equivalency, in 1984 while serving in the Branch Chief position. In 1988, he was promoted to Assistant Director for the Agreement States Office of State Programs. In October 1993, Mr. Miller was appointed to Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and Civil Rights. At the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as Assistant Director for Agreement State Program, Office of State Programs, Miller spearheaded the development of regulatory policies for the states to ensure the technical adequacy and com- patibility of their programs for regulating nuclear materials. As the Director, Of- fice of Small Business and Civil Rights, he successfully led the implementation and coordination of the Nuclear Regula- tory Commission's Equal Employment Opportunity [EEO] Program, the Small Business Program, and the Affirmative Employment Program. Under his direc- tion of the EEO program, the number of formal EEO complaints filed remained relatively low.
When Miller retired a second time in 1996, he remained active in com- munity service as a volunteer with the Silver Springs (MD) Alumni Chapter, the A.A.R.P., the Health Physics Society, West Virginia State's National 'W' Club and Blacks United for Excellence in Ed- ucation. He was a vice-president of the Walter Reed Society and a trustee of the Bethany House Senior Citizen Condo- miniums. He was an active member of the Deacon of the 12th Street Disciples of Christ Christian Church, where he served as a deacon, trustee, elder, and presiding elder for over 40 years. Miller also was a member of the Washington Metropolitan Organization of Black Scientists and the Woodside Civic Association of Silver Spring, MD. In his spare time, Mr. Miller has served as a mentor for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Mentor Program. An ardent and longtime WVSU supporter, Miller, was a member of the WVSU National Alumni Association, a past president of the WVSU ``W'' Club Association, and a member of the Wash- ington Metropolitan Alumni Chapter of WVSU Alumni Association. On May 29, 1996, U.S. Congress- man Albert R. Wynn of Maryland, during a session of the U.S. House of Representatives, congratulated Miller on years of service to his country and community. The United States Govern- ment in 1992 presented Miller with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Meri- torious Service Award and the Presiden- tial Meritorious Executive Rank Award. Montgomery (VA) County Council presented him with the Outstanding Community Leader in Education Award. His military honors include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the National Defense Service Medal.
halls of fame and earned an honorary Doctorate recognizing his life achieve- ments. In 2008 he was inducted into the West Virginia All-Black Schools Sports and Academic Hall of Fame. Among his numerous other awards and citations, The Montgomery County Council awarded Miller with its Out- standing Community Leader in Educa- tion Award. His wife of 59 years, Sylvia (née Blackwell) Miller, preceded him in death in 2012. Brother Vandy L. Miller is survived by son Kerwin E. Miller (Silver Spring (MD) Alumni 2000), Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Karen B. Saunders and Karmen L. Miller (Gregory White); grandchildren Markia Sylvia Abdur- Rahman, LaShawn Marie White, Phillip Joshua K. Brooks, and Vandy Jamal B. Brooks; and great-grandchildren Mazaani, Mai'Sara, and Munirah. He is also survived by a host of other loving and caring relatives.
He was enshrined at WVSU in 1986 as a member of its athletic and ROTC
210 | SUMMER 2021 ♦ THE JOURNAL
VIRTUAL 85 TH GRAND CHAPTER MEETING
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