Veterans Day Through Professor Miller’s Eyes

On Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, the U.S. will celebrate Veterans Day. Originally known as "Armistice Day" Veterans Day is always on Nov. 11. It originated from the ending of World War 1 fighting at 11 a.m., Nov. 11, 1918.

Dr. Timothy Miller, an English professor at Millersville, is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served in the Special Troops, Second Infantry Division. Miller recently retired after 39 years with the University.

As we approach Veterans Day Miller says there are similarities leaving Millersville as when he left the army, "I had that same feeling when I was discharged from the Army and could no longer serve as a soldier, and now I have that same feeling again as a departing professor. Nevertheless, there is a kind of comfort in the knowledge that somehow, I will go on to more marvels and mysteries," he explains.

Miller plans to participate in a VFW project on literacy-reading and writing-for veterans who sign up for reading and writing projects that can become forms of therapy, to help them deal or cope with past experiences or even their disabilities of various kinds. "Reading literature and the act of writing itself can become forms of therapy and healing," says Miller. "They can give the veterans ways to use their accumulated experiences of life, especially the 'meet yourself experiences' of combat, in ways that others can learn from. I have learned in many ways how working with language-reading or writing-has alerted me to mysteries-the vast, often unnoticed elemental forces of nature or daily life. Little did I know that I would learn and re-learn a version of that again and again," he concludes.

As a professor, Miller often used his military experience to relate his teachings to real-life examples. This connected him with his students, allowing him to be vulnerable while educating. "I was giving my whole heart and soul to what I was doing in teaching the great literature. Each step we took in reading the literature was an enlargement of life and the world we know, each work expanding our horizons, spreading the wings of imagination for what is and what is to come," he says.

One of Miller's special interests in literature was author John Milton, best known for his epic poem, Paradise Lost. Miller often tried to make his class on Milton's writings feel like what Milton called "a life beyond life." Miller explains that he incorporated this idea into the class's design, "we need to be constantly receptive and alert, similar to the survival skills of a soldier on the battlefield who notices everything and is ready for surprises, even the unimaginable."

In his retirement, Miller reflects on his time as a professor, "When I think of retirement, I think of some lines that I remember from the Army days. I can't remember where they came from or who said them, but here they are-

My time served

Was a day beyond that day;

Learning the difficult and

The true, I was blessed doing

All I could."

One of Miller's former students, Marissa Farmer, shares her experience taking his courses: "Dr. Miller is a professor I will never forget. His brilliance and willingness to share firsthand experiences with the class made him stand out as an educator. His effort to combine literature with 'life lived' heavily impacted his students. I left his classes feeling like I learned so much not only about literature but about myself and the world."

Currently, Miller is working on a book about the history of magazine science fiction. He also aims to finish some articles he has started on Milton's Paradise Lost.

To honor Miller and his contributions to the University, Dr. Justin Mando created a scholarship named the Timothy C. Miller Award for Excellence in English. This award will gift $2,000 to a student who demonstrates excellence in the study of English literature and/or to a student in English & World Languages who is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces.

To donate to fund the Timothy C. Miller Award for Excellence in English, visit: https://bit.ly/3YHIB3z. When choosing where to direct your support, select "other" and write in "UTMILENGSCH."