Dr. Richard Miller, professor of psychology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, has received the Charles L. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology.
Presented by the American Psychological Foundation (APF), Dr. Miller accepted the national award at the 120th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Orlando, Fla., in August.
“Miller is a passionate advocate of undergraduate research, and a leader in promoting experiential learning and innovative teaching techniques, sharing his expertise at conferences and in publications,” said Dr. Dorothy Cantor, president of APF.
“His greatest satisfaction is helping undergraduates critically examine and expand psychology’s knowledge base, and in doing so, he has found ways to bridge the gulf between scholarship and teaching,” Dr. Cantor said.
In 2009, Dr. Miller was named the national CASE/Carnegie Foundation U.S. Professor of the Year. That same year, he was awarded the Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Division Two, of the American Psychology Association. Earlier this year, his alma mater, Weber State University, awarded Dr. Miller their first inaugural Outstanding Psychology Alumni Award.
Dr. Miller joined the UNK faculty in 1990 as professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, and in 2010, he became the director of the bachelor of General Studies Program.
He is only the second UNK faculty member to receive all three Pratt-Heins Awards, including the Pratt-Heins Award for Service (2010), the Pratt-Heins Award for Scholarship and Research (2002) and the Pratt-Heins Award for Service (1996). In 2006, he also received the UNK Leland Holdt/Security Mutual Life Award.
While at UNK, Dr. Miller has been the founding director of the UNK Institutional Review Board, president of the UNK chapter of Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society and a three-time president of the UNK Faculty Senate. He has also served as president of the Nebraska Psychological Society (NPS) and president of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA).
Before joining UNK faculty, Dr. Miller held previous positions at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, and was the founder and director of the Community Learning Centre at the Colegio Internacional de Baleares in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, from 1986-1989. He was also the senior staff scientist and assistant director, and then director of the Human Resources Research Organization in Heidelberg, Germany, and taught at the University of Cologne, Psychologisches Institut II in Koln, Germany, from 1978-1985.
