Human Development & Family Studies | Michigan State University

Education

Post-Doctoral Study, Harvard University; Ph.D., University of Maryland; M.Ed., University of Illinois; B.S., Hampton University.

Bio

Julia R. Miller is Professor of Human Development and Family Studies. Her research, outreach and teaching interests are focused on quantitative and qualitative research methods, outreach and teaching. These interests are centered on assessing and contributing to diversity in families and the workforce, the quality of life of homeless families and children, violence against women and children, university/community collaborations, internationalization, and human ecological scholarship.

In 2009 she was senior editor of a book entitled African American Women: Contributions to the Human Sciences. In this book, she also co-authored three biographies and a historical account of the development of a pioneering organization in the human sciences. Her 1997 co-authored chapter in the book, Black Women in the Academy, was entitled African American Women Executives: Themes that Bind. Related to this focus on diversity, she teaches a graduate course in African American families.

From 2007-2010, Professor Miller completed a quantitative and qualitative research/outreach project with university and City of Lansing colleagues related to homelessness. A monograph was developed entitled, Bridging the Digital Information Divide for Human Services: Using Technology and Client Feedback to Improve Homeless Services in the Greater Lansing Area. This research/outreach project also resulted in a referred publication entitled, University/ Community Partnerships: Working together to Solve Problems Related to Homelessness and several referred presentations presented at national, state and local meetings of professional organizations and with personnel of human services agencies. Consistent with this focus is her development and implementation of undergraduate and graduate on-line courses pertaining to Families in Poverty which are offered yearly.  She is also a member of a Community Action Board whose mission is to end violence against women and children.

Internationalization is her passion. She has provided technical assistance/ consultancies to national and international organizations. Miller engaged in grassroots level work related to agriculture production and reducing poverty among women and children in East, West and South Central Africa. In 2009 she was senior author and co-author of two referred publications entitled, An Alternative to Street Vending: Promoting Economic Development through Health, Education and Skill Training for Ghana’s Kayayei, and Beyond Repayment: Micro-Credit Lending. A Viable Capacity-Building Strategy among Ghanaian Women. Also, she has published other referred publications related to internationalization. Professor Miller served as a teacher and administrator for the Department’s Community Services Masters Degree Program at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan, and a Consultant at Ewe University in Seoul, Korea.

As a Human Ecologist, she has written extensively in areas related to integrating human ecological and human development research, outreach and training.  Her interests and work resulted in becoming senior editor of a two Volume treatise entitled, The Encyclopedia of Human Ecology, which was recognized by Library Journal as one of the best resources for 2003.

Professor Miller has received numerous awards for contributions to the human sciences/human ecology and other areas of higher education. One of these awards was the prestigious Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Also, she has held and currently holds elected and appointed offices and memberships in professional organizations and elected and appointed positions on several other community boards.

As Dean of the College of Human Ecology for 16.5 years, she worked with faculty, staff, students, Alumni and friends to develop and implement state-of-the art programs in teaching, research and outreach. Graduates of these programs are making significant contributions to human sciences/human ecology careers.

Focus Area

Family Studies, Diversity, multidisciplinary collaborations, globalization, and human ecological perspectives

Areas of Interest

• African American women professionals
• Disenfranchised families and children
• Internationalization
• University/Community collaborations
• Human ecological research, outreach, teaching and practice

Vitae

Miller_VITA.pdf