KU Giving Magazine
Inspired by family, a gift for Edwards Campus students
Doug and Susan Miller
For Doug and Susan Miller of Mission Hills, Kan., loyalty to the University of Kansas is a way of life.
Their Jayhawk legacy began with Susan’s parents, the late Roy A Edwards Jr. and Joan Darby Edwards, after whom KU’s Edwards Campus was named. Both KU alumni, Roy and Joan were dedicated to the university throughout their lives. Each received the prestigious Fred Ellsworth Medallion, and Roy received the Distinguished Service Medallion, the highest honor KU awards. Susan and her brother and sister, R.A. Edwards of Hutchinson, and Barbara Darby Edwards of Fairway, grew up with a portion of their lives revolving around KU, and all three graduated from KU.
Susan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in education, married alumnus Doug Miller, who had earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a juris doctorate from KU. Doug Miller is managing partner of the Westwood, Kan., Miller Haviland Ketter Certified Public Accountants firm, which he founded in 1983. He is active in the KU Alumni Association and serves on the association’s National Board of Directors. He also is active in the alumni association’s Greater Kansas City Chapter.
Their son, Darby D. Miller M.D., received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and Spanish from KU in 2001. Their daughters, Paige Miller and Cameron Miller did not attend KU, but are diehard Jayhawks.
Through the years, the couple have provided support for numerous areas across the university. They recently made a $100,000 gift to KU Endowment to establish the Doug and Susan Miller Family Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will benefit students majoring in education or business at the Edwards Campus.
“We have supported many other areas of the university, and we were looking for a way to directly benefit education,” said Susan. “Because the campus was named for my parents, it is an overwhelming honor to be able to establish this scholarship here. At the time we decided to start this scholarship, my mother was still living, and it was great to be able to tell her we were doing this.”
Their heartfelt gift satisfied another desire — to provide scholarship support for Edwards Campus students, many of whom live in the Kansas City area.
“This gift has a Kansas City flavor to it,” said Doug Miller. “We have been blessed in business here and with our family, and it’s a nice feeling to give back.”
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