SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 31, 2001 – The Public Policy Institute of California announced today that it has received a $1 million gift from Arjay Miller and his wife, Frances, to establish the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Public Policy. The endowed chair – PPIC’s first – will be awarded to a researcher who is making significant contributions toward improving public policy in California.
“The Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Public Policy represents an enduring tribute to two of the nation’s early leaders in promoting the joint responsibility of the public and private sectors when tackling tough social and economic problems,” said Ray Watson, Chairman of the PPIC Board of Directors and Vice Chairman of the Board, The Irvine Company. “We are grateful to the Millers for their vision and generosity. For decades to come, this gift will help PPIC put top-quality researchers to work on the formidable challenges facing the people of California.”
Arjay Miller is Dean Emeritus of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, past president of the Ford Motor Company, and fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Along with William R. Hewlett and Roger W. Heyns, he was a co-founder of PPIC, served as the chairman of its board of directors from 1995 to 1998, and remains a member of the board.
Miller was one of the ten “whiz kids” who left the pentagon after World War II and who played a major role in reversing the fortunes of the Ford Motor Company. He was president of Ford from 1963 to 1968 and vice chair until 1969, when he was appointed Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. There, he established the Public Management Program that has trained thousands of public sector managers and also educated private sector leaders about public needs. He served as Dean for ten years. Under his guidance, the business school appointed its first women and ethnic minority faculty members and increased its endowment from $6 million to $24 million.
Miller was also the founding chairman of the board, and is now a life trustee, of the Urban Institute. He is an honorary trustee of the Brookings Institution; a former board member of the Mellon Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and SRI International; and a former chairman of the Bay Area Council. Over the years, Miller served on the boards of 10 corporations, including Ford, the Washington Post Company, Wells Fargo Bank, Levi Strauss & Company, and Burlington Northern.
“Arjay’s vast experience and unique brand of leadership have helped guide PPIC from its inception,” said David Lyon, President and CEO of PPIC. “Today, through the creation of the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Public Policy, the Millers have helped us to undertake the next phase of our work – generating public-private partnerships, including collaborations with government, universities, businesses, and foundations for the benefit of Californians.”
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to objective, nonpartisan research on economic, social, and political issues that affect the lives of Californians. The Institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett. Roger Heyns (1918-1995) served as the first chairman of the board of directors.