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Marla Miller, professor of history and director of the Public History Program, was among three UMass Amherst faculty members named Distinguished Professors following approval by the Board of Trustees during the summer of 2021. The title Distinguished Professor is conferred on select, highly accomplished faculty who have already achieved the rank of professor and who meet a demanding set of qualifications.

“Professor Miller has an exceptional record of scholarly achievement, teaching, and service to our campus, the history profession and the general public,” writes Barbara Krauthamer, dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, in her recommendation letter in support of Prof. Miller’s promotion. “Her accomplishments have gained national and international attention and have contributed significantly to the prestige of the History department and the University of Massachusetts Amherst,” she says. 

Both before and during her twenty-one-year career at UMass Amherst, “Miller has been the recipient of a wide range of awards,” points out Brian Ogilve, chair of the history department. “Here on the UMass Amherst campus,” he continues, “she has been awarded our most significant fellowships and awards in all three major areas of faculty evaluation. For her research, she received the Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research, 2011, and the Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship, 2014-15. For teaching Miller won the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award, 2006. For service she was awarded the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award, 2003. Excellence in all categories is rare.”

Miller has served as director of the Public History Program since 2002. “She built and has maintained the program’s reputation as one of the top, if not the top, Public History programs in the U.S.,” says Ogilve. “Her publications in the field of public history,” says Krauthamer, “have been cited as path-breaking and transformative for both their scholarly rigor and applicability in museums, national park sites, and other public history venues.”