Gerald R. Miller was a pioneer in the field of interpersonal communications and helped develop this sub-discipline within the broader field of Communication. He came to Michigan State University in 1962 after finishing his doctorate at the University of Iowa in 1961. He made an impact in many areas, perhaps most notably in the study of deceptive communication and compliance-gaining and influence, with this work often supported by the National Science Foundation. Miller was a Fellow of the International Communication Association and the American Psychological Association. He was a MSU University Distinguished Faculty recipient and received the Speech Association of America’s Golden Anniversary Award for outstanding scholarly publication four different times. Despite these accomplishments, Miller considered his greatest accomplishments to be those as a teacher to many students and future scholars in the field of interpersonal communication. He was known to spend one hour at the beginning of each day writing correspondence to his many students and colleagues congratulating them on recent awards, publications, and accomplishments. Miller died on May 20, 1993.
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