Miller, James, 2018

(Jim) Miller was born on December 2, 1947 and grew up in Ithaca, New York. His father worked at Cornell University’s ILR School, and his mother worked at home. He attended Ithaca High School, and he recalls fond memories of growing up in Ithaca. He attended college at Cornell University and majored in history. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Rochester intending to earn an MBA and pursue a business career, but he quickly realized this was not the path for him. His advisor directed him toward a new social studies education program at the University of Rochester, and he enrolled. He earned his first teaching job in the Syracuse City School District in 1971. Over four decades, Miller taught in a number of schools across Syracuse, but his favorite teaching jobs involved the ninth grade social studies curriculum. He also oversaw a number of service learning projects for his students, including a voter registration project in 1976 and long-term collaboration with the Peace Corps. He retired in 2004. Soon after, he took a job at SUNY Cortland coordinating student teachers, teaching courses, and helping with student teaching assignments within the history department. At the time of this interview, he was still working for the history department at SUNY Cortland.https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/sunycortlandoralhistory/1006/thumbnail.jp