Pam Miller
Pam Miller | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Lexington, Kentucky | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 6, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Scotty Baesler |
| Succeeded by | Teresa Isaac |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Ralph Miller |
| Alma mater | Smith College |
Pam Miller served as the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky from 1993 to 2003. On January 3, 1993, she became Lexington's first woman mayor.[1] She was first elected to the Urban County Council in 1973 and was the first woman elected to public office in the city.[2] She served from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1993. She served as vice-mayor before becoming mayor after the resignation of Scotty Baesler, who was elected to the United States Congress in 1992. She was elected to a full term as mayor in 1993 and again in 1998, though she chose not to run for a third term in 2002.
Under her leadership, Lexington developed an Urban Area Greenspace Plan in 1994.[3] In 1995, she founded Partners for Youth, a non-profit organization that serves as a clearinghouse for funding programs for youth in Lexington.[4] This development occurred after the shooting and killing of Antonio Orlando Sullivan, an eighteen-year-old African American male, by a white police officer in October 1994 which had caused a public outcry.[5]
Upon her retirement as mayor, Pam Miller remained active in civic affairs. She became a member and then chair of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence (serving as chair from 2006 to 2010), and the Lexington Opera Society (chair, 2007–2009).[6] Governor Steve Beshear appointed her to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in 2008,[7] and served as the Council's vice chair from February 2010 to December 2011. She was elected as the Council's chair in 2012[8] and has been reappointed in that leadership role each year since. Her current term on the Council ended on December 31, 2018.[9]
Background
[edit]Miller earned her bachelor's degree in European history, magna cum laude, from Smith College in 1960.[6] She taught history and French in Connecticut. She married physician and former Olympic alpine skier Dr. Ralph E. Miller Jr. in 1962. They had three children: two boys and one girl. She worked for the Congressional Quarterly in Washington D.C. from 1962 to 1965 as a reporter and editor. From 1966 to 1969 she a grant writer at Boston ABCD (Action for Boston Community Development), an anti-poverty and community development organization.[6] She also worked for The Boston Globe.
The Millers left Boston in 1969 when Dr. Miller got a Research Fellowship in Neuroendocrinology at Stanford University in California. They came to Lexington in 1970 from California when Dr. Miller was hired at the University of Kentucky to be a professor of pharmacology.[10] Soon after that, Pam Miller started in 1972 what is now the Lexington Farmers Market.[11]
Honors
[edit]On September 12, 2002, Mayor Miller was presented by the University of Kentucky with a rose created to honor her and her service to the city of Lexington.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Lexington's Memorable Mayors". WikiLex: A History Hub. Lexington History Museum. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ Martin, Emily (February 8, 2014). "Lexington is Full of Pioneers". Write on Broadway. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Lexington-Fayette County Greenspace Plan". L.F.U.C.G. Planning Commission. Lexington, Kentucky: Lexington-Fayette County Urban County Government. August 1994. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Our history". Partners For Youth. Lexington, Kentucky. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Black unrest in Lexington, Ky". New York Times. October 26, 1994. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Pam Miller". Martin School of Public Policy and Administration. University of Kentucky. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Pam Miller and Dan Flanagan to lead CPE". CPE Insight. Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. March 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ Lytle, Alan (January 3, 2012). "Former Mayor Pam Miller To Chair CPE". WUKY. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Pam Miller bio". Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "2003 Recipients - Dr. Ralph E. Miller". Hellenic Ideals Program of the Bluegrass. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Interview of Former Mayor Pam Miller". Farmers Market Oral History. College of Arts and Sciences HIVE, University of Kentucky. March 16, 2012.
- ^ Lewis, George (September 12, 2002). "UK College of Agriculture Names Rose in Honor of Lexington Mayor Pam Miller". UK Public Relations Archive. University of Kentucky. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
External links
[edit]- "2003 Recipients - Honorable Pam G. Miller". Hellenic Ideals Program of the Bluegrass. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
Bibliography
[edit]- "Interview with Pam Miller, August 23rd, 1996". Louie B Nunn Center for Oral History. University of Kentucky Libraries. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- Mayors of Lexington, Kentucky: Scotty Baesler, Teresa Isaac, Pam Miller, Jim Newberry. [S.l.]: General Books. 2010. ISBN 1158517882.