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Papers of
LaVerne W. Miller
Processed by: Elizabeth Borja
March 2001
50.25 lin. ft.
Biography | Scope and Content | Provenance | Series Descriptions
Born in 1916, LaVerne W. Miller grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated in 1938 with a liberal arts degree from Milwaukee-Downer College for Women. She received two master's degrees, one in literature from the University of Chicago and the other in business administration from the University of Maryland. She also received a doctorate in literature from Bradley University.
From 1957 to 1959, Miller taught at the University of Maryland. In 1961, she joined the faculty of Montgomery College in Montgomery County Maryland. She was the Learning Resources Director at the Takoma Park Campus of Montgomery College until her retirement in 1997. She played a role in the development of the Maryland College of the Air Consortium, distance learning courses in which students learned from shows broadcast over Maryland Public Television with periodic class meetings at the college campus. Miller also directed programs that brought prominent guest lecturers to campus and helped develop and direct the college's English as a Second Language program. She also served as the Washington area coordinator of course development for the Great Books Foundation.
Miller was also an active member of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), serving on the Definitions and Technology Committee of the International Division. As a judge for the Council on Nontheatrical Events (CINE), Miller helped select American educational films to participate in various international film festivals. Several of these festivals were hosted by the International Council for Educational Media (ICEM), an organization created to provide a channel for the international exchange and evaluation of information, experience and materials in the field of educational media. Miller also was a member of the Maryland Association for Higher Education (MAHE) and edited the group's newsletter. She served on the Middle States Association's Council on Higher Education which assisted colleges in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and the Caribbean with self-assessment of their programs.
LaVerne W. Miller died on May 4, 2001.
The Papers of LaVerne W. Miller cover the years 1951 to 1995 and contain some undated material. The bulk of the materials dates from 1975 to 1992. The collection documents Miller's career at the Takoma Park campus of Montgomery College as the Director of Learning Resources and her participation in the Maryland College of the Air Consortium. Also documented are her dealings with adult learning resources in general and cable telecommunications. The collection also contains materials from her service in the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), Council on International Nontheatrical Events (CINE), International Council for Educational Media (ICEM), Maryland Association for Higher Education (MAHE), and the Middle States Association's Council on Higher Education, as well as correspondence with colleges, publications, and audiovisual materials collected over the years. Types of materials include textbooks, study guides, correspondence, notes, reports, student coursework, newsletters, brochures, article clippings, transparencies, slides, a computer disk, a phonograph recording, and photographs.
The collection consists of eight series:
- Series 1: College of the Air
- Series 2: Adult Learning Resources
- Series 3: Cable Telecommunications
- Series 4: Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)
- Series 5: Professional Affiliations
- Series 6: Publications
- Series 7: Subject Files
- Series 8: Audiovisual Materials
The Papers of LaVerne W. Miller were donated to the National Public Broadcasting Archives, University of Maryland Libraries by LaVerne W. Miller in five installments in 1991, 1994 and 1995.
Series 1: College of the Air, 1965-1994 (27.5 lin. ft.)
This series documents Miller's work as the Director of Learning Resources at the Takoma Park campus of Montgomery College.
- Subseries 1: Telecourses, 1965-1993
This subseries covers the various courses that were presented at Montgomery College through the College of the Air. Major courses include: Classic Theatre, Understanding Human Behavior, the Growing Years, and Family Portrait. Often courses had two names, the television show name and the Montgomery College name. Most of the information can be found under the television show name. Materials include programs/previews, textbooks, course materials, study guides, test banks, and student coursework and are arranged alphabetically by telecourse title.
- Subseries 2: Montgomery College Administration, 1968-1994
This subseries contains materials concerning the administration at Montgomery College in Montgomery County Maryland, where LaVerne Miller was the Director of Learning Resources. Most deal with the administration of telecourses at the Takoma Park campus, including license agreements, correspondence with various Montgomery College personnel, course calendars, course proposals, enrollment figures and student evaluations. There is also information pertaining to the college board of trustees, copyrights, publicity, and campus newsletters. Materials include reports, correspondence, article clippings, brochures, budgets, license agreements, transparencies, and slides, and are arranged alphabetically by topic.
- Subseries 3: Maryland College of the Air Consortium, 1969-1992
This subseries deals with the Maryland College of the Air Consortium, organized in 1970 by Maryland Public Television to provide telecourses to students who cannot take traditional on-campus courses. Most of Montgomery College's telecourses were provided by the Maryland COA. Topics covered include the Adult Learning Service Courses, information about consortium affiliates, the Council for Resource Directors (CORD), and workshops. Materials include catalogs, correspondence, brochures, minutes, reports, notes, directories, article clippings, and newsletters and are arranged alphabetically by topic.
- Subseries 4: Public Television Stations, 1979-1988
This subseries covers various public television stations that were active in telecourse broadcasting, either in the Maryland area or other areas. These stations include WAPB (Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting), WETA (Washington, DC), and WGBH (Boston, MA). Materials include correspondence, brochures and reports, and are arranged alphabetically by station and chronologically within.
Series 2: Adult Learning Resources, 1968-1995 (3.5 lin. ft.)
This series contains materials relating to adult learning resources collected by Miller that are not directly related to Montgomery College or the Maryland College of the Air Consortium. Some of these resources are from the Annenberg-Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Project, the BBC, the EPIE (Educational Products Information Exchange) Institute, and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Adult Learning Service. Topics include grants and scholarships, films, guides and catalogs, and the arts and endowments. Materials include reports, brochures, correspondence, article clippings, and newsletters, and are arranged alphabetically by resource and/or topic.
Series 3: Cable Telecommunications 1977-1989 (1.75 lin. ft.)
This series consists of Miller's research into the use of cable television for telecourses. Topics include conferences and workshops, Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting, the Montgomery College Cable Plan, Montgomery Community Television, the Montgomery County Council, and publications. In the early 1980s, Montgomery College considered cable television as a option for its telecourses. Miller attended several conferences and workshops related to this. Each campus of Montgomery College had its own cable committee and several plans for cable telecommunications were drafted. Additionally, Miller collected legislation from the Montgomery County Council, the state of Maryland, and the federal government concerning cable. She also collected various publications dealing with cable issues. Materials include reports, notes, brochures, correspondence, program guides, article clippings, and official documents, arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically within topic.
Series 4: Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT), 1971-1992 (6.5 lin. ft.)
This series documents Miller's membership in the Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT), as well as her related work for the Council on International Nontheatrical Events (CINE) and the International Council for Educational Media (ICEM).
- Subseries 1: General, 1971-1992
This subseries covers the overall workings of the AECT. Some of the topics covered include general correspondence and correspondence with specific personnel, by-laws, AECT Conventions, the Definitions and Technology Committee, the International Division, and Publications of the AECT. Materials include correspondence, program guides, brochures, notes, various forms, a computer disk, newsletters, magazines, and article clippings and are arranged alphabetically by topic and then chronologically within topics.
- Subseries 2: Council on International Nontheatrical Events (CINE), 1977-1992
This subseries contains materials relating to Miller's work with CINE. She served as a judge, selecting American educational films for the CINE Golden Eagle Aware and others to be sent abroad for international competition. In addition to jury forms and recommendation sheets, materials also include correspondence, brochures, program guides and catalogs, financial statements and budgets, and the CINE by-laws, all arranged in alphabetical order by topic.
- Subseries 3: International Council for Educational Media (ICEM), 1973-1994
This subseries focuses on the international functions hosted by the ICEM. The primary gatherings are the International Week for Educational Media and Films in the spring and the General Assembly meeting in the fall. Materials are arranged chronologically and include correspondence, catalogues, brochures, programs, and reports from the gatherings, as well as several issues of the ICEM magazine Educational Media International.
Series 5: Professional Affiliations, 1968-1994 (7.5 lin. ft.)
This series details Miller's other educational related affiliations.
- Subseries 1: Conferences and Organizations, 1968-1992
This subseries covers various educational conferences Miller attended, as well as organizations of which she may have been a member or from whom she received information. Conference topics include curriculum organization, technology, copyright, distance learning, high definition television (HDTV), and teleconferencing. Materials include correspondence, brochures, reports, notes and catalogs and are arranged alphabetically by conference or organization.
- Subseries 2: Maryland Association for Higher Education (MAHE), 1984-1990
This subseries details Miller's time as the editor of the Maryland Association for Higher Education's newsletter. Materials include correspondence and the newsletter itself, organized chronologically.
- Subseries 3: Middle States Association-Council on Higher Education, 1968-1994
This subseries documents Miller's work with the Middle States Association's Council on Higher Education. It provides information about the various member colleges, campus visits by the Council, and self-assessment by the colleges. Some of the colleges represented are Burlington County Community College, Cayuga County Community College, Community College of Allegheny County, Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, and Sullivan County Community College. Types of materials include correspondence, handbooks, reports, brochures, guidebooks, syllabi, manuals, article clippings and by-laws and are arranged alphabetically by school.
- Subseries 4: Other Colleges, 1968-1994
This subseries covers various contacts Miller had with colleges outside of the Middle States Association. Materials include correspondence, handbooks, reports, brochures, guidebooks, syllabi, manuals, and article clippings and are arranged alphabetically by school.
Series 6: Publications, 1951-1990 (1.0 lin. ft.)
This series consists of various publications collected by Miller throughout her career in education. Topics range from instructional television to computer instruction to educational films and the use of television in education. Of note are several books in Danish and Finnish concerning grade school reform and development and language instruction. There is also a collection of 1983 speeches by President Ronald Reagan. Additionally, this series contains notes and bibliographies collected by Miller for general research on education. Materials include article clippings, magazines, books, brochures, reports, and correspondence and are arranged chronologically.
Series 7: Subject Files, 1962-1990 (0.75 lin .ft.)
This series is comprised of files on various subjects. Topics include compressed speech, conservation, consumerism, Francis Ford Coppola, Germany, and other miscellany. One large subject is computers/computer assisted instruction (CAI) which traces the minimal use of computers in education from the late 1960s to the more prevalent use in the 1980s. Another large subject is educational/instructional technology which contains information about various forms of technology such as film, bibliographies for such information and government documents about the use of educational technology. Materials include brochures, article clippings, correspondence, notes, government documents, reports, and a phonographic recording (in compressed speech), and are arranged alphabetically by topic.
Series 8: Audiovisual Materials, 1980-1991 (1.75 lin. ft.)
This series contains audiocassette tapes and videocassette tapes collected by Miller. Videocassettes include a set of eight management telecourse in 1980 and a preview of the "Family Album USA" course. The series also has a set of three student videos that won the 1988 Community College Association for Instructional and Technology competition. Audiocassettes include a preview of the Annenberg/CPB Project, Audio-Print Course Collection 1988 and a recording of a May 1985 Cable Television Conference. These materials can be found in the NPBA audiovisual collection.
A complete guide in Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf) format can be found here.
