Eric Miller named Virginia Tech's program director for Education Abroad
Eric Miller, coordinator for Study Abroad Programs at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, has been named program director for Education Abroad at Virginia Tech. He will begin his new position Feb. 10.
Miller has experience in all aspects of education abroad programs, including faculty-led programs and exchange programs. At Loras College, Miller was instrumental in increasing participation in study abroad from 15 percent to more than 30 percent. He also set up a new exchange program at the University of Botswana and developed study abroad opportunities for underrepresented majors.
With backgrounds in anthropology and Chinese studies and program management experience at Yale University, Miller brings a rich set of experiences and knowledge to his new position. He is an expert on Chinese society and has taught a range of classes on modern China, including City as Text.
“I’m confident Eric Miller will be a great asset to the university,” said S.K. De Datta, associate vice president for Virginia Tech’s Office of International Affairs and director of the Office of International Research, Education, and Development. “His passion for the benefits of exposing young people to study overseas is inspiring, and he has the right mix of skills for the job.”
“I am very excited to be a part of Virginia Tech,” said Miller. “I am looking forward to finding new ways to get students abroad, because these experiences are so exciting and so valuable for the students who do them. On a personal level, I have been impressed by the warm welcome of the people I have met so far, and am looking forward to working with the exceptional students, faculty, and staff of Virginia Tech.”
Miller began his career in 1993 as the director of the Dalian Program for Brethren Colleges Abroad in Dalian, China. He has been a teaching Fellow in the department of anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa., and coordinator of the China Law Center at Yale Law School.
Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh.
Virginia Tech’s education abroad office sends more than 1,200 students overseas annually to as many as 40 countries around the world.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
