The Iowa Stater
May 1996
An alum at heart
Miller bequest funds two fellowships
Wendell Miller never attended a class at Iowa State. But he
learned from the university, spent a lot of time on campus
and formed an attachment as strong as any alumnus.When he died in 1995, he left half of his 31-farm estate to Iowa State. The other half went to the University of Iowa.
The former Chicago lawyer's friendship with Iowa State began when he returned to the state to manage his parents' farm in the Rockwell City area. Miller rented out his farms, but when he needed farm management guidance, he looked to Carl Hamilton, former vice president of development and an avid Iowa State champion. Hamilton, who died in 1991, earned Miller's respect and trust through a relationship that lasted more than 25 years.
"He [Miller] was always trying to learn about farms," Carl Hamilton's wife Ruth recalled, and Hamilton's farm background inspired Miller's confidence. "Carl could talk the language," she said. He also would put Miller in touch with Iowa State agricultural faculty and researchers.
"Over the years, he used the university's ag and extension specialists regularly," remembered Joe Morton, former ISU Foundation executive director. "He would want to know when to sell and hold commodities, about crop rotation and new farm practices.
"Carl took it upon himself to look after Mr. Miller," Morton added.
This included regular trips to Rockwell City, attending Iowa State events with Miller and on at least one occasion, taking him to the hospital in Rochester, Minn.
Morton remembers Miller as the courtly, gentlemanly type, who was quite business-like. "He was pretty well consumed with his business interests," he said.
Miller was born in 1898 in Altoona, Ill., and grew up in Rockwell City. He graduated from Grinnell College and Harvard Law School, then practiced law in Chicago for the Santa Fe Rail-road before returning to Rockwell City.
He never married but liked to entertain, remembered Ruth Hamilton. His house had a dance floor on the third floor and the basement was set up for entertaining.
Throughout the years, Miller never lost his interest in Iowa State. When new presidents came on board, Miller looked to Hamilton for reassurance that the university would maintain its quality and prestige.
The Miller estate includes a residence in Rockwell City, 7,350 acres of farmland, stocks and bonds, notes, mortgages, cash and other assets.
His will stipulated that the bulk of his estate be used to create the Miller Endowment Trust, with income from the trust to be divided equally between Iowa State and the Uni- versity of Iowa.
"Iowa State has never before received or been the beneficiary of a gift as large as the Wendell Miller estate," said President Martin Jischke.
Part of the earnings from the Miller endowment, up to $250,000 annually, will be put into faculty fellowships and another $240,000 annually will go to fellowships for exceptional graduate students.
Faculty fellowships during the first year will go to faculty who are developing courses or teaching methods that will enrich the educa-tional experience of undergraduates.
Twelve students will be selected each year for the four- year Miller Graduate Fellowships. Each fellowship will consist of an annual $5,000 stipend for four years, which will be added to the usual graduate stipend or occasionally used to relieve the student of teaching duties.
-- Linda Charles, Editor
The Iowa Stater, stater@iastate.edu, University Relations
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Revi
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