The Story

Miller, '58, Awarded Mason Business School's Highest Honor

Nov. 7, 2007 | By Jonna Knappenberger, DSJ News Editor

Professor Jim Bradley and Alan B. Miller hold the Medallion Award. Courtesy of Ellen Buck.

Alan B. Miller was awarded the T.C. and Elizabeth Clarke Business Medallion from the College’s Mason School of Business. The award is the School’s highest honor, and recipients are selected by the faculty. Miller was officially recognized at a ceremony on Oct. 17.

A Faculty Affairs Committee at the Mason School nominates multiple candidates every year for the honor. The final recipient is then determined by votes cast by faculty. Past distinguished Clarke Medallion recipients include Frank Batten of Landmark Communication, K. Dane Brooksher of ProLogis, Kathryn Graham of The Washington Post, Raymond A. �"Chip” Mason of Legg Mason, James E. Ukrop of Ukrop’s Supermarkets and First Market Bank and the late Sam Walton of Wal-Mart.

According to a press release, Medallion winners have �"represented the highest standards of professionalism …and serve to exemplify the characteristics The Mason School seeks to instill in its business school students.”

Prof. James Bradley, chair of the committee, said of this year’s recipient, �"[Miller] is an inspiration to us and to our students.” He added, �"Miller’s professional accomplishments, his personal life and his philanthropy reflect the core values of integrity, character, vision, generosity and hard work.”

�"It is a great honor to join the list of such distinguished business and civic leaders,” Miller said.

After graduating from the College in 1958, Alan Miller went on to earn his MBA from the Wharton School of Business. In 1978, he founded Universal Health Services, which now has more than 38,000 employees, 150 facilities and annual revenues exceeding $4 billion.

Due to his successes in the business world, Miller has received numerous other awards. He won Modern Healthcare’s �"100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” award for five consecutive years, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Federation of American Health Systems and Financial World’s �"Outstanding 100 CEOs.”

Miller now lives near Philadelphia and serves on the Board of Overseers at the Wharton School.

In April of this year, a groundbreaking took place in what was formerly the Common Glory parking lot to begin construction of the new Mason School of Business building. Miller is a primary donor in the project, and the hall will bear his name.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Miller spoke about his alma mater. �"William and Mary is a special place and has had a lasting influence on me. I am honored to help launch the next generation of future business leaders,” he said.

President Gene Nichol also offered comments at the event, saying, �"This new building will give our Mason School much-needed space and enable the faculty and student interactions that drive great academic enterprises. But it will also appropriately honor Alan’s friendship. Everyone associated with William and Mary is in his debt.”

Construction is slated to end in the spring of 2009, and the building should be open the following fall. It will house the undergraduate, Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Masters of Accounting (MAcc) and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs. It will also be home to the Center for Corporate Education (CCE) and Center for Entrepreneurship.

Miller has served as a trustee of the William and Mary Endowment Association and is a lifetime member of the College President’s Council. In 1999, he received the College’s highest alumni award, the Alumni Medallion. In addition to his donations to the Mason School of Business, Miller has also contributed to athletics and student scholarships at the College.

According to Mason School Dean Lawrence B. Pulley, �"We have come to know Alan quite well over the past couple of years, and I cannot think of a more deserving recipient of this year’s Clarke Medallion.”

�"Alan epitomizes the Medallion ideal of principled achievement at the highest levels in business, and it is a privilege to recognize him,” said Pulley.