Creating the Miller Scholars Program

February 18, 2026

Over 250 Miller Scholars and 29 Years Strong

The Miller Scholars Program welcomes 10 outstanding community college transfer students each year, offering them the opportunity to grow as leaders, researchers, and changemakers in their communities. Originally funded for just 10 years, the program’s lasting impact at Berkeley has carried it into its 29th year—supporting more than 250 scholars and counting! But what began as a simple idea has grown into a powerful legacy. Let’s take a look at how it all started—and where it stands today.

A Donation for Undergraduates

George Miller made a $1 million donation to the University of California, Berkeley. Half of it went to the Library Humanities Collection, and the other half was meant to support undergraduate students at Cal. On October 11, 1996, Maryellen Himell, Director of Development and Community Relations, proposed using the remaining half of the “Miller Gift” and pitched the idea to the Vice Chancellor of Undergraduate Affairs, Genero M. Padilla. The Miller Gift was initially considered for existing mentoring and outreach programs. However, it ultimately led to the creation of what they proposed to be called “The George Miller Scholars Institute for Transfer Students.”

george miller sitting down next to the Doe library

The program was modeled after the McNair Scholars Program and Cal Corps, combining elements of both to give students a unique experience at Berkeley. Himell envisioned the program reaching low-income, first-generation college transfer students representing all ethnic backgrounds and academic disciplines. Students would be recruited to Cal with the expectation that they participate in intensive mentoring programs, guiding them toward graduate and professional degrees. They would also participate in community service and experiential learning programs.

With the help of TRIO SSS, the proposal noted a willingness to modestly redeploy staff to reestablish the Summer Transfer Institute, consisting of summer workshops for incoming junior transfer students. In the spring semester, scholars would begin their community service work as “apprentices” to seniors in the program. In their senior year, they would be required to take ED 197: Field Studies Placement courses, mentor younger scholars, and engage in outreach that supports and enhances research activities.

Noting that transfer students at the time had less attractive financial aid packages than incoming lower-division students, the program sought financial assistance to make a meaningful difference in recipients’ aid packages—relieving heavy loan and work-study expectations.

The goal of the original program was to recruit exceptionally capable community college transfer students who faced significant financial disadvantages, were motivated to pursue graduate and professional school, would benefit from intensive support programs, and exhibited leadership potential that could be nurtured through community service.

Himell believed this was the kind of program Miller would find appealing. Based on her research, there was a dire need for financial support for transfer students. “A $500k gift today might be $5 million in a couple of years,” Himell said.

The Berkeley Pledge

Based on Himell’s ideas, Vice Chancellor Padilla emailed George Miller on November 5, 1996. After giving much thought and careful study to George’s question about how to make the best possible use of his $500,000 gift designated for undergraduate student support at Berkeley, Padilla proposed a plan. In accepting the gift, he promised to design an innovative program that would recruit students of exceptional caliber and great financial need to Berkeley and use the funds in a way that would have a significant impact on their undergraduate education.

Following the establishment of the Berkeley Pledge, Vice Chancellor Padilla made the recruitment of California’s most talented youth—regardless of family income or background—a top priority. The pledge also extended to those who may have taken a circuitous route through higher education, including students who excelled academically in high school but, for personal or financial reasons, enrolled in community colleges before pursuing a highly competitive and costly degree at Berkeley.

map of the bay area with all community colleges located in the bay area

In an effort to encourage these students, Vice Chancellor Padilla proposed using the Miller Gift to establish the “Miller Scholars Program for Community College Transfer Students.” Over 10 years, the program would recruit 10 high-achieving students to Berkeley from community colleges in the nine Bay Area counties. The program would provide them with intensive research mentoring and faculty support and would require significant community outreach commitments.

The California Master Plan

Incentives for community college transfer students have ranked among Berkeley’s highest recruitment priorities for many years. As early as 1960, the “California Master Plan” for Education specified a unified admission and transfer system for California’s three postsecondary public systems: the University of California, the California State University system, and the California Community Colleges. While there was a great need among community colleges statewide, the proposal recommended targeting the Bay Area for the Miller Scholars Program due to Berkeley’s historically close ties to local schools. Additionally, Padilla noted that Berkeley felt a special responsibility to address the alarming drop in applications from financially needy students whose family backgrounds may not have prepared them for a research university like Berkeley.

In 1995–1996, Bay Area community college applicants represented nearly 50% (2,480) of the statewide transfer applicant pool, yet only 13% (107) were identified as first-generation, low-income students. The goal was to send a stronger message to Bay Area community colleges that Berkeley represented a viable option for students who had worked hard to overcome difficult circumstances. The university sought to stimulate interest among these deserving students and to provide additional financial support to those who applied and were admitted.

Beginning in 1997, the Miller Scholars Program would recruit and fund 10 cohorts of first-generation, low-income students from Bay Area community colleges. The scholars—representing all ethnic backgrounds and academic disciplines—would be selected using the following criteria:

Students who have demonstrated significant academic potential in high school and community college;
Students who have exhibited leadership potential that could be nurtured through community service at Berkeley;
Students who would benefit from intensive faculty mentoring and research opportunities on campus; and
Students who are motivated to pursue graduate and professional school.

In a phone conversation on November 14, 1996, Himell spoke with George Miller. George expressed enthusiasm for the proposal. He said he preferred “immediate gratification” and liked to see his money spent right away, as opposed to being placed in a traditional endowment that “goes on forever.”

photo of george miller sitting down listening to another student off screen

Establishing the Miller Scholars Program

George found the community college transfer concept especially compelling. He admitted he would not have thought of it “out of the blue,” but he remembered the California Master Plan and recognized that its promise had not been fully realized. He appreciated the program’s emphasis on outreach and community service, noting that education at a public university is supported by public funds. However, George did not believe the program should require incoming students to commit to attending graduate or professional school. He encouraged students to gain work experience after college before deciding whether to pursue graduate education.

George agreed that it made sense to establish the Miller Scholars Program as a pilot in a manageable geographic area like the Bay Area, learn from the first three years, and then modify or expand the program to all California Community Colleges. Although he did not want to interfere excessively, he expressed interest in sharing his own experiences and ideas with the scholars.

On June 6, 1997, the UC Berkeley Public Information Office officially announced the Miller Scholars Program in a press release titled “New UC Berkeley Scholarship Program Targets Community College Transfer Students,” written by Josefina Baltodano. The first cohort of students was selected by a UC Berkeley faculty committee chaired by Professor Mitchell Breitwieser, Director of the Center for the Teaching and Study of American Cultures. The Miller Scholars Program became a component of the Academic Achievement Division within Undergraduate Affairs at UC Berkeley. Initial applicants were notified of their acceptance by August 1, 1997.

photo of george miller withmiller scholars on memorial lawn for a picnic