Arjay Miller : Interview for the John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Rawley John “Arjay” Miller, Jr., who was the president of the Ford Motor Company and later served as the dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, discusses his early life in Nebraska, studying economics at UCLA, his career at Ford and at Stanford, and his close friendship with John W. Gardner. Topics covered include Miller’s role as one of the ten “Whiz Kids” at Ford in the post-war era, his decision to accept the deanship at Stanford, and his belief in the importance of business and philanthropy to Stanford’s future. He recounts several specific stories regarding his relationship with John W. Gardner, including his reflections on reading Self-Renewal, Gardner asking him to spend more time on Common Cause, memories from Gardner’s so- called “lunch bunch,” and Gardner’s decision to turn down Lyndon B. Johnson’s request that he run for the Senate. Miller expresses his deep admiration for Gardner’s ability to inspire, comparing his mastery over language to none other than William Shakespeare. He makes the case that Stanford should more formally recognize Gardner’s contributions.
Description
Type of resource | text |
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Extent | 1 text file |
Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Date created | March 28, 2017 |
Language | English |
Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
Interviewee | Miller, Arjay R. | |
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Creator | Miller, Arjay R. | |
Interviewer | Mancini, Nancy | |
Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
Subject | Gardner, John W. (John William), 1912-2002 |
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Subject | Civil Society > United States |
Subject | Stanford University. Graduate School of Business |
Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
Biographical profile | Rawley John “Arjay” Miller, Jr. (1916-2017) was born in Shelby, Nebraska, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA in 1937. After working as a part-time teaching assistant at UCLA, he worked as an economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He then served in the US Air Force before joining Ford Motor Company in 1946 as part of a group of young military veterans who became known as the “Whiz Kids” for their role in retooling the auto giant’s business operations following World War II. He remained at Ford until he accepted the position of dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1969. Miller credits John W. Gardner’s seminal book, Self-Renewal (1964), with influencing him to accept Stanford’s offer. Miller and Gardner became good friends, with Miller being a founding member of Gardner’s “lunch bunch” at Stanford. Miller served as the fourth dean of the Graduate School of Business from 1969 to 1979. Under his leadership, the School rose to the top ranks of management education institutions, expanded its endowment and created the Public Management Program. It was his experiences while at Ford, including communications with government regulators of the auto industry and failed efforts to bring jobs to the inner city in Detroit, that were the foundation for establishing the Public Management Program. Through the program, Dean Miller sought to educate students in the concerns of government and society, and government in the needs of business. Within five years, the Stanford Graduate School of Business was voted the number one business school in the country. He was quoted in 1969 as saying, “The problems facing our society today are what I call public goods.” Miller was characterized as a serious, practical, and goal-oriented dean, but he was far from stiff. He enjoyed meeting with young MBAs. Under Dean Miller’s leadership, student and faculty diversity in the GSB increased, with the number of African American students increasing from five to twenty-four, Hispanics from zero to thirty-four, and Asian American from four to twenty-seven. In his tenure at Stanford, Arjay Miller was able to bring the lessons learned from private industry and create an environment for not only academic excellence, but also an awareness of and ability to influence the business world and government for the public good. Among his many recognitions, Miller was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution. |
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Audio |
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Finding Aid | |
Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/st067nr2181 |
Location | SC1355 |
Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
John W. Gardner Legacy Oral History Project
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