University of Maryland names administration building after longtime Maryland Senate President Mike Miller

The University of Maryland announced Monday that its main administration building will be named after alumnus and longtime state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.

The university said in a news release that Miller was being honored for “tirelessly advocating” for higher education in the state. Miller was “instrumental” in passing 1988 legislation that reorganized higher education in Maryland that designated College Park as the state’s flagship institution, the university said, and helped prioritize state funding, helping the campus raise its reputation.

“Every year, tens of thousands of Terps will cross McKeldin Mall, inspired by Senator Miller’s unwavering commitment to propelling our university forward,” University President-Designate Darryll J. Pines said in a news release. “His name will remind us all of his unwavering pursuit of service to the great state of Maryland and to the world.”

Miller was Maryland’s longest-serving Senate president, serving from 1987 until stepping down from the role in January as he fights prostate cancer that is in an “advanced” stage.

The state senator was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1970, and was elected to the state Senate in 1974. He represents District 27, which includes portions of Calvert, Prince George’s and Charles counties.

He graduated from Maryland in 1964 and went on to law school there, graduating three years later.

The university said Miller also helped provide investment from the state to build or improve facilities such as the Bioscience Research Building, Xfinity Center, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Physical Sciences Complex and Cole Field House. He also helped the school’s strategic partnership with the flagship campus and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which has a $1 billion joint research enterprise, 25 joint programs and centers, and 600 joint research proposals, the university said.

“I want to thank everybody who made this possible, especially my wife of 55 years who I met here on the College Park campus. We’ve been together ever since,” Miller said in the release. “This is our home away from home and I am very grateful for this honor.”