University Of Akron Names Gary Miller President

The University of Akron Board of Trustees voted unanimously this week to name Gary L. Miller the 18th president of the university. 

Miller is currently chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and will resign Sept. 30 to take over at Akron on Oct. 1.

"We have been received with great warmth throughout this entire process and I'm deeply honored and privileged to come to Akron to be a part of this great university," Miller told the Akron trustees Wednesday.

The city itself and friends that reside in Akron played a role in his decision, Miller says.

"We will make a difference here when we can," Miller said. "We will have our family here, we will live here. One of the reasons we were so interested in this position is because of this great city."

The university has been planning and executing a reorganization for the past several years, which included the elimination of several degree programs. Several other potential major changes were put on hold while the presidential search was completed.

Miller was asked what he can do to gain the trust of faculty and students as he takes over.

"Well, we will engage in intensive conversations with each other and one of the challenges in working with any big organization is to understand prespectives, understand points of view, understand process," Miller said.

University Board Chair Joseph Gingo declined to name any other finalists or thos interviewed for the job, citing confidentiality. He also declined to give a number for the candidates they considered.

Miller replaces John Green, who has served as interim president of since 2018. The university's leadership has been in transition for several years, starting with the appointment of Scott Scarborough in 2014. He served a tumultuous two years before being forced out and replaced by the dean of Akron's college of law, Matthew Wilson. Wilson served two years before stepping down and returning to the law school, though he left the university this spring to become president of Missouri Western State University.

WKSU's Sarah Taylor contributed to this report.