Dr. Sylvia Miller, chair and associate professor in the School of Nursing, is retiring on Aug. 17 after nearly 25 dedicated years of service to the university.

A registered nurse of 55 years, Miller extended her health care knowledge and expertise into the classroom, having taught in higher education for nearly 45 years — 25 of which have been at Fresno State. She got her start in the School of Nursing in 1992 as a clinical instructor specializing in medical/surgical nursing. She later taught at CSU, Dominguez Hills before returning to Fresno State in 2004 as an associate professor. Miller has been at the university ever since. In that time, she also served as director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program before leading the school as chair for the past five years.

Often described as having "grace under fire," Miller has led many initiatives on campus and has guided the school through many challenges during her time as chair, including converting in-person clinical courses into virtual simulation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this endeavor, over 300 nursing students in the bachelor’s program were able to complete their clinical hours, including 57 who graduated in May 2020. This helped to alleviate the nursing shortage, while also keeping students on track to graduate.

She also worked with Fresno City College’s nursing program on the Nurse Pipeline Extension Project, a collaborative effort to increase health care professionals in the San Joaquin Valley. Through the project, opportunities are created for first-generation nursing students of color to achieve advanced degrees in nursing — allowing them a seamless transition to a bachelor’s degree program at Fresno State after obtaining an associate’s degree in the field from Fresno City College.

"I’ve really enjoyed watching students, of all levels - baccalaureate, master’s and doctorate — gain knowledge and apply that knowledge in so many settings," Miller said. "That was the real reward of teaching in the School of Nursing.”

Outside of the academic setting, Miller has led an extensive and admirable career in nursing, which includes medical/surgical nursing, critical care, cardiac care, parish nursing and palliative care at various medical and health care institutions in California, Louisiana, North Dakota and Texas with a majority of her career spent at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, where she led the palliative care team, among many other achievements. In 2019, she was conducted into the Central San Joaquin Valley Nursing Hall of Fame. Along with retiring from academia, Miller will also be retiring from the nursing profession, which she began in 1971.

Miller’s professional nursing journey started at Fresno State, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, as well as a post-master’s family nurse practitioner certificate in addition to a master’s degree in education. She also obtained a doctorate of education from the University of San Francisco.

Miller plans to enjoy traveling during her retirement, as well as work on becoming a master gardener. Share your well-wishes with her at symiller@csufresno.edu.