Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) proudly announces a partnership with the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to modernize its Business Building and transform its School of Business. The improvements are made possible through a generous $10 million gift from the Miller Family Foundation and Gail Miller, the largest-ever single cash donation received by the college.
SLCC is renaming its Business Building the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Business Building in honor of the Miller family’s legacy and contributions to the community. The business school will be named the Gail Miller School of Business in recognition of the strong business acumen Gail Miller displays as a community leader and as the owner and immediate past chair of the Larry H. Miller Company. This name change will make SLCC home to the only business school in Utah and one of only a few in the country to be named exclusively after a woman.
“We are deeply humbled by the generosity of Gail and the Miller family and the extraordinary leadership they provide to our community,” said SLCC President Deneece G. Huftalin. “And I am particularly thrilled to be the first in the state to name a business school after a successful businesswoman and leader. The Gail Miller School of Business amplifies Gail’s amazing skills as a business leader and the success she has achieved through hard work, courage, leading with integrity and a fierce commitment to serving the community. It is a powerful signal to young women that they too can achieve great success in the C-suite. We are grateful for this gift and for the friendship and support the Miller family has given to the college over the years. SLCC is a better institution because of their involvement and commitment to our students.”
With the Miller Family Foundation’s gift, SLCC will renovate and expand the current 50,000-square-foot business building to include a larger, high-tech auditorium, kickstarter spaces for entrepreneurs and upgraded learning environments. The renovation also includes improvements to SLCC’s Business Resource Instructional Center, which offers academic advising and IT assistance to more than 13,000 students annually.
The gift will also enable SLCC to strengthen the high-impact learning practices in its business courses such as undergraduate research and real-world problem solving. Modeled after the Miller’s commitment to serving the community as they do business, the new Business Scholars Program will require students to work with a faculty mentor each semester to create cause-related or nonprofit projects that benefit the community.
“We love the power of learning and are humbled by the opportunity to help others achieve their educational goals,” said Gail Miller, chair of the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation. “Salt Lake Community College plays an important role in developing future business leaders and problem solvers. The knowledge they gain here will enrich lives and strengthen communities.”
The Miller family is a long-time supporter of SLCC. The family began sponsoring student scholarships in the 1980s. In the early 2000s, the Miller family donated the land and buildings for SLCC’s Miller Campus in Sandy. The Millers envisioned the campus as a place where anyone could pursue a business education regardless of ability to pay. Today, the Miller Campus is home to “The Mill,” a small business resource center offering education and training to local entrepreneurs, and SLCC’s Culinary Arts, Automotive, Public Safety and Professional Development programs. The Miller Campus also features extensive public conference facilities and a Veterans Business Resource Center.
In addition to the Foundation’s financial support, Gail Miller has served the college as a member of the SLCC Board of Trustees, as chair from 2013-2017, and as Trustee Emeritus since 2017. Additionally, since 2013 she has been the title sponsor of the Gail Miller Leadership Cup, an annual golf tournament that raises scholarship dollars for SLCC students. SLCC awarded Gail an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2008.
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About the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation
The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation was established in 2007 to continue the philanthropic spirit exemplified by Larry and Gail Miller for future generations. The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation supports programs that enrich lives and communities in the areas of health and medicine, shelter and food security, education and training, jobs and economic self-reliance, and cultural and spiritual enrichment.
About Gail Miller
Gail Miller is the owner of the Larry H. Miller Company, established by Larry and Gail in May of 1979 with the purchase of their first automobile dealership in Murray, Utah. Today, the company has a diversified portfolio of companies doing business across the United States. Their headquarters are in Sandy, Utah.
In addition to serving on the company’s board of directors, Gail presides over the Larry H. Miller Education Foundation and is chair of the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation. She gives generously of her time and resources to civic endeavors.
Gail serves on Intermountain Healthcare’s Board of Trustees and as the Canyons Region Board Chair. She also serves on the Zions Bank Advisory Board, is the co-chair of the Utah Homeless Council, a member of the board of Shelter the Homeless, co-chair of the Kem C. Gardner Institute, and author of Courage to be You, Inspiring Lessons from an Unexpected Journey.
Media Contact:
Peta Owens-Liston
peta.liston@slcc.edu
801-957-5099
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