James C. Miller, president and chief executive officer of the NDSU Development Foundation, is one of two people selected to receive the prestigious Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (often known as CASE). Miller, along with Mike Goodwin, president and chief executive officer of the Oregon State University Foundation, will be recognized during the 21st annual CASE Conference for Institutionally Related Foundations April 18 in Atlanta.
Institutionally related foundations are nonprofit organizations that cultivate and manage private assets to support the missions of colleges and universities with which they are affiliated. The award recognizes professionals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement, quality and effectiveness of their foundations and the sector.
“I am extremely honored to be selected for this high honor, along with my longtime friend Mike Goodwin. I’ve enjoyed a wonderful career path, especially the past 31 years at NDSU and the Development Foundation/Alumni Association,” Miller said. “I owe a debt of gratitude to the countless volunteers who provided unselfish service to the organizations, the donors who have given so generously to our campaigns, and my staff and university associates who have provided encouragement and good counsel to me during my career.”
Miller has 42 years of experience in institutional advancement. Early in his career, he held leadership positions at the Kearney State College Foundation in Nebraska and the Kansas State University Foundation.
During his 31-year tenure at the NDSU Development Foundation, Miller transformed a fledging foundation into a model fundraising and alumni relations program. Miller presided over many major accomplishments, including an increase in the foundation's total assets from $3 million to more than $161 million, growth in its endowment portfolio from $1 million to more than $100 million and increasing giving from $500,000 to more than $15 million annually.
“What has taken place at NDSU, and what Mr. Miller has had a catalytic part of making happen, has been the transition of a regional doctoral institution into what both the National Science Foundation and the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education rank as one of the top-100 research universities in the nation," wrote NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani in a letter of nomination.
Miller is a longtime active member of CASE. He has served on the organization’s board of trustees, the CASE Commission on Philanthropy, National Committee of Institutionally Related Foundations and other committees. He also received the CASE Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence.
The awards are underwritten by Commonfund, which provides fund management services and investment advice to nonprofit organizations. CASE’s membership includes more than 3,600 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in 76 countries around the world.