Former vice chancellor dies at age 86

Harold Lee
Published: Friday, October 1, 2004

Norman P. Miller, UCLA’s first vice chancellor of student and campus affairs and coordinator of UCLA’s involvement in the 1984 Olympic Games, died of natural causes Sept. 7 in his Sherman Oaks home. He was 86.

Born in Los Angeles on April, 19, 1918, Miller had a long-lasting relationship with UCLA.

Miller received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from UCLA in 1939. As a UCLA student, Miller was a pole vaulter on the track team.

After earning his master’s degree from Columbia University in 1941 and a stint as a U.S. Air Force captain during World War II, Miller came back to UCLA in 1949 as an assistant professor in physical education.

“He was just gung-ho,” his wife Nadine said. “(Sports) were his whole life.”

Miller went on to create the UCLA Office of Cultural and Recreational Affairs in 1962. In 1970, he was appointed as the first vice chancellor of student and campus affairs, and spearheaded efforts to create the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center which opened in 1966.

“It was his idea and it was his goal,” his wife said. “There was nothing there at the time. It was really all due to him.”

Miller was personally involved in many aspects of the athletics programs, building several from the ground up.

“He was my first boss here at UCLA,” said Andy Banachowski, women’s volleyball coach. “He was always kind and gracious and always very outgoing to everyone.”

Miller was also heavily involved in the development of UCLA’s women’s sports programs, supporting them as much as he supported men’s sports, said Roberta Wollin, Miller’s former secretary.

Before retiring from the vice chancellor position in 1979, Miller was a driving force behind the creation of the Wooden Center by submitting a referendum that would approve a student fee to go towards the recreation center’s construction.

Miller was also instrumental in bringing the Olympic Games to Los Angeles. He served as UCLA’s representative on the committee that submitted Los Angeles’s bid to host the Olympics. He planned for the games and accommodations for foreign athletes.

Some of Miller’s hobbies included stream fishing, camping and quail hunting in addition to his love of sports.

Miller is also survived by his sister, Barbara Skinner. Services were held. Chapel of the Oaks at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall handled the arrangements.