Though Robert Miller’s career at SUNY New Paltz primarily found him working with students and fellow faculty in the Department of Digital Media & Journalism and the Department of Communication, his passion for theatre may be an equal part of the legacy he leaves following his retirement.
Miller, whose educational background is in theatre arts (he holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a M.A. from the University of Iowa), moved to the Hudson Valley in the early 1990s. He had worked in regional theatres for about two decades, most notably as artistic director of the Asolo Touring Theatre in Sarasota, Fla.
Productions were performed at Kennedy Center in DC and Brooklyn Academy of Music.
He brought that experience to the College as a director of stage performances working with the Department of Theatre Arts as part of a summer theatre program. Shortly thereafter, Miller transferred to what was known at the time as the Department of Communication & Media, thus embarking on a new professional journey that carried him through the 2014-2015 academic year.
Miller’s primary areas of teaching interest have been media & society, public speaking and interpersonal communication. He was an active and versatile member of the Communication & Media faculty at New Paltz and was able to thrive during a period of unprecedented technological change within that industry.
“It was always fun keeping up with new digital media, and I enjoyed working with students on that because it was all new for them too,” Miller said. “It was also very rewarding teaching interpersonal communication, working one-on-one with students and dealing with relational concepts.”
During his tenure, Miller served as associate chair of the department and worked frequently with interns and other students as an advisor. His ability to teach an array of different classes helped ease the transition when Communication and Media split into two academic houses, the Department of Communication and the Department pf Digital Media & Journalism.
More recently, Miller rejoined the Department of Theatre Arts to direct. He was centrally involved in the organization and production of the New Play Festival, a theatre event last held in 2013 for which students and community members submitted short, original dramatic pieces to be performed by students in the program.
Miller looks forward to continuing his work as producing director of the Mohonk Mountain Stage Company, which he co-founded with his wife Christine Crawfis in 1994. He will build on a directing career that has included production work for theaters and colleges including Shadowland Theater, Queen City Stage, Wallkill Repertory Theater, SUNY Summer Repertory Theater, the Hudson Valley Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Marist College and Mount St. Mary College.
