Mason E. Miller

Mason E. Miller is widely known and respected for contributing to the creation, analysis and use of research about the communications aspects of agriculture. Born on his grandfather's farm near Ord, Nebraska, he grew up on a four-acre tract at Fort Collins, Colorado. He received a B.A. degree in newspaper journalism from the University of Colorado (1948), an M.S. in magazine journalism from Northwestern University (1949) and a PhD in communication from Michigan State University (1964). During five years of service in World War II, he served with the 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division in invasions of Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, France and Germany.

Dr. Miller and his wife, Beverly, raised three children - Denise (deceased), Nancy and Douglas -and have five grandchildren. His professional and academic experiences include the following:

• Agricultural experiment station editor and assistant to the director, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, at Washington State University (1949-1962).
• Graduate student and reports editor for the National Project in Agricultural Communication (NPAC) at Michigan State University (1959-1961).
• Associate professor of Extension Education at Michigan State University (1962-1975). Conducted training, teaching and survey research.
• Communication scientist with the Cooperative State Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. (1975-1982). Authored the Communication Research newsletter and research action abstracts.
• Director of communications at Winrock International, Morrilton, Arkansas (1983-1987). Responsibilities included editing the International Special Interest Group Newsletter of Agricultural Communicators in Education (ACE) and preparing other agricultural communication research reports.
• Meredith Professional in the Classroom, working with the agricultural journalism program at the University of Missouri. (Fall 1987)

In 1958 Dr. Miller received the Frank Jeter Pioneer Award from Agricultural Communicators in Education (ACE). In 1981 he received the ACE Professional Award, highest recognition given by that international organization.

After he retired in 1987 he and Mrs. Miller spent the next two winters volunteering at Yellowstone National Park, operating the visitor center at Mammoth Hot Springs. His interests include World War II history, history of the horse cavalry, genealogy, police work, communication research, e-mail jokes and comrades, and others.

Users of the ACDC collection benefit from Dr. Miller's contributions when they search for information about topics such as the following:

• communication research methods
• communication aspects of community and rural development
• extension communication and technical writing for scientists
• group process and leadership
• teaching methods

The Mason E. Miller Collection includes documents written and donated by Mason E. Miller.