On November 16, the College of Health and Human Services will host the 2023 Health and Human Services Hero Awards to recognize individuals who are making a transformative impact in their profession. We will highlight the eight honorees in our Heroes Blog Series.
Name: Sylvia Miller
Occupation: Retired educator and registered nurse
Nominated By: Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing
Dr. Sylvia Miller is often described as having ‘grace under fire’. For the longtime nurse and educator, this is a skill she has perfected in a notable career that spans over five decades. Most recently, she served as department chair and as an associate professor in the School of Nursing at Fresno State before retiring in August 2023 after 25 dedicated years of service.
A registered nurse of 55 years, Miller extended her health care knowledge and expertise into the classroom, having taught in higher education for nearly 45 years. She got her start in the School of Nursing in 1992 as a clinical instructor specializing in medical/surgical nursing. She later taught at CSU, Dominguez Hills before returning to Fresno State in 2004 as an associate professor. While at the university, she also directed the Doctor of Nursing Practice program before leading the school as chair for the last five years of her Fresno State career.
Miller led many initiatives on campus and guided the school through many challenges during her time as chair, including converting in-person clinical courses into virtual simulation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this endeavor, over 300 nursing students in the bachelor’s program were able to complete their clinical hours, including 57 who graduated in May 2020. This helped to alleviate the nursing shortage, while also keeping students on track to graduate.
She also worked with Fresno City College’s nursing program on the Nurse Pipeline Extension Project, a collaborative effort to increase health care professionals in the San Joaquin Valley. Through the projects, opportunities are created for first-generation nursing students of color to achieve advanced degrees in nursing – allowing them a seamless transition to a bachelor’s degree program at Fresno State after obtaining an associate’s degree in the field from Fresno City College.
“I’ve really enjoyed watching students, of all levels – baccalaureate, master’s and doctorate, gain knowledge and apply that knowledge in so many settings,” Miller said. “That was the real reward of teaching in the School of Nursing.”
Miller’s professional nursing journey started at Fresno State, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing, as well as a post-master’s family nurse practitioner certificate – in addition to a master’s degree in education. She also obtained a doctorate of education from the University of San Francisco.
Outside of the academic setting, Miller has led an extensive and admirable career in nursing, which includes medical/surgical nursing, critical care, cardiac care, parish nursing and palliative care at various medical and health care institutions in California, Louisiana, North Dakota and Texas – with a majority of her career spent at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, where she led the palliative care team, among many other achievements.
She is an active member of professional nursing associations, including the American Association of Critical Care Nursing and the International Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau. In addition, she was active in many research endeavors, including a national research campaign for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Thunder Project, where she served as the program site coordinator.
In 2019, Miller was conducted into the Central San Joaquin Valley Nursing Hall of Fame. Along with retiring from academia, Miller also retired from the nursing profession, which she began in 1971.
“Dr. Miller is extremely passionate about doing the right thing and has consistently been a leader in the community of nursing throughout her entire career impacting patient care outcomes, research, and nursing education,” said Dr. Marie Gilbert, director of the Central California Center for Health and Human Services at Fresno State. “She has made many important contributions to our beloved profession and in actuality, is the fire that ignites the highest quality of nursing for all those around.”
The 2023 Health and Human Services Hero Awards, which celebrates heroes from each of the seven departments, as well as centers and institutes within our college, will be held virtually this year. For more information on the event, contact Beth Wilkinson at bwilkinson@csufresno.edu.
Fresno State College of Health and Human Services 