David E.G. and Patricia Miller commit $500,000 challenge gift to Luther

 Luther College President Richard Torgerson has announced David E.G. and Patricia Miller have committed a $500,000 challenge gift to the college's fund-raising campaign for its proposed aquatic center.

The Miller Challenge Gift invites alumni and friends of the college to pledge $1 million in gifts to the aquatic center fund to secure the $500,000 challenge commitment.  Completion of the challenge campaign will push funding for the new facility past the $3 million mark.  The aquatic center is projected to cost $5.5 million.

The Millers, of Fort Myers, Fla., formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are long-time supporters of Luther College.  The challenge contribution is a naming gift for the competition pool for swimming and diving within the new aquatic center, which will be named the David E.G. and Patricia Miller Natatorium.

"This challenge gift from the Millers creates an exciting opportunity to accelerate the fundraising efforts for the aquatic center," said President Torgerson. "Dave and Pat are 'true blue' supporters of Luther College and Norse athletics, and we are proud to name the natatorium in their honor."  

The Millers' gift will match one dollar for every two dollars contributed to the pool project by other alumni, parents and friends of Luther. The target completion date for the challenge campaign is September 2012.
 
The Millers have been generous donors to Luther. They have supported endowed scholarships, the Legends Fitness for Life Center, the Norse Athletic Association, and the Luther College Annual Fund.  They have also served in leadership roles on the Luther Parents Council, and in 2000 were recognized as life members of Luther's President's Council.  David Miller also served as a member of the President's Strategic Planning Council in 2000.

"Luther is a special place to us and to our family," said Miller, "and we are honored to share our support as a way to encourage others to join us in making this project a reality.

"Pat and I are proud to have been leadership donors in supporting the Legends Fitness for Life Center a decade ago, and this challenge gift toward the new Luther College Aquatic Center provides another wonderful expansion of the Regents Center complex," he said of the college's sports, training and fitness facility, regarded as one of the best among NCAA Division III colleges.

The Millers say their gifts to Luther are also a tribute to the principles of a liberal arts education, emphasizing the development of well-rounded young people.

"Through our support, we hope to honor great mentors and coaches of Luther's history," said Miller. "Coaches like Edsel Schweizer and Kent Finanger encouraged us to do everything we can to 'make things better' as we go through life—to take the abilities and gifts we've been given and use them to make the world a better place.

"It's our hope that this gift for the aquatic center will provide another world-class environment for that kind of growth and development," he said.

A 1964 Luther graduate, Miller played football for the Norse while earning his degree with majors in history and physical education. Patricia Miller is a graduate of Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa.

As residents of Cedar Rapids, the Millers frequently hosted Luther receptions for prospective students, served as campaign leaders, and rallied support at alumni gatherings.  They have been active as volunteer leaders in dozens of civic and community organizations and projects in Cedar Rapids.  They have two adult children, Shannon (Miller) Duval, a 1995 graduate of Luther, and Seth Miller. They have five grandchildren.  

Miller had a 36-year career in life insurance, including 30 years in Cedar Rapids with AEGON, serving as executive vice president and national sales director of Life Investors-AEGON-USA and retiring in 2004 as vice president and chief marketing officer.

The Miller Natatorium will feature a competition pool with eight lanes of a consistent eight-foot water depth and a 14-foot-depth diving area. The plan also includes a shallow pool for swimming lessons, adaptive physical education classes, and water aerobics.

Construction of a new Luther College Aquatic Center is a priority for intercollegiate competition, physical education, and fitness and wellness programs for students and community members.  It will be used by thousands of competitors from colleges and high schools, Luther students, and community members of all ages.

Luther College's swimming and diving teams are perennially among the best in the Midwest in NCAA III.  The new aquatic center will boost the program with technologically advanced starting blocks with state-of-the-art timing mechanisms, a larger deck and diving space, and accommodations for 250 spectators, allowing Luther to host larger and more prestigious competitions.

Preliminary designs site the new aquatic center on the northeast side of the Regents Center.

Graphic: Architect's rendering depicts the David E.G. and Patricia Miller Natatorium, the competition pool for swimming and diving within the proposed Luther College Aquatic Center.