NOTE TO EDITORS: Architectural sketches of the theater entrance and of the front elevation of the James F. Miller Theatre Complex, in jpeg and tiff formats, are available by calling the UO Office of Communications, (541) 346-3134.

EUGENE–The generosity of a longtime Portland businessman will pave the way for a major expansion of University Theatre facilities at the University of Oregon.

James F. Miller has given the UO College of Arts and Sciences a lead gift of $1.5 million to create the James F. Miller Theatre Complex. The project includes construction of a new theater that will have a variety of production configurations, replacement of antiquated theater lab spaces, and renovation of the venerable Robinson Theatre.

The university plans to match Miller’s gift with $1.5 million from combined institutional and public resources, and an additional $1.5 million from other private sources.

A group of longtime theater supporters are collaborating to create a "Friends of University Theatre" group who will help raise the matching private funds to complete this project.

Once the matching funds have been raised, the project is slated to take three years to complete.

"This development offers many new opportunities for our students and faculty," says Jack Watson, associate professor and head of the Department of Theater Arts. "Perhaps most important is that we will all have a new sense of pride and purpose, a new momentum to allow us to not only maintain our current high standards, but also to raise those standards and explore new and exciting forms of production.

"It’s rather like being given a new set of paints with exciting new colors available," Watson says. "It increases the potential for truly creative art."

University drama facilities are laboratories where students experiment and learn the skills expected of today’s theater practitioners, explains Janet Rose, a senior instructor, technical director and lighting designer in the UO Department of Theater Arts. The UO’s University Theatre labs, now 50 to more than 100 years old, limit students’ learning opportunities.

"Mr. Miller’s generous gift allows us the opportunity to design and construct a brand new theater, replacing an inadequate Arena Theatre in Villard Hall," Rose says. "The new theater will give us an intimate space that we can reconfigure into different actor and audience relationships. This will give the students experience in a variety of theater shapes found throughout the world."

Miller, 96, is a longtime business investor and counselor who for decades has been a strong advocate of higher education.

"I want other people to have the opportunity I never had," Miller responded when once asked about his support of education.

In Oregon, Miller has invested in both private and public educational institutions; the University of Oregon, he says, exemplifies one of the better schools in the arts.

Miller’s first job was delivering newspapers. He began his business career at age 16 as an office boy for Blyth & Co., Inc., in Portland. He quickly gained a reputation for his ability to conduct research and for his recall of data and statistics.

He took an educational leave from Blyth & Co. to attend the University of Washington but could only afford a semester of school. He returned to his old company just before the stock market crash, then thrived in the investment community from 1929 to 1935, while others were having difficulties selling securities.

Miller became a legend in the investment business, putting together more than 50 years ago one of the first leveraged buyouts in American history. He helped Albermarle Paper Manufacturing Co. buy the Ethyl Corp., which was owned jointly by General Motors Corp. and Standard Oil Co. He also was a key figure in many forest products industry acquisitions.

He rose to become president of Blyth & Co., Inc., in New York in 1955. He has served on the board of directors for numerous companies, including Georgia Pacific, Ethyl Corp., Maine Central Railroad, Louisiana Pacific Corp. and Fiberboard Corp.

Miller and his late wife Marion have given generously to many of Oregon’s cultural and educational institutions. Among them are the Portland Art Museum, Oregon Symphony, Oregon Community Foundation, Lewis and Clark College, Linfield College, Willamette University and Portland State University.

For information and to contribute to the University Theatre expansion project, call (541) 346-3950 or write to the Office of the Dean, UO College of Arts and Sciences, 1245 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1245.

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