N E W S - N E W S - N E W S

VIII World Congress, Stockholm, 26-31 July 2010
Deadline for proposals for panels and papers:
28 February 2009
http://www.iccees2010.se

 

In Memoriam  

  

 Professor James R. Millar   

Dear Friends of the Institute,

I write to you today with the very sad news that our dear friend and colleague, Professor James R. Millar, passed away Sunday November 30, 2008 in his home in Washington, D.C., of pancreatic cancer. All the flags at The George Washington University are at half staff today, and there is a wreath on Professor’s Gate at Kogan Plaza in Jim’s memory.

Jim was the Institute director from 1989-2001, during which time he vastly expanded the resources, functions, and reputation of the Institute. After retiring in 2004 as Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Jim continued to come into his office here at the Institute every day and was a valued and always friendly member of our community. With the birth of triplets to his daughter, Mira, this year, Jim was bursting with pride and loved showing all of us pictures of his grandchildren whether on his new IPhone (before most other people had one!) or on his computer.

On weekends, Jim loved driving with his wife, Gera, in his sports car through the rolling hills of Virginia to horse country or to stay in one of his favorite bed and breakfasts (only the kind with really good food and wine!). He was also very fond of strolling along the C & O Canal here in Washington, going to the ballet with Gera and frequenting good restaurants. Jim founded and helped continue the wonderful tradition at the Institute of Friday “staff meetings” (a.k.a. happy hours) to get to know the fellows, students, scholars and staff better. He always had a good story to tell, punctuated by his big smile and ready laugh.

Jim joined The George Washington University in 1989 as Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on Soviet and Post- Soviet economics.  He also served in administrative capacities at the Elliott School as Associate Dean from 1989-95 and as Interim Dean in 1994.  Jim spent the first half of his career at The University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, serving as Professor of Economics, Director of International Programs and Studies, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.  He was a Fellow at the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in 1988-89 and a Guggenheim Fellow in 1995-96.  He received his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1958 (Phi Beta Kappa), and his Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University in 1965.  He also studied at Harvard University as a special student in Russian Studies with a grant from the Ford Foundation. Jim educated and mentored generations of students and young scholars who have gone on to illustrious careers in their own right.

Jim’s influence reached far beyond the universities where he studied, taught and served. He held leadership positions in all the major organizations dedicated to the study of the Soviet Union or Russia, including the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, the International Council of Central and East European Studies, the International Research and Exchanges Board, the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, and the American Council of Learned Societies. He was also the founder and director of the path- breaking Soviet Interview Project from 1979-1988. In 2006, the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies bestowed on Jim its highest award for Distinguished Contributions to Slavic Studies.

As an author of books and nearly one hundred articles, Jim also had a profound influence on generations of scholars and practitioners. His books, The Soviet Rural Community (1971) and Politics, Work and Daily Life in the USSR (1987), are considered to be classics in the field. The Soviet Economic Experiment (1990) was also an important work, and The ABCs of Soviet Socialism won the Society of Midland Authors Award for Best Book in Non-fiction in 1981. In addition, Macmillan Reference USA published a four-volume Encyclopedia of Russian History in 2004 of which Professor Millar was editor-in-chief. This was named Outstanding Reference Source in 2004 by Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association.

Jim was born in San Antonio, Texas, and is survived by his wife Gera Millar of Washington, D.C. (they were married in 1965), his daughter Mira Brownfield of San Francisco, his sister Carolyn Henderson of Floresville, Texas, and three grandchildren in San Francisco. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Jim’s name to the Millar Family Fund at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University and/or to the C and O Canal Foundation in Glen Echo, Maryland.

We expect that there will be a memorial service for Jim sometime in January and will let you know the specifics once the family has decided.

Jim was the model of grace, openness and courage, and we will miss him tremendously. We are so grateful for all he gave to us both professionally and personally.

Sincerely,
Hope M. Harrison, Director