Faculty Spotlight
Beth Miller, Ph.D.

Beth Miller’s decision to go to school at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La., was an easy one; she wanted to be an interior designer, and at the time, Louisiana Tech was one of the few accredited programs in the South.

Since then, Miller has become very involved in the accreditation process.

She has served as a site visitor for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) for more than ten years, serving as a team chair and as a task committee member reviewing standards for accreditation. Her involvement with CIDA led to her being asked by Indiana State University to serve as a consultant to assist their program in achieving accreditation.  

Miller began teaching at Mississippi State University 19 years ago. She became the director of the Interior Design Program in 2000 and served as interim associate dean from 2013-2014.

“As interim associate dean, one of my responsibilities is to represent the college at the university level by serving on various committees,” She said. “These committees make recommendations to the provost on key issues affecting the university.”

This position has also allowed her to get to know all of the faculty in CAAD better.

“It brings me into a much broader scope of the college than just interior design.”

And she has especially enjoyed her interactions with students in the position.

“While I’ve always advised Interior Design students, as associate dean, I’m advising them at a much more serious level – trying to guide them when they are having struggles within their academic career,” she said. “The appointment to this position has allowed me to continue my involvement with interior design and still allows me to teach, which I enjoy.”

In fact, Miller has received numerous college and national awards for teaching. She has also had her design work published in magazines and has won awards for work regionally. 

“One of the most important involvements in the profession that I feel like I have contributed to is helping to get legislation passed for recognition of certified interior designers in the state of Mississippi,” said Miller, who was once one of only thirty NCIDQ-certified interior designers in the state.

She was also recently appointed by the Mississippi governor to serve on the first Interior Design Advisory Council, which is under the Mississippi State Board of Architecture, and was selected to be an Educator Medalist by the American Society of Interior Designers. 

Miller still maintains her private practice, working in healthcare and residential areas with a focus on kitchen and bath design. She has also worked on numerous historic properties in the Southeast. She and her husband, Dalton Jr., have two children, Dalton III and Sarah Beth. They have one granddaughter, Quinn, the daughter of Dalton III and his wife, Lyndsey.

By Christie McNeal | Spring 2014