Ryan A. Miller

Ryan A. Miller, Ph.D., is Professor of Higher Education and Ph.D. Program Coordinator at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Informed by his background as a student affairs practitioner and first-generation college graduate, Ryan’s scholarship focuses on how systems of oppression shape the experiences of minoritized social groups in higher education (primarily LGBTQ+ and disabled students) as well as the (de)institutionalization of diversity and equity initiatives. He has produced more than 70 publications on these topics, with his research appearing in AERA Open, Journal of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, The Review of Higher Education, and Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

Nationally, Ryan serves as chair for the Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs and associate editor (and former editor) of the College Student Affairs Journal. He was named an Emerging Scholar for ACPA College Student Educators International and is a former Fellow of the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. Ryan’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, John M. Belk Endowment, ACPA, and NASPA.

Prior to joining the University of Tennessee, Ryan was a tenured faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an administrator at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Florida. He holds graduate degrees in higher education administration including his Ph.D. from UT-Austin and master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ryan received the Melvene D. Hardee Dissertation of the Year award from NASPA; the Outstanding Publication Award from the NASPA Faculty Assembly; and was named the Bonnie E. Cone Early Career Professor in Teaching at UNC Charlotte. Most recently, he was recognized with the inaugural Mid-Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education.