Paul Pe
Roxanne Greitz Miller, dean of Chapman University’s Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies, brings a career-long commitment to students and educators to her leadership role. She became Attallah’s dean in February 2022 and recently completed the evaluation process for a second dean appointment, building on her prior service as interim dean and vice provost for graduate education.
A first-generation college student, Miller entered the University of Miami at 17 years old with a goal of becoming a high school biology teacher.
“Coming from a family of very modest means, I knew that once I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, I needed to be completely self-supporting,” Miller recalled.
Her early career as a high school and middle school teacher in Florida shaped her approach to education leadership. After earning her doctoral degree, she moved to California and joined the University of California, Riverside as a postdoctoral scholar, working on federally funded science education research. In 2005, she joined Chapman as a faculty member, when the institution was still the graduate programs-focused School of Education.
“At a university, a school is usually exclusively undergraduate or exclusively graduate,” Miller explained. “A college is a unit that has both bachelor’s as well as graduate students.” With a 2017 gift from Donna Ford Attallah ’61, a lifelong teacher and former Chapman Trustee, the College of Educational Studies was renamed the Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies.
Miller’s leadership is deeply informed by her personal and professional background. Raised in a highly multilingual and majority-minoritized community in New York, she developed early awareness of the importance of equity and access in education.
“I was very aware from my parents’ personal stories that not everyone came from a household where children were emotionally, financially or physically supported,” said Miller. “School was, for many children, the support net that those children had.”
At the core of Miller’s philosophy is a student-first approach.
“Students first. By extension, once you become a Chapman student, you’re always a part of Chapman. Whether you’re a student or now an alum, students first. How something is going to affect students is always one of my largest questions,” Miller emphasized.
Under her leadership as dean, the Attallah College has doubled undergraduate applications and launched multiple integrated bachelor’s to master’s pathways in teacher education. Miller highlights the success of the college’s teacher preparation programs, noting that the 2024-25 cohorts achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the California Teacher Performance Assessment.
“You can’t get employed if you don’t pass the test,” she said. “We want them passing it as soon after graduation, if not before graduation, in the highest numbers possible to lead to immediate employment opportunities.”
Her commitment to equity extends beyond student outcomes to research. Attallah College recently launched a fully funded Ph.D. Equity Scholars Program, providing tuition and graduate research assistantships to high-promise Ph.D. students.
Miller also prioritizes faculty research development and accessibility. Through strategic fundraising, she established individual research accounts for every tenure-seeking and tenured faculty member and innovation and investment funds for reskilling in new methodologies. She ensures that research articles are freely accessible to practitioners in K-12 schools, removing paywalls that could block critical educational resources.
“It’s not just the production of the research, it’s also the dissemination of the research,” Miller said.
Miller emphasizes the importance of community and collaboration within Attallah College. She has strengthened connections with local superintendents and education leaders through annual listening tours to ensure that programs align with workforce needs.
“Education is really a team sport and it’s very much a team-based approach,” Miller explained. “You really can’t draw dividing lines around students and families.”
Her priorities as dean also include navigating accreditation cycles. Miller notes that Attallah College’s state and national accreditation visits for teacher education, school counseling and school psychology programs offer an opportunity to showcase faculty and student excellence.
“Accreditation is a natural outcome of excellence. With that said, it is a very time-consuming process,” said Miller. “Participation of all stakeholders is incredibly important.”
Despite the high-level responsibilities of her role, Miller maintains a focus on small but meaningful supports for students. She has redesigned campus spaces, created student study lounges and ensured basic amenities like microwaves and coffee are accessible.
“It’s the little things. Students are juggling all sorts of demands and responsibilities,” noted Miller. “Whatever we can do to help support their needs, even if it’s as small as being able to get a cup of coffee, makes a difference.”
Miller’s vision for Attallah College is anchored in four strategic pillars: students, research, community outreach, and continuous improvement. She aims to expand access to graduate programs through hybrid and low-residency models while preserving Chapman’s personalized approach. She also sees the next phase of Attallah College’s growth in research productivity, national recognition and external funding.
Ultimately, Miller views her role as a conduit.
“The role of a dean is in many ways one where you serve up and coach down,” said Miller. “My job is to coach our Attallah team to serve up, to relate the needs of the university and employers to our college, and to make sure our students have the resources, reputation, and relationships they need to succeed.”
Through decades of teaching, research and leadership, Roxanne Greitz Miller continues to shape Attallah College with a student-first vision, a commitment to equity and a dedication to excellence in educator preparation.
