Dr. Marlin Miller Jr., a 1954 graduate of Alfred University, current trustee and chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees, and his wife, Regina “Ginger” Gouger Miller, will be honored by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell as the state’s 2004 Patrons of the Arts.

They will be recognized at a ceremony at 6:45 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading, PA. This is the 24th year that the Governor’s Awards for the Arts have been presented.

The Millers are being honored by Gov. Rendell “for their contributions to the arts in Reading, Berks County and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The release from Rendell’s office notes, “Noted art collectors, benefactors and leaders in the cultural community, Ginger and Marlin Miller have enhanced the work of virtually every arts organization in Berks County and enriched the quality of life in the region through their commitment to the importance of the arts in the economic vitality of a community.”

‘On behalf of the entire Alfred University community I would like to extend congratulations to Marlin and Ginger for this significant recognition of their generosity and support of the arts,” said Alfred University President Charles M. Edmondson.

“We, too, are the grateful recipients of the Millers’ support of the arts,” he said, noting that Marlin and Ginger Miller gave the funds to build the Miller Performing Arts Center, and earlier this year committed to add a 500-seat proscenium theater to the center, at an estimated cost of $10 million.

They also support a residency program in dance, and Marlin Miller created the Marcianne Mapel Miller endowment for the Division of Ceramic Art; support from that endowment is making possible the upcoming exhibition, “Material Matters,” that opens Oct. 22 in the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery in Harder Hall on the AU campus.

The release from Gov. Rendell’s office continues:

“A nationally recognized watercolorist and signature member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Ginger Miller also owns Ginger and Spice, a producer of needlework designs and kits. She earned her graduate degree in education from Kutztown University in 1984 and enjoyed a successful career in teaching art in public schools and at Reading Area Community College.

“She is a trustee of her alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, and serves on the advisory boards of the university’s College of Fine Arts, School of Art, and School of Design. In 2002, she was a recipient of Carnegie Mellon’s Alumni Merit Award and The Regina Gouger Miller Gallery in the Purnell Center for the Arts at the university is named in her honor. In Berks County, she chairs the Collections Committee of the Reading Public Museum; serves on the boards of the AAUW, the Berks Arts Alliance, the Reading Public Museum, Berks Women in Crisis, and the Berks Arts Council; and previously chaired the Kutztown University Third Century Fund Capital Campaign. An advocate for artists, Miller is an active supporting member of Gallery 20, which showcases the work of local artists.

“Founder and chairman emeritus of Arrow International Inc., Marlin Miller’s philanthropic work has included major gifts to the Capital Campaign of the Reading Public Museum, Carnegie Mellon University, and Kutztown University’s Capital Campaign and the Reading Symphony Orchestra.

“He recently gave $6.8 million to build the 500-seat Reading Area Community College Theater, scheduled to open in 2006. The facility will expand RACC’s campus, anchoring the college as the gateway to the city, and will be a significant design landmark for both the college and Reading. Miller’s gift was the largest ever received by a community college in Pennsylvania. Also this year, through the generous support of Marlin and Ginger Miller, the Reading Public Museum was able to mount the largest exhibition in Pennsylvania of the work of renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.

“For years, Miller has also encouraged the Arrow International executive team and employees to follow his lead in support for the arts by volunteering their time in support of not-for-profit activities in which they have an interest. He clearly sees investment in the arts as instrumental to the ability of the region to attract residents, new businesses and visitors. An architectural masterpiece, the Arrow International headquarters reflects Miller’s love of the visual arts by also serving as a gallery of international and local works of art. Arrow International also supports the First Energy Berks Jazz Fest and has done so since the festival’s creation.

“Miller is a trustee and chairman emeritus of Alfred University, his alma mater; a member of the board of dean’s advisers at Harvard Business School; director and president of Berks County Business Education Coalition; a former trustee of Berks County Community Foundation; and trustee and president of the Wyomissing Foundation. He is director and past president of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. His latest project is working with Albert R. Boscov on the development of the “Goggle Works,” a former safety goggle factory, near downtown Reading, that will be transformed into an $8.5 million arts center with galleries, classrooms, and artist studios.