Annetta Miller, member of Wayne State University's Board of Governors, received an inaugural award on Nov. 14 for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to the Community offered by the university's Irvin D. Reid Honors College.

The Community Engagement Awards celebrate service-learning and the outstanding achievements and contributions that students, faculty members and community organizations have made in promoting service-learning on Wayne State's campus and in the community.

(left) Jerry Herron, dean, Irvin D. Reid Honors College, Wayne State University; (right) Annetta Miller, member, Wayne State University Board of Governors.

Miller, a resident of Huntington Woods who served in the U.S. Army Nurses Corps in the 1940s, has been a member of the WSU Board of Governors since 1996. She also was elected to three consecutive eight-year terms as a member of the State of Michigan Board of Education, winning elections in 1970, 1978 and 1986. She was the national vice president of Americans for Democratic Action, a member of the board of trustees at Roeper City and Country School, and a member of the Education Advisory Council at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Born in Fort Wayne, Ind., Miller received her training as a nurse at Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia, Penn. She also completed a bachelor's degree in history at Wayne State University in 1995.

In 2005, Miller was awarded the Detroit City Council Spirit of Detroit Award. The Michigan Association of School Boards, the Michigan Education Association, and the Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health have all recognized Miller's outstanding leadership.

"On campus Governor Miller is known as a tireless and passionate advocate for students, and for the environment," said Jerry Herron, dean, Irvin D. Reid Honors College. "Annetta is always on the job, trying to turn every one of us green."