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Scott Paul, Gail Miller, Astrid S. Tuminez, Karen Miller Williams, and Steven J. Lund. Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies hosts the Miller Foundation on the UVU Campus in Orem on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

Courtesy Jay Drowns

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Gail Miller speaks at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

Courtesy Jay Drowns

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The Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation announced a $3 million endowed gift Tuesday which will create a perpetual directorship at the Utah Valley University Center for Constitutional Studies.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to further Utah Valley University’s work in civics education and constitutional studies, which will provide students and our communities resources and information to preserve our freedoms and democracy,” Gail Miller, chair of the foundation, said in a press release.

UVU’s Center for Constitutional Studies was organized in 2011 and is a nonpartisan institute that seeks to increase constitutional literacy both locally and nationwide. This endowed directorship will oversee both the center, securing its leadership, and the ongoing Quill Project, an online platform that builds models of state and national conventions and congressional debates in visual and textual formats.

“American democracy is seriously frayed today. And yet, the American foundations of constitutionalism continue to be theoretically robust and sound in principle,” said UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez in a press release. “I am proud that UVU is home to the Center for Constitutional Studies, which aims to increase constitutional literacy and public appreciation for high ideals as well as the pragmatic middle ground where democracy can thrive,”

The Center for Constitutional Studies houses the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative, which was introduced in 2021, through House Bill 327. Through this initiative, the center provides constitutional education to UVU and K-12 students, along with members of the community. Scott Paul has served as the center’s director since July 2021, but has been involved with the center since its inception.

“The Center for Constitutional Studies is profoundly grateful to the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation for this transformative gift,” Paul said in a press release. “What a tremendous honor to be recognized in this way by the Miller family, and how marvelous for the senior leadership position in our center to bear the names of Larry, Gail, and the Miller family, who are all the models of leadership in our state.”

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