Dr. Mary Lou Miller was born and raised in the small town of Picher, Oklahoma. Although
her parents were not regular church attendees, Miller and her brother were encouraged
to attend Sunday school at the local Baptist church. Even at a young age, Miller felt
the pull of God on her life. She received Jesus as her savior when she was nine years
old during a spring revival at her church. Many of her childhood memories include
church camp, vacation Bible school, and singing in the church choir.
After earning her degrees in education and mathematics from Oklahoma State University
and the University of Tulsa, Dr. Miller received an invitation to teach math classes
at ORU. At first Miller was reluctant but soon realized it was exactly where God wanted
her to be.
Currently, Dr. Miller is a Senior Professor in the Graduate School of Education. She has served at ORU for 26 years: the last 22 years in the Graduate School of Education’s Ed.D. program as a research professor.
Prior to joining ORU, Dr. Miller served as a mathematics instructor at Missouri Southern State College (MSSC) for four years, where she taught Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra.
Before serving in higher education, Dr. Miller served for five years as a high school math teacher, teaching a variety of math courses, from consumer mathematics to pre-calculus.
Since being at ORU, Dr. Miller has received 13 awards, including the 2024 and 2010
Outstanding Faculty Award for the College of Education and the 2010 Outstanding Faculty
Award for the University. She is well-published and presents all over the world. Her
most recent work can be found in the Journal of Research on Christian Education.