Climbing Above the Culture Clash

Professor Fran Miller is Honored
for 40 Years of Dedication to the School
The majority of alumni who have
passed through BU Law’s doors
over the past 40 years have benefited
from Professor Frances Miller’s devotion
to the School and her enthusiasm
for teaching. She reshaped the way
health law was taught, shifting our
focus from medical malpractice to a
more complex exploration of health
care organization, finance and delivery.
She was also instrumental in building
the University’s health law program,
a collaborative effort of the Schools
of Law and Public Health. She holds
appointments at each of those Schools
as well as the School of Management.
Over the past 40 years, most students
have learned health law or trusts and
estates or both from her. She is widely
acclaimed for her substantive expertise,
sense of humor and gift for teaching.
In recognition of her outstanding
ability, Boston University awarded her
its highest honor, the Metcalf Cup and
Prize for teaching excellence, in 1989.
Fran, as she is known to most alumni,
will retire from Boston University in
December. A large number of her
former students joined to honor her at
an October 23, 2009, dinner during
Reunion Week festivities. Many who
attended spoke of her zest for knowledge,
which has led her to become one of the
foremost experts on American health
care law and policy, and a specialist
on comparative health systems.
In 1993, she served as a consultant
to the White House Task Force on
Health Care Reform. She was awarded
two Fulbright scholarships to research
the effects of competition on British
health systems, as well as a Kellogg
Foundation National Fellowship to
study the delivery of healthcare in
Europe, Africa, South America, the
Middle East and China. Also known for
her expertise in trusts and estates, she
was a major contributor to and starred
in two PBS television series on estate
and financial planning in the 1980s.
Over the course of her career, Fran has
been a dedicated scholar, writing a book
and publishing more than 85 articles and
book chapters. She has also served as the
faculty editor of the American Journal of
Law and Medicine at the School and as
a trustee of the Joslin Diabetes Center
and of Mount Holyoke College.
The enduring relationships Fran
formed with students and alumni, as
well as the countless contributions
she has made to BU Law, the School
of Management, and the School of
Public Health, have earned her the
community’s deep gratitude and respect.
As to the next chapter of her life (Fran
doesn’t use the word retirement), she is
looking forward to teaching in Hawaii
this spring, writing short stories and
spending time with her family. She even
plans to teach a trusts and estates class at
BU Law next fall, giving our community
a little more time to say goodbye. •
If you would like to celebrate Fran Miller’s legacy and her
contributions to the BU Law community, you may make a
donation to the BU Law Annual Fund in her honor by visiting
www.bu.edu/law/alumni/giving/gift/franmiller.html
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