Established on 11.28.2020 by Dr. Bradley and Jane Miller
Brad and Jane Miller first met as students while attending Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa. They both graduated in 1986, Brad with a double major in computer science and physics and Jane with a double major in computer science and accounting.
After graduating, they moved to Plymouth, Minnesota, where Jane worked at Cargill for 13 years, eventually managing an accounting team with members all around the world. Brad started his career at Control Data and worked in industry until 1993, when he started graduate school at the University of Minnesota. In 1996, his PhD thesis work evolved into a company when he and others founded Net Perceptions, an internet company and which sold personalization and product recommendation technology during the internet boom of the late 1990’s. One of their first customers was Amazon.
In 2003, Brad left Net Perceptions, completed his PhD, and returned to Luther College, where he taught computer science and Jane worked in the Financial Services office. In 2018, Brad left Luther to focus on Runestone Interactive LLC, an online interactive textbook company that he founded in 2011, which provides free interactive textbooks to thousands of students around the world.
Brad and Jane share a passion for learning abroad, something that comes from their time as directors of Luther’s Malta and the Mediterranean program in 2015. This semester-long study away program offered students the opportunity to experience the rich history of the country combined with coursework at the University of Malta and travel to nearby countries such as Morocco, Turkey, Greece and Italy. During his time at Luther, Brad led many of these study-abroad courses and saw firsthand how these experiences enriched his students’ view of the world.
Brad joined the Concordia College Board of Regents in 2019. He and Jane are proud parents of Kaia, a 2014 graduate of Concordia College, and Joshua, a 2017 graduate of Luther College. Brad and Jane have created this scholarship because they believe in the importance of a liberal arts education and feel that study-abroad opportunities are among the most transformative educational experiences that a student can have.
The Dr. Bradley and Jane Miller Endowed Scholarship is awarded by the Office of Financial Aid to one or more sophomore, junior, or senior students who plan to study abroad during the academic year in which the scholarship is awarded. Selection is also based on financial need.