An Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate who was raised in Torrance, Westmoreland County, has established a scholarship for IUP students to honor her late mother.
Gwen Miller, a 1960 elementary education graduate, who makes her home in Chester Springs and Florida, has made a gift to IUP to establish the Rosalie Howard Memorial Scholarship. Howard was a native of Cambria County.
The first scholarship will be given in fall 2026; it is available to students with financial need.
Miller’s mother, Rosalie Howard, owned and operated a beauty shop in Torrance for many years while raising three children.
“Early twentieth-century economic realities and social expectations prevented my mother from furthering her own education beyond the confines of a one-room schoolhouse,” Miller said. “After she skipped two grades, she was too young to walk to the high school.”
“Later in life, as the mother of three bright children but with limited resources, my mother met her challenge by establishing a beautician practice, thereby affording her children the educational opportunities she dearly valued. The Rosalie Howard Memorial Scholarship honors her commitment to higher education for all,” Miller said.
Miller was married to the late Arthur C. Miller, founder of A.C. Miller Concrete Products Inc. of Blairsville. The Miller family continues to foster a corporate culture based on relationships, far-sighted strategy, and family values.
“IUP truly set me up for success,” Miller said. “IUP gave me a really good education, and as the first person in my family to go to college, I really valued my experience at IUP, and it prepared me for my work with the family business.
“I’ve been able to pass on my experience and my appreciation for the value of higher education to my own children and to my grandchildren as they graduate from college,” she said.
“I really enjoyed my time at IUP,” Miller said. “My teachers were kind to all the students and were always available to help us. I also enjoyed the opportunity to sing and dance in university musicals—I even had the lead in one of them,” she said.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement, with more than 150,000 alumni all over the world, many in leadership roles. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.