Donor Stories

The Power of Gift Planning: Thank You Beverly Miller!

Beverly Ann Miller was a long-time employee of Boise State University, working as a librarian at the university for almost 40 years, and at the time of her retirement in 2007, she was the head research librarian. Beverly had two passions in her life. The first was the study and promotion of women's rights. The second was her love of animals, especially her dogs. Beverly competed in agility training with her Shetland sheep dogs, winning numerous awards and ribbons. Beverly passed away in 2012 from complications of Alzheimer's. Once asked how she would change the world with a magic wand she replied, "I'd use it to make big piles of money for the Idaho [now Intermountain] Bird Observatory (IBO), the Boise State Women's Center and the university's Women's Studies Program. Oh, and as long as I'm wishing, I'd like to see a Ph.D. in history available at Boise State."

For years, Beverly supported the IBO through regular payroll deductions, but her generosity did not stop there. Through careful estate planning and working with professional advisors, Beverly created a charitable trust providing for several non-profits in our community. Two of those provisions were directed to Boise State University:

· As a strong advocate and promoter of women's rights, upon her passing, the Beverly A. Miller Trust distributed a very generous gift to establish the Beverly Miller Endowed Lectureship in Gender Studies. This first-ever endowment in Gender Studies is to be used specifically as a resource to remove barriers and change those social conditions which constrain, inhibit, or impede free and full expression and involvement of women in society.

· An additional distribution from the trust was used to establish the Beverly Miller IBO Fund, providing $75,000 to the Intermountain Bird Observatory to be shared equally between our Education and Research programs. Thank you Beverly Miller!