Professor David Miller knows all the theories of marketing and has seen all the fads go by. He teaches his students the ins and outs and statistics behind getting people to buy what you sell. He's also always maintained that the most important rule in business — and life — is the Golden Rule, treat others as you would want to be treated. " I'm planting seed thoughts in students," he said. "Kids want the Lexus, but they aren't ready to think long-term. Follow the Golden Rule and the Lexus will be yours in God's time." Spirituality and business may not always seem to be comfortable companions, but Miller thinks it's only common sense. If you don't treat customers well, if you try to cheat them and manipulate them, they'll find someone else to do business with.

Miller is a believer in the power of meditation, something he discovered while serving as a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. One day, he visited a little hut that served as a library, looking for a Louis L'Amour western. He picked up There is a River, which sounded like it would fit the bill. Instead, he found it was the life story of Edgar Cayce. Called "the sleeping prophet," Cayce made several predictions in the early part of the 20th century while in a meditative state.

The book opened up a new way of understanding to him. Originally interested in science, Miller left the field when he couldn't reconcile his holistic approach to study with the purely quantitative approach of his instructors. Instead, Miller holds master's degrees in business administration and a master's of science in counseling, both from the University of Nebraksa–Omaha.

Miller teaches both the fundamentals of marketing and the fundamentals of philosophy. In some of his courses, he incorporates his own book on spirituality. He also tells his students they must decide for themselves what to believe.

" I can only pass on information," he said. "Students must then accept or reject it. They need to look at both sides of an issue. They'll find the truth inside."

Many of Miller's students see him as a mentor, rather than instructor. It's a role Miller said he could have only at a school like Dana. Here, everyone is interested in nurturing the whole person. Students are not just numbers waiting to be assigned grades.

" Dana is a good school because we can nurture students — we do nurture students," he said. "When we see students having difficulty, we sit them down and talk to them."

David W. Miller
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
dmiller@dana.edu
402 426-7282
Office: DC 205