Dr. Walter Miller was a renowned coal-bed methane expert who designed a large refinery in Ponca City, Oklahoma, in the 1940s. A dear friend of The University of Tulsa, he received an Honorary Doctor of Education degree from the university in 1943.
Walter passed away in 1992, but he will long be remembered at TU, thanks in part to granddaughter Dr. Marian L. Olson’s continued focus on his legacy. Marian received her Ed.D. from The University of Tulsa in 1969, alongside her husband, Ron, who earned his J.D. in 1970. Ron, who passed away in 1991, joined Marian in generously giving a number of gifts to the university beginning in 1978, which supported TU’s College of Law, McFarlin Library, and deserving students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
The Miller-Olson family has enduring ties to TU. Marian recalls growing up near campus at 11th Street and Gary Avenue. Many of her fond childhood memories center around events and places on the TU campus, such as the times she attended children’s theater presentations, took music lessons, and spent her days playing tennis on the courts behind the TU sorority houses.
Over the course of her productive career, Dr. Olson has worked in an array of industries, serving as Assistant to the Vice President for Research at Montana State University, President of Bannack Publishing Company in Golden, Colorado, and Regional Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She returned to Tulsa in 2017 for her retirement, but she continues to serve as a consultant in the fields of emergency management, research, and training.
Marian clearly values her lifelong connections to TU. She demonstrated her commitment to her family and her alma mater by establishing the Dr. Walter Miller Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund in 1991. Walter himself thoughtfully contributed to this namesake fund through his own estate gift upon his passing in 1992. The scholarship continues to benefit students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science who are pursuing studies related to energy resources.
Dr. Olson also established other namesake endowments at TU, including the Ronald K. and Marian L. Olson Library Fund and the Dr. Marian L. Olson Endowment Funds for the College of Law and McFarlin Library.
The University of Tulsa is grateful for these inspiring gifts, which will provide vital resources for deserving students across our campus for many years to come.
