Anthony (Tony) A. Miller, M.Ed., PA-C, DFAAPA is a native of Cleveland, Ohio who has influenced the profession in a multitude of educational roles since 1978. He initiated two programs in the United States including the first master’s level program in Ohio (Medical College of Ohio — now the University of Toledo). Mr. Miller also served as an advisor on the development of the first PA program in Saudi Arabia.
After the completion of high school, Mr. Miller entered the Navy as a radar man. Within two years, he was able to transfer to hospital corps school. As a corpsman, he worked on a general medicine floor, surgical services, and finally was offered a position at the sick call dispensary, where he was supervised by a PA who triggered his interest in the profession. He graduated from Cuyahoga Community College in 1977 with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Physician Assistant Studies shortly after his release from the Navy. His first PA position was in Mount Eaton, Ohio working for a family practice physician, Eldon Lehman. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a teaching position back at his alma mater, Cuyahoga Community College. Mr. Miller continued his education, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Technical Education from the University of Akron, and in 1986, a Masters of Education in Post-Secondary Administration from Cleveland State University. He completed doctoral-level coursework in higher education administration at the University of Toledo from 1996-2000.
Mr. Miller has held educational leadership positions including associate dean for the School of Allied Health and chair, Department of PA Studies at the Medical College of Ohio (now University of Toledo); and division head, Health Careers and Natural Sciences, as well as PA program director for both the physician assistant and surgeon’s assistant programs at Cuyahoga Community College. Mr. Miller is well published including serving as co-editor of the popular board review book Lange’s Q&A for the Physician Assistant, now in its sixth edition (better known as “The Yellow Book”). He co-authored “Physician Assistants: From Pipeline to Practice,” which appeared in Academic Medicine in December 2013. His research interests include clinical reasoning, faculty development and the PA doctorate. See Miller and Coplan, “Physician Assistant Doctorate: A Ticket to Autonomy?” and “Assessing the Economics of an Entry-Level Doctoral Degree.”
Mr. Miller has served in a wide variety of leadership roles at the state and national levels. Tony served as president of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP, now PAEA) from 1992-93 and was president of the Ohio Association of Physician Assistants from 1985-86. He chaired the APAP Degree Task Force and was a member of the PAEA Graduate Education Commission. In 1994, responding to the rapid growth of new PA programs, Miller and his colleague, Albert Simon were instrumental in starting a series of leadership workshops designed to develop the knowledge and skills for new program directors. He later collaborated with Anita Glicken to begin the first new faculty development workshops. He currently serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Physician Assistant Education. He is a former member of the American Academy of Physician Assistant’s Leadership Advisory Commission, AAPA Education Council, Research & Strategic Initiatives Commission, and served as a trustee for the Physician Assistant Foundation. Mr. Miller has consulted with nearly one-hundred educational institutions on matters of accreditation and PA program development. He collaborated with Albert Simon and Cindy Lord to create the first PA student challenge bowl in 1991, which has grown in popularity since.
Mr. Miller was awarded the First Annual President’s Award for innovative Achievements in Program, Curriculum, and Instructional Development at Cuyahoga Community College in 1989. The Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence at the University of Toledo in 1998, Outstanding Service Award from the APAP in 1999, APAP’s Master Teacher Award in 2001, Wilkins Award at Shenandoah University in 2004 and has been a Distinguished Fellow of the AAPA since 2009.
Community service is a passion of Mr. Miller’s. He aids in fundraising for local charities and has led a group of students on medical mission trips to Nicaragua and Ghana.
Mr. Miller served as the Chief Policy & Research Officer at the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) from 2012-2016, where he oversaw government relations, research, and PAEA’s professional services. Prior to this, he served as the founding Program Director for the Shenandoah University PA program from 2000-2012 where has since returned as a Distinguished Professor of PA Studies and continues to teach.
Acknowledgments: This biography was written by Raisa Polacek, MPAS, PA-C with the assistance of Tony Miller, and was submitted to the Society in August 2015. The photograph in the banner image is courtesy of Mr. Miller. This biography was updated in June 2022 by Joshua Penninger.
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