Kyle T. Miller, former director of the Phillips Community College’s “Gear Up” program, is the new director of the UALR Children International program.

UALR Children International, an outreach program that assists 3,000 children in Little Rock, is the only U.S. affiliate of the Kansas-based international organization.

Children International and UALR established the partnership in 1994 to nurture and provide educational enrichment, health and dental care, family assistance and special gifts for children and youth attending the Little Rock Public Schools. Internationally, the program serves 330,000 children in 11 countries.

Miller succeeds Cheryl Chapman, UALR CI founding director, who retired in the spring following a 36-year career professional career in philanthropic work and the humanities.

The new director recently earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. As director of the Gear Up program, which helps area school children prepare for post-high school education, Miller oversaw curriculum development, design, and implementation for the nine participating school districts in the grant-supported project.

He managed a staff of 60 teachers, teachers’ assistants and support personnel, reporting directly to the Phillips College vice chancellor of academic affairs.

“I am extremely excited to be working at UALR,” Miller said. “Children International is a program that has successfully made a huge impact on the partner schools that we serve. For the past 15 years, a firm foundation of effective programing has been established by the former director. I am enthusiastic about continuing to build upon CI’s success for many years to come.”

Born in Helena, Miller began his professional career as an assignment editor for WMC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Memphis, before joining the Delta Cultural Center in Helena as a public relations specialist.

He served as Helena School District director of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, supervising the school district’s after-school programs and managing a staff of 30. During that time, he became a certified teacher in speech and English.

Miller earned a BA degree in mass communication at the University of Central Arkansas in 1992, an MS degree in radio and television at Arkansas State University in 1995, and a MA degree in intercultural studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.