{"id":4263,"date":"2025-02-17T12:22:55","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/?p=4263"},"modified":"2025-03-28T13:40:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:40:48","slug":"temple-universitys-global-road-warrior-martyn-j-miller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/2025\/02\/17\/temple-universitys-global-road-warrior-martyn-j-miller\/","title":{"rendered":"Temple University\u2019s Global Road Warrior\u2014Martyn J. Miller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Most Temple international students know and respect Dr. Martyn Miller, a hands-on assistant vice president of Global Engagement, who has met, helped and recruited many international students for Temple University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While overseeing international services and cultural activities for Temple, Miller also assists with student recruiting and partnership development in the Indian subcontinent and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His MENA concentration matches his own background, beginning his early life in Syria and Lebanon where his father was an academic. Now, as a recruiter in the Middle East, he leverages his roots and proficiency in Arabic, to connect deeply to students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also has strong connections linking him to Temple. He has been here since 1999, and when he began working here, he discovered by chance that his paternal grandparents were once Temple professors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His deep, Temple connection surprised him as, to some extent, did his own career path. Despite never imagining himself in his current career, originally studying English literature throughout undergraduate and graduate school at The University of Georgia, Miller has spent nearly 30 years in higher education administration, a journey which was a natural evolution of his background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although recruiting isn\u2019t formally part of his job, nor the majority of what he does, Miller has been a successful recruiter at Temple, who bridges the gap between Temple and hundreds of international students. What\u2019s his approach? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recruiting Strategy<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It may seem antithetical, but Miller admits that he doesn\u2019t have a fixed approach to recruiting, and this is what differentiates him. \u201cI tell the truth. My job is to help the student find the best university that they\u2019re going to end up in. And that might be Temple, or it might be another school.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIf I can convince somebody that Temple is the right place and that person comes here and increases our numbers, I\u2019m happy. But I\u2019m also happy if I can help the person identify that they would do better in a different type of school. I don\u2019t want to bring somebody here and have that person have a miserable time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Martyn J. Miller<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of whether Temple seems to be the right fit, Miller is committed to finding the right home for each prospective student. It is this personalized approach that has made him successful. Rather than viewing a student as a number, Miller views each student for who they are. He sees prospective international students as young people attempting to figure out their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Illustrating that point, Miller said, \u201cOne of my longest conversations with a prospective student was three days long, and that young woman at the end said, \u2018I\u2019m not going to go to Temple, but I want you to know that you taught me more in these conversations than anybody else has taught me.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Connecting with Students<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The benefit of Miller\u2019s personalized approach is the relationships he builds with students. On a recruiting trip to Jordan in October 2023, Miller was leaving a caf\u00e9 when a young man approached him and asked if he spoke Arabic. Miller said, \u201cYes.\u201d The young man then asked if he was from the U.S. Miller again said, \u201cYes.\u201d He continued and asked if Miller was from Pennsylvania, which Miller affirmed. And then the student asked if he was from Temple, to which Miller replied with another, \u201cYes.\u201d Finally, the young man asked if he was Martyn Miller, which Miller confirmed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The young man then informed Miller, \u201cI was a student at Temple\u2019s Intensive English Language Program and you\u2019re the one that got me to Temple years ago.\u201d That Kuwaiti man is now a medical student completing his residency at a hospital in Jordan. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDr. Miller (center) meeting a former student he helped recruit (right) while in Jordan with Director of Temple’s Center for American Language and Culture, Jacqueline McCafferty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Another story Miller told was of a recruiting trip to Kuwait in 2014 where he met a Kuwaiti girl who had recently returned from the United States. She was in the U.S. to study but faced difficulties and was searching for another school. Her father mentioned that he wanted to find a school in the United States for his son as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Miller\u2019s words, \u201cThe end of the story is that she already has graduated from Temple and is currently working in her field in Kuwait, and her brother will graduate this upcoming semester (Spring 2025).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to the changing world of recruiting <\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
According to Miller, recruiting has become much more cutthroat and less humane, particularly between institutions. With a combination of dwindling enrollment from domestic students (less students and fewer opting for university) and continuously decreasing funding from state governments, U.S. universities are feeling the pressure to fill those empty seats. One way to accomplish this is by recruiting international students, and of course, international students add to the college experience for all students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miller stressed how important it is to develop a connection with prospective students. Unfortunately, many recruiters are pressured to recruit as many students as possible, but for Miller, keeping in mind the long-term goal of providing a path forward for these students is equally important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I can convince somebody that Temple is the right place and that person comes here and increases our numbers, I\u2019m happy. But I\u2019m also happy if I can help the person identify that they would do better in a different type of school. I don\u2019t want to bring somebody here and have that person have a miserable time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And from the many students Miller has recruited, his personal strategy is, clearly, a winning one for Temple, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. lack of a unified international recruiting approach <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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