The University of West Georgia has named a national leader with more than 20 years of experience in enrollment management as its vice president for strategic enrollment management.

Dr. Joseph Miller, currently serving as vice president for enrollment management and marketing at Winthrop University, will join the UWG leadership team on Feb. 1. 

“At the University of West Georgia, student success is a no‑excuse priority, and Dr. Miller is the kind of results‑driven, student‑focused leader who will help us advance that mission,” said Dr. Michael Johnson, UWG’s president. “With our momentum in enrollment and the growth we’re seeing across every student segment, we need a visionary who can build on that progress and ensure every initiative helps our students succeed.”

Miller shared that he is excited to join a university so deeply committed to student success and looks forward to helping expand access and support for learners across Georgia and beyond.

“I am honored and excited to join the University of West Georgia as vice president for strategic enrollment management,” Miller said. “The University of West Georgia’s recent enrollment growth and momentum reflect the dedication, talent, and innovation of its faculty and staff, and I look forward to partnering with university leadership and the Strategic Enrollment Management team to advance the institution’s ambitious goals.”

Over the past five years, UWG has experienced historic momentum in enrollment growth. The university has reached its largest enrollment ever – 16,072 students, marking a 25 percent increase in half a decade. Growth has been strong across undergraduate, graduate and dual‑enrollment programs, including a 90 percent expansion in graduate enrollment since 2021 and a doubling of dual‑enrollment participation, positioning UWG as a destination of choice for students seeking transformational educational experiences.

“Dr. Miller is joining UWG at a moment of remarkable upward trajectory, and his leadership will play a pivotal role in sustaining and expanding that momentum,” said Dr. Jon Preston, UWG’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “His experience aligns powerfully with our academic mission and our commitment to ensuring students are supported from the moment they express interest in UWG through graduation. I am confident that Dr. Miller will help UWG expand enrollment, retention, graduation and student success across all our strong academic programs.”

While at Winthrop, Miller executed a new student enrollment plan that resulted in a 43 percent increase in new freshmen enrollment, a 52 percent increase in new transfer enrollment and a 90 percent return on upperclassmen persistence.

But Going West won’t be his first time in west Georgia, as he served in leadership positions at LaGrange College for nearly a decade starting in 2012. Prior to that, he served in various admissions-related roles at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.

Miller earned his doctorate in leadership and learning in organizations from Vanderbilt after earning his master’s degree in intellectual history from Auburn University Montgomery and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Austin Peay State University.

He and his wife, Melissa, have three grown children: Anna Claire, Jonah and Camp. 

To learn more about the University of West Georgia, visit westga.edu.