Alton Miller is the Associate Dean of the School of Media Arts at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also a tenured professor. His professional career has included public relations in arts, politics and the media.

Arts:   Mr. Miller came to Chicago as a ballet manager. Formerly associate producing director of Arena Stage in his native Washington, D.C. (1968-76), and managing director of the Washington Ballet (1978-83), he was named general director of Maria Tallchief's Chicago City Ballet in 1983.

Politics:   In 1985 he changed careers when he was appointed press secretary to Mayor Harold Washington, a position he held until the mayor's death in 1987. As a communications consultant he has worked with former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, United Auto Workers, Mayor Wilson Goode of Philadelphia, Chicago City Treasurer Miriam Santos, the Chicago Board of Education, and the Illinois Arts Alliance, among others.

Media:   A freelance writer, and the author of three nonfiction works, including the Chicago best-seller Harold Washington: The Mayor, The Man (1989), Mr. Miller served as theater writer and drama critic for Washington Calendar Magazine (1976-1980), and as guest drama critic for the Washington Star (1978). He covered arts, politics and the media for Chicago Times Magazine (1989-1990) . His articles have appeared in numerous news publications and online, including his own website at www.altonmiller.com.

Education: Mr. Miller is Associate Dean of the School of Media Arts at Columbia College Chicago, where he began teaching as an adjunct professor in 1990, and ultimately became Director of the Public Relations Studies program. He was granted tenure in 2005, the same year he was awarded his M.F.A. in Writing by Goddard College in Vermont. His thesis was a political novel, Chicago Power & Light.