An Educated, Enlightened Humanity

Evalyn and Stephan Milman

Evalyn Edwards Milman ’60 strengthens Human Ecology, Cornell mission through philanthropy

Evalyn Edwards Milman ’60, believes in educating young people and has spent her life doing just that. “I’ve always enjoyed and gotten satisfaction in relating what I’ve learned,” she said. She knows she was privileged to attend Cornell and loves “giving back to society and seeing young people grow.”

Milman was inspired by her teachers in Long Beach, Long Island, where she grew up as a promising student, skipping several grades. She worked hard to make it to Cornell and entered the College of Home Economics at age 16. A variety of classes were offered at the time, though Milman admits that some were “certainly not like the classes today. They were still offering classes called Ironing Shirts and Removing Stains.” Aside from the traditional home economics offerings, Milman gained a broad education studying topics like government, comparative religions, and the infamous romp-n-stomp American folk literature course, for which Peter Yarrow was a teacher’s assistant. Milman focused her studies on early child development and was able to work in the nursery school the College operated at the time, earning valuable experience. The well-rounded coursework helped prepare her to pursue her goal of teaching. After graduation, she earned a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Development from Columbia University.

She taught nursery school for many years. Later, after raising her children, she earned a Master of Arts in Art History at Hunter College in Manhattan. This led to years of work as a curator for an art museum, a teacher of art history at a community college, and a docent at another art museum. “I’ve had five careers,” Milman said laughing. “And they’ve all involved some kind of education. I guess I started with nursery school and ended up at the university level.” For many years, Milman also operated a successful tour company which took visitors all over the northeast to explore historic homes, museums, and cultural landmarks. She immersed her clients in the arts as she led them to fascinating places.

Milman met her husband, Stephen Milman, ’58, M.B.A. ’59, while at Cornell. Over the years, the two found great value in donating to many programs. Milman believes in “giving where every penny counts towards furthering Cornell’s mission and education.” The Johnson Museum of Art is a particular love. She takes great pride in the Museum’s collection, curators, and education department, and serves on the Museum Advisory Council. Along with providing funding for the Museum’s school programs that supports student learning in grades pre-K through 12, linking to curricula in art, social studies, language arts, music, science, math and time periods, she recently helped fund the Museum’s latest Handbook of the Collections. “We have a great understanding of the importance of books in people’s lives,” she said. The Milmans’ connections to the University Library led to patronage of collections and exhibits, and then to the endowment of the Stephen E. and Evalyn Edwards Milman Directorship of Rare and Manuscript Collections. For the College of Arts and Sciences, they endow the Stephen and Evalyn Milman Professorship in American Studies. Additionally, because of Stephen’s love of baseball, the Milmans sponsored an extremely popular seminar class titled Baseball and American Culture.

“I’ve never lost my love for the College of Human Ecology,” she says. “Though the school has changed names and they’ve broadened their outlook, they’ve kept their uniqueness.”

Her passion for education in general and Human Ecology in particular led to support in many facets. She created the Evalyn Edwards Milman Assistant Professorship in Early Childhood Development, a position that sustains up-and-coming scholars at the College. The fellowship is currently held by Lin Bian, assistant professor of Human Development and principal investigator of the Little Thinkers Lab at Cornell. And recently, Milman worked with the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR), which “expands, strengthens, and speeds the connections between research, policy, and practice to enhance human development and well-being.” She endowed the Evalyn Edwards Milman ’60 BCTR Faculty Fellowship, a program which links research with real community needs. 

These are just a few of the programs, events, and schools Milman supports. And Cornell is not the only beneficiary of her philanthropy. She gives generously to the New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera, Teachers College, and others.

As she approaches the 60th anniversary of her graduation, Milman’s love of Cornell continues to grow. “I believe in education and an enlightened humanity, which we need so very desperately today. And I’m proud of Cornell’s record.”

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