St. Mary’s College of Maryland mourns the passing of Steven Muller, former chairman and member of the college’s Board of Trustees (1990-2003). Muller, who was also a past president of Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital, died on Saturday, Jan. 19, at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 85 years old.
“Dr. Muller was a consummate force in higher education,” said Joseph R. Urgo, president of St. Mary’s College. “His contributions were many and invaluable. Steven will be remembered as a passionate and thoughtful leader in addition to a dedicated public servant and philanthropist. He will be greatly missed.”
Among his contributions to St. Mary’s, Muller named the college as a designee under the Alex Brown Director’s Charitable Award Program, which contributed funds to the college’s Goodpaster Endowment. Muller also served as board member of the St. Mary’s College Center for the Study of Democracy and was the recipient of The Order of the Ark and Dove Award in 2004, the college’s highest honor.
Muller served on the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees from 1990-2003; he assumed the role of chairman in 1992. During his term as chair, he oversaw the 1992 legislation that committed the state of Maryland to providing the annual block grant funding to the college. In 2000, Muller established two distinguished professorships for college faculty, one acknowledging faculty accomplishments in the arts and the other, in the sciences.
Muller was born in Hamburg, Germany, on Nov. 22, 1927. His wife of 48 years, Margie Hellman Muller, died in 1999. He is survived by his wife of 13 years, Jill E. McGovern of Washington, two daughters Julie M. Mitchell and Elizabeth M. Casparian, a brother, and five grandchildren.