Canadian Studies board member Kirk Miller is an architect, developer, and longtime program supporter. A native of Alberta, Kirk moved to the United States to attend architectural school at UC Berkeley. After graduation, he established a successful architectural career in San Francisco, where he remains deeply involved in regional development and the Bay Area Canadian expatriate community. Read below to learn more about his longstanding connections to the program and what he feels are its strengths.
What is your connection to Canada?
My grandparents immigrated to the Canadian prairies when the prairies were still part of the Northwest Territories. My maternal grandparents homesteaded. My paternal grandfather helped build the railroads.
I was raised in Red Deer, Alberta. As well as my parents and extended family, it was this “village” that raised me. The population was 6,000 when I was six. It was 17,000 when I left town a year before I was to have graduated high school. My upbringing was ideal: a home in an “edge of town” neighborhood with many post war (WWII) children and friends, an excellent public school system, weekends with my extended family on my grandparents’/ uncle’s farm, hiking and exploring in the woods, and playing lots of hockey. Hockey extended through college (even at Cal) and into adulthood.
At 17 years of age, after running out of challenges in Red Deer, I went “East” to the Collège Militaire Royal de Saint-Jean, 25 miles south of Montreal. That journey lead to me receiving a Queen’s Commission in the Canadian Army, as well as a love for Quebec. I also studied political science and sociology at the University of Alberta. Not knowing what I wanted to do, I turned down an offer to pursue graduate studies in poli sci and taught high school for a couple of years. I moved to Quebec City. It was there I was further immersed in French Canadian culture, lived in the Vieux Quartier (within the walls), and studied architecture at Université Laval.
How did you end up in Berkeley?
Quebec was going through the “Quiet Revolution” while I was at Laval. That caused me to look for a new venue to continue my architectural studies. The UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design also had its own revolution. Its Department of Architecture had just started a new program where the graduate school offered a professional Master’s degree if you had an undergraduate degree in any field.
Coming to Berkeley changed my life. I was forced to think outside the box, or even without a box. Cal was coming off of the free speech movement. It was (and is) a thought leader. The architectural curriculum had a plethora of advanced and thought provoking courses. My mentor was Christopher Alexander, an architectural philosopher. His thinking has guided my career.
How did you get involved with Canadian Studies?
My involvement with Canadian studies resulted from my work and activities in San Francisco and beyond.
After Cal I worked in firms whose design and real estate projects, and my extra-professional activities, took me to the far corners of California and the United States. Ultimately, I established an award-winning architectural, planning, and project management firm in San Francisco. Russian Hill was home to my first projects – luxury residential developments on difficult hillside sites with complex political and environmental considerations. My portfolio expanded to include affordable housing, commercial and institutional buildings, and work force housing projects. Also, I have spent the last 12 years flying to and from Alberta to work on a number of projects.
Concurrent with my professional career, I became heavily involved in San Francisco community and political affairs. Among these was my connection to the Canadian diaspora. I joined, and rose through the ranks of the Canadian American Chamber of Commerce of Northern California. The Canadian Counsel General’s office was our primary sponsor. While I was president we had a very active program. One of our premier events was the All Canadian Universities’ Alumni Dinner. Al Unger {Canadian Studies board member} was a major player in the events’ successes. UC Berkeley was aware of these events in that many of its graduate students attended the dinner(s) as alumni of Canadian universities.
When Al later formalized his connections with Cal, and its interest in Canadian Studies, he introduced me to Tom Barnes {founder of the Canadian Studies Program}. Tom then asked me to serve on the advisory board.
Why do you support Canadian Studies?
I have always been very interested in research (both my wife and brother are academics). Given the depth, breadth, and interdependence of Canada’s relationship with the US, there is an increasing need to study all aspects of the relationship and to strengthen it. The Canadian Studies program is on the right path, as articulated in the first four profiles of board members. Irene Bloemraad {Program Director} and David Stewart {Board Chair} have formed a synergistic leadership unit for the future of the program. Now it is a matter of implementation, and the adjustments that are made during that implementation.
How do you explain the difference(s) between the Canadian and United States cultures?
For Canada, I quote a section of the British North American Act, 1867 (Canadian Constitution Act): "Peace, Order, and Good Government." For the United States, I quote a phrase from the Declaration of Independence: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The resulting conversation about these two quotes and their impact on the differences in the politics, mindset, and cultures of our two countries is very illuminating. The quotations point out one of the foundational reasons for our differences.