WMU News

Verser promoted to community outreach position

April 1, 2000

KALAMAZOO -- Dr. Trudy G. Verser has been promoted to the newly created position of associate dean for external affairs in the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University.

In her new role, Verser will focus on creating and nurturing public-private partnerships between the business community and her college. She will oversee the Office of Business Development Services (formerly know as WESTOPS), which offers counseling and other assistance to area companies. Alumni development will also play into Verser's new position, as she strives to develop the growing base of the college's graduates who want to support business education.

"Trudy Verser has both studied entrepreneurship and worked directly with entrepreneurs in the area," says Haworth College of Business Dean Dr. James W. Schmotter. "This makes her an ideal person to lead our outreach efforts. Our college's motto is 'Partners for Business Knowledge and Leadership,' and by giving this role to a senior administrator we are demonstrating just how serious we are about partnering with our external constituents."

Verser most recently served as assistant dean for Student Development in the Haworth College of Business, and she will retain the responsibilities of that position. She also will continue to teach part-time as an associate professor of management. Before joining the WMU faculty in 1985 as an assistant professor, Verser taught at San Jose State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Rhode Island. She earned her bachelor's degree and MBA from the University of Michigan and a doctoral degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Verser worked as a human resources manager for the B.F. Goodrich Co., and has been hired as a consultant by Nestle Food Services, the Prince Division of Johnson Controls, McDonald's Corp. and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. She conducts research in the areas of entrepreneurship and family business, and her work has been published in such journals as The Journal of Organizational Change Management and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.

Media contact: Jessica English, 616 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu


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