Trustee leadership for 2004 elected
Feb. 27, 2004
KALAMAZOO--Vernice D. Anthony of Detroit and Peter L. Aseritis of Williamsburg, Mich., have been elected to serve for 2004 as chairperson and vice chairperson, respectively, of the Western Michigan University Board of Trustees.
The election took place at the board's annual formal session Feb. 27, as provided in its bylaws. Each will serve a one-year term in office.
Anthony, who was appointed to the WMU board in 2001, became president and chief executive officer of the Greater Detroit Area Health Council Inc. in July 2002. Prior to that, she had served as the senior vice president for corporate affairs and community health for St. John Health System in Detroit since 1995.
Before joining St. John Health System, Anthony was director of the Michigan Department of Public Health (now the Department of Community Health), a position she had held since 1991.
Anthony earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Wayne State University in 1970 and a master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan in 1976. She previously was a member of the board of governors of Wayne State and now serves on the Wayne County Airport Authority. She also is the parent of a current WMU student.
Anthony currently serves on a number of other boards and commissions, including the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine, the Michigan Department of Community Health Health Plans Advisory Council, the Michigan SIDS Alliance and the American Hospital Association Task Force on Essential Health Providers.
Aseritis, who was appointed to the WMU Board in 2001 as well, is president and primary owner of Portfolio Performance Analysis Inc., an expert witness and investment advisory firm based in Traverse City, Mich.
Before taking his current position in 2001, Aseritis spent a year as a business consultant and for 17 years before that was a New York-based equity research analyst. He was a senior aerospace analyst and director for Credit Suisse First Boston from 1989 to 1999, a senior aerospace analyst and vice president at Smith Barney from 1986 to 1989, and a defense electronics analyst and vice president at E.F. Hutton from 1982 to 1986.
He earned his bachelor's degree from WMU in 1973 and went on to earn an MBA in finance from Pennsylvania State University in 1982. From 1973 to 1980, he was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The two-time president of the New York Aerospace Analysts Society has served as a guest business lecturer at New York University and at Penn State.
Other WMU board officers elected to one-year terms at the Jan. 24 meeting were: Betty A. Kocher, secretary to the board; Robert M. Beam, treasurer and assistant secretary; and Lowell P. Rinker, assistant treasurer. Beam is the University's vice president for business and finance, and Rinker is associate vice president for business.
Media contact: Matt Kurz, 269 387-8400, matt.kurz@wmich.edu