M. Peter McPherson
Encyclopedia
M. Peter McPherson was a special assistant to President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

, head of USAID under President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

, president of Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 from 1993 to 2004, and Chairman of Dow Jones beginning in 2007.

Early life and education

McPherson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. McPherson received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 in 1963. While a student, he was a member of the prominent conservative Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...

 student organization.

Returning from the Peace Corps, McPherson earned a master's in business administration from Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....

 in 1967 and a law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...

 from American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

 in Washington in 1969.

Peace Corps service

His public service career began as a Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...

 volunteer in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, where he spent 18 months in a Peruvian slum running a food distribution program and setting up credit unions. He called the experience a defining moment and said his experience in the Peace Corps helped him learn how to adapt. "When I was a Peace Corps volunteer, it was just a different culture," McPherson said. "I found I couldn't be a gringo and be effective. It's just a matter of asking people what they want to get done, finding out what the formal and informal rules are and figuring out ways to do things differently, while doing practical work in that environment. But that process was a challenge."

Service in Ford and Reagan Administrations

After law school, he worked for the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

, where his specialty was international taxation. He joined the administration of fellow Michigander Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...

 in 1975 as special assistant to the President. As special assistant he got Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....

 his first White House job.

After his government service in the Ford administration, he worked in private law practice as managing partner of the Washington office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease
Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP is a large U.S. law firm and lobbying group based in Columbus, Ohio. It is the largest law firm based in Columbus and the fifth largest in the State of Ohio. In 2008, the National Law Journal ranked the firm the 121st largest in the United States...

, an Ohio law firm.

In November, 1980 he was named general counsel to the Reagan-Bush transition.

McPherson held several high-level positions in President Ronald Reagan's administration including head of USAID from 1981 to 1987 where he led the U.S. response to the famine in Africa. "At AID, you learn the process of deciding as a group large issues," McPherson said

McPherson's interest in world humanitarian and agricultural issues has made a difference for millions of people. While administrator of USAID he was also chair of the board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is an independent agency of the United States Government that mobilizes U.S. private sector investment in new and emerging markets overseas in order to support both the sustainable economic development of those markets and the creation of American jobs...

.

McPherson served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department from 1987 to 1989.

After his service in the Reagan administration, McPherson worked for Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

 from 1989 to 1993 managing $600 million as the bank's executive vice president.

President of Michigan State University

In 1993 he was selected to become President of Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 from 171 publicly identified candidates.

During his tenure as President of MSU, the school's international undergraduate study program became the nation's largest. McPherson also gets credit as the only president of a major university to keep tuition at the rate of inflation and for spearheading a $1 billion capital fund-raising campaign and for bringing a private law school to the 45,000-student campus. McPherson retired from MSU in 2004. http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/108454461013330.xml

McPherson took a leave of absence as President of MSU in 2003 to serve as the Director of Economic Policy for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq, where he helped establish a central bank and develop a new currency. http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=17516 In August, 2004, McPherson, who spent four months in Iraq, was among five recipients presented with the Distinguished Service Award by U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow
John W. Snow
| image=John W. Snow.jpg|imagesize = 250px| order=73rd| title=United States Secretary of the Treasury| term_start=February 3, 2003| term_end=June 28, 2006| predecessor=Paul O'Neill| successor=Henry Paulson| birth_date=| birth_place=Toledo, Ohio...

 for his service in Iraq. http://www.newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/2097/content.htm

Chairman of Dow Jones

In February 2007 Dow Jones & Co. named McPherson chairman of the company during its annual shareholding meeting on April 18. McPherson replaced Peter Kann who previously announced his retirement. McPherson had served as an independent director of Dow Jones since 1998. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003548313

As Chairman of Dow Jones & Co., McPherson was deeply involved in the negotiations with Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....

 over Murdoch's plan to purchase the Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118105366776525071-MTEm_1VOrTAY7JsMTO_BlaW3mZY_20070705.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

The Financial Times reported on December 13, 2007 that McPherson led the final annual meeting of Dow Jones where stockholders voted to approve the $5 billion sale of the 125-year-old company including the Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. "I know I speak for so many today when I say that this has been a difficult—and for many—a sad set of discussions," said McPherson, offering "great expectations and hopes" for the future.

Other activities

Aside from his duties as Chairman of Dow Jones, McPherson is a Founding Co-Chair and serves as a Director of the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa. http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/BUSINESS01/610190408/1030 He also serves as the president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is an American voluntary, non-profit association of public research universities, land-grant institutions, and state university systems. It has member campuses in all 50 states and the U.S. territories...

(APLU). http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050819/NEWS01/508190325/1001/news

President of APLU

As President of the APLU, McPherson has been a prime mover behind “College Portrait," a template for information that public, four-year institutions will provide online in an easily comparable way. College Portrait has three parts: student and family information, student experiences and perceptions, and student learning outcomes. "If we can’t figure out how to measure ourselves, someone else will figure out how to measure us," McPherson said. “It’s inevitable." McPherson says that universities need to focus on the big picture and support the new system or the federal government will come in and define how assessment will take place. "If we wait for the perfect test, we’d be waiting 10 years from now," says McPherson. “You need to take a step like this to force the pace," McPherson added.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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