Peru RPCV Peter McPherson to step down as president of Michigan State University
McPherson to step down as president of Michigan State
Friday, May 7, 2004
BY KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST LANSING -- Michigan State University President Peter McPherson will step down at the end of the year, he said during the school's commencement Friday.
The 63-year-old former deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department has led Michigan's largest university since 1993.
McPherson planned to hold the announcement until Monday, but he told the graduates: "In the last few hours, there has been enough buzz that I wanted to tell you myself."
The 1963 Michigan State graduate will officially step down on Jan. 1, 2005.
McPherson spent five months over the summer and fall as the coordinator of U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq's banking system. Under his leadership, a finance ministry was established to help pay Iraqis working for the country's new government. He also helped eliminate a form of currency called the Saddam Dinar.
McPherson said his experience in Iraq has caused him to look at other things to do with his life, pointing out that he will be 64 this fall.
Michigan State Trustee Scott Romney said there has been a buzz about the possibility McPherson would leave his post since returning from Iraq last fall.
"Peter McPherson has always demonstrated a tremendous amount of energy and talent," Romney said. "We look forward to his continued service on projects this year. We have a new era to face now at Michigan State University."
McPherson has worked to keep tuition affordable for students. In 1994, he helped create the tuition guarantee, which promises incoming students that their tuition won't jump higher than the projected rate of inflation during the four years it should take to get their degrees.
"Peter has charted a new course," said Gordon Guyer, a former Michigan State president.
McPherson was deputy treasury secretary from 1987 to 1989 under President Reagan, where he focused on trade, tax and international issues. He also served as an executive at Bank of America in the early 1990s, where he dealt mostly with international loans.
From 1981 to 1987 he was the administrator for the Agency of International Development, where, among other things, he oversaw U.S. aid to Africa during its food crisis.
Harry Schmidt, a 1944 Michigan State graduate who lives in East Lansing, said McPherson's talents in administration and finance have been clear during his tenure.
"He had a deficiency in speech-making and public appearances but that was not detrimental to the fine job he has done," he said Friday.
McPherson has long been attracted to international issues. After graduating from Michigan State, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru. He led the U.S. Agency for International Development under President Reagan during the Great Famine.
During his tenure at Bank of America, he was responsible for the bank's work in Latin America and Canada, among other positions. He gained a greater understanding of the commercial potential in impoverished nations.
New graduate Stephanie Packer, 21, of Lawton, said McPherson has increased culture and diversity on the East Lansing campus.
"He's been a great asset to the university," she said after Friday's commencement.
