Peter McPherson brings experience from higher education, business, international development and politics to his role as Michigan State University's 19th president.

He has been a statesman, a bank executive, and held key positions in the federal government. He has worked to give underdeveloped countries the tools they need to help themselves, and has helped his own country contribute resources to help save lives.

His career highlights include:

Financial Coordinator for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitartian Assistance in Iraq (May '03 - Sept. '03); Served as the principal financial and economic policy adviser to OHRA director Paul Bremer.

Bank of America (1989 - Oct. 1993): Group executive vice president of the San Francisco-based firm. In that position, he was responsible for the personal trust department, domestic and international private banking, institutional investment and mutual funds. He also was responsible for the bank's work in Latin America and Canada. Prior to that, he had been with Bank of America as executive vice president, responsible for restructuring debt with developing countries.

U.S. Treasury Department (August 1987 - March 1989): As deputy secretary, he focused on issues of trade, taxation and international impact. He was among three negotiators for the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in the later weeks of those negotiations. He also served as acting Secretary of Treasury between secretaries James A. Baker III and Nicholas F. Brady.

Agency for International Development (February 1981 - August 1987): The department's work involved 50 countries, 5,000 staffers and a multi-billion dollar budget. McPherson headed the U.S. response to the Great Famine in Africa in the mid-1980s. His focus when possible, was on science and technology, and he worked with land-grant universities throughout his tenure at AID.

Reagan/Bush transition (1980-81): General counsel of the transition. Legal counsel to President Ronald Reagan for the first three weeks of the administration.

The White House (March 1975 - January 1977): Special assistant to President Ford and deputy director, Presidential Personnel Office. Worked closely with White House chiefs of staff Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Cheney.

McPherson has also served as a partner in the Washington law firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, was a special assistant to President Gerald Ford and deputy director of Ford's personnel office, and was a tax law specialist with the Internal Revenue Service. He oversaw the transition period for the Reagan/Bush Administration.

McPherson chairs the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa . The partnership focuses resources and knowledge on what the partnership calls the most critical need of all of Africa's challenges.

Education:

McPherson earned a bachelor of arts in political science from MSU in 1963. His family's roots with the university run even deeper; both his parents are MSU graduates, as are all seven of his brothers and sisters. And his grandfather, Melville, for whom he is named, was a member of the board that elected John Hannah MSU president in 1941.

From there, McPherson earned his MBA at Western Michigan University in 1967, and a law degree from American University Law School in 1969.

While at MSU, he also served on the student council, and was junior class president. After graduating, he joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Peru.

He says his year with the Peace Corps was the defining experience of his lifetime. He says it helped him set priorities and goals. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru in 1964-65. Technical backstop for 45 other Volunteers working with the U.S. School Feeding Program, and work with credit unions and A.I.D. projects.

In April 2001, McPherson returned to Lima, Peru, to find a changed nation. McPherson, who lived in Lima during the 1960s as part of the Peace Corps, organizing credit unions and getting involved in the U.S. surplus school feeding program, was there again to observe the nation's presidential elections.

Led by former President Jimmy Carter, MSU's chief executive was selected as a member of a delegation by the National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center. The 35-member international committee was designed to ensure the people of Peru would be able to exercise their right to choose their own government.

1,826 MSU graduates have served as Peace Corps Volunteers in the agency's 41-year history, with an additional 43 currently serving. MSU ranks fifth nationally in the total number of graduates who have served in the Peace Corps since its inception in 1961.

He has expanded an already excellent program in international study at MSU. MSU sends more students on study abroad programs than any other university, currently offering more than 175 programs in over 50 countries on six continents. More than 2,000 students study abroad yearly in MSU programs.

McPherson believes that a university education in today's global environment is not complete without international experience.

MSU has a rich tradition in being internationally engaged. When Michigan State University established the position of Dean of International Programs in 1956, it was the first such office established among major universities in the United States.

MSU has a strong presence in six continents (Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe, North America and South America) and is recognized internationally for its work in numerous arenas, such as basic human needs, education, international trade, sustainable agriculture, human and animal health and welfare, and the environment.