Webster University Trustees Elect Chair, Vice Chair and Name Three New Board Members

ST. LOUIS, March 1, 2011 — At its February meeting, the Webster University Board of Trustees elected Brenda D. Newberry chair and Steven O. Swyers vice chair. Their terms will take effect in May 2011. In addition, Alison N. Ferring, Anthony (Tony) Thompson and Rear Admiral Lee J. Metcalf were named new members of the University’s Board of Trustees.

Newberry recently retired as Chairman of the Board of The Newberry Group Inc., a technology services firm she founded in 1996 after a 20-year career in network and systems software. The company has consistently been ranked among the fastest-growing technology companies in North America. Prior to that, Newberry served six years in the U.S. Air Force. In 1978, she was selected as one of 12 outstanding airmen out of 570,000 candidates representing the U.S. Air Force in Europe. In 1979, Newberry went to work for McDonnell Douglas as a logistics engineer and systems programmer, then joined Master Card in 1984, where she advanced to vice president and managed the global growth of a business unit that provided imaging technology.

Newberry has received numerous awards for her entrepreneurship and leadership over the years. She received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Maryland European Division and a master’s degree in Business Management from Webster in 1979 after she left the Air Force. Newberry has been a member of the University’s Board of Trustees since 2006. Newberry is active in a variety of civic and philanthropic activities, including the Civic Entrepreneurs Organization, Matthews-Dickey Boys’ and Girls’ Club and the United Way. She currently is a partner at Nesher, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in public speaking and writing on diverse business, board, leadership and life management topics.

Swyers is the managing partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in St. Louis, the area’s largest accounting firm. He joined the firm in 1973 and has been a managing partner since Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand merged in 1998. Swyers has extensive experience serving large multinational clients in a variety of industries, including Bank of America, Anheuser-Busch and Edward Jones. He has been a trustee of Webster University since 2005. In addition, Swyers has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Greater St. Louis Area Boy Scouts Council, the Arts and Education Council and Junior Achievement.

Ferring has been involved in local arts and community initiatives for more than 30 years. She has served on numerous boards and committees, and was a founding member of the Shakespeare Festival and SOS Women’s Fund. Currently, Ferring serves on the boards of Laumeier Sculpture Park, Voices for Children, the St. Louis Public Library Foundation and the Sam Fox School for the Arts at Washington University. In 2010, Ferring received the Grand Center Visionary Award.

Thompson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Kwame Building Group Inc., a leading construction management firm headquartered in St. Louis with offices in eight states. He founded Kwame in 1991, following positions in construction and mechanical engineering and project management with Anheuser-Busch, Monsanto and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Thompson earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from Washington University and an MBA from Webster University. He is active in numerous civic, charitable and professional organizations and serves on the advisory board of Webster’s George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology. Thompson has endowed two scholarships at Webster University: one to benefit African-American MBA students, the other in memory of Thompson’s brother, Tyrone L. Thompson, to promote the study of undergraduate business. 

Rear Admiral Lee J. Metcalf was commissioned through the Naval ROTC program at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1976. In 1982, Metcalf transitioned to the Reserve component and continued his Navy service with eight command assignments and a wide range of significant non-command tours. He was named to his current position of Commander, Navy Region Midwest in 2009. Metcalf has received numerous personal decorations, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. In his civilian career, Metcalf is a human resources professional with a master’s degree in Organizational Development from Webster University. His industry experience includes assignments in the U.S. and Australia with McDonnell Douglas Corp. and Sara Lee Corp.

With its home campus in St. Louis, Webster University (www.webster.edu) is a worldwide institution committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence. Founded in 1915, Webster offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five schools and colleges, and a global network of campuses. Its 20,000-plus student population represents almost 150 nationalities.

Since opening its first campus overseas in Geneva in 1978, Webster has become a recognized leader and innovator in global education, with an international presence that now includes campuses in London; Vienna; Amsterdam and Leiden, the Netherlands; Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, China; and Bangkok and Cha-am, Thailand. Webster also has educational partnerships with universities in Mexico and Japan.

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