Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Five Named to Widener University Board of Trustees

Chester, Pa. – The Widener University Board of Trustees recently elected five new members to its ranks including the former publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer, an executive for the Royal Bank of Scotland, the president of an international investment and business conglomerate, a technology and information scientist, and an undergraduate student leader.

Anthony R. Britton Jr. of Darien, Conn., a managing director for the Royal Bank of Scotland; Anna Miller of East Prospect, Pa., a junior chemistry major; Robert E. Samuel of Blue Bell, Pa., a senior technology architect for Aetna, Inc.; Richard L. Tan of San Diego, Calif., president of Pacific Millennium Holdings Corporation; and Brian P. Tierney of Bryn Mawr, Pa., former publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer, were elected at the May 5 meeting of the Board of Trustees.


Britton is a 26-year veteran in the financial services business and has worked at several major investment banks during his career. He is a specialist in fixed income credit products including corporate bonds, credit derivatives, bank debt, and U.S. treasuries. As managing director of sales for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Stamford, Conn., Britton runs a sales group of 32 professionals. He has helped start and grow a distribution team in credit products that has helped the Royal Bank of Scotland become a top ten firm internationally.

Britton graduated from Widener with a bachelor’s degree in business management and economics in 1982. He was captain of the 1981 Widener national championship football team, scoring the winning touchdown in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

Miller was elected the student representative on the Board of Trustees. She was recently one of only 135 students nationwide to be honored as a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact. The honor recognizes inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.

At Widener, Miller is a member of the Presidential Service Corps/Bonner Leaders program, which requires members to donate 300 hours of community service. She also serves as site team leader at City Team Ministries in Chester, Pa., where she coordinates the efforts of other Presidential Service Corps students to help City Team better serve its clients. She is the daughter of Ken and Nancy Miller of East Prospect.

Samuel will serve on the Board of Trustees for two years as incoming president of the Widener University-Pennsylvania Military College Alumni Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1991 and a master’s of engineering in 2000, both from Widener. He also holds a master’s degree in information science from Pennsylvania State University, and a doctorate in information systems and communications from Robert Morris University. He serves as chair of the Widener University School of Engineering Alumni Chapter, and is completing a two-year term as vice president of the university’s alumni association.

As a senior technology architect for Aetna, Inc., Samuel leads strategic planning initiatives for adoption of critical technologies and business processes. Since 2002, he has served as an adjunct professor at Widener, teaching various engineering courses including communications and computer systems.

Tan has more than 30 years of experience in the paper and finance industries, and is currently president of Pacific Millennium Holdings Corporation, a major private investment and operating conglomerate active in several Asian countries. Pacific Millennium has business lines in packaging, information technology, funeral and cemetery services, investment banking and car dealerships. Besides Tan’s business activities, he is also active in public service.  He is a member of the China National Political Consultative Committee, a business adviser of the Chongqing municipality, vice chairman of the Shanghai International Chamber of Commerce, and an adviser of the Shanghai Modern Management Center.

Tan holds bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and mechanical engineering from San Diego State University, a master’s in business administration from the University of Southern California, and has participated in Stanford University’s Executive Program. He received an honorary doctorate in international business from Widener in 2009.

Tierney, a 1987 graduate of the Widener University School of Law, is a nationally recognized expert in marketing communications and the media and an accomplished entrepreneur. He is currently chief executive officer of Realtime Media, a leader in digitally driven consumer acquisition and engagement. Realtime clients include CNN, AOL, L’Oreal USA, Comcast and the New York Times. He also leads Realtime’s parent company, Brian Communications.

Tierney served as publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Daily News from 2006 to 2010. The combined website, Philly.com, was ranked by Nielsen as the fastest growing news site in the world from March 2009 to March 2010.  He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a juris doctor from Widener University School of Law.

“Anthony, Anna, Robert, Richard and Brian are very dedicated to helping Widener strengthen its position as a leading metropolitan university,” said Widener University President James T. Harris III. “We are proud to welcome such accomplished leaders to the board of trustees. They have outstanding skills and experiences that will complement the board and help the university take advantage of new opportunities in an ever-changing higher education landscape.”

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