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Peter Shea Named Treasurer of Amherst College Amherst, MA — Peter Shea, a member of the Treasurer’s Office staff at Amherst College since 1987, has been named the college’s treasurer. The Amherst College Board of Trustees made the appointment at its meeting on Saturday, March 2.
Shea worked for seven years at Coopers & Lybrand before coming to Amherst as associate comptroller and assistant treasurer. In his 15 years at Amherst, he has steadily assumed increasing responsibilities within the Treasurer’s Office; he was promoted to comptroller and assistant treasurer in 1988, and in 1998 was named associate treasurer and director of the budget. Since March 2001 he also has served as the college’s acting treasurer.
As treasurer, Shea will oversee all aspects of financial management and budgeting for the College, including endowment and other investments. The offices of Comptroller, Dining Services, Facilities Planning and Management, Human Resources, Administrative Services and Rental Housing report to the treasurer. In addition, the treasurer oversees the financial operations for the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
“In his many years at Amherst, Peter has been a generous, devoted and always wise colleague,” said Amherst College President Tom Gerety. “I’m delighted that at the end of a long and thorough process the search committee and the Board of Trustees recognized a strong candidate who has given most of his professional life to Amherst and who knows the College — and our town — inside and out.”
A resident of Amherst for nearly 30 years, Shea has been active in local affairs, having served as a member of Amherst Town Meeting, a trustee of the Jones Library and as Amherst College’s liaison to the town. He has been a member of the Funds Distribution Panel of the United Way of Massachusetts for the past seven years, and he has served on the Board of Directors of the Woodside Children’s Center since 1991. He is married to Joanne Shea, who works in the Amherst public school system. They have three children, Brendan, Maura and Colin, who attend the local schools.
Shea is a cum laude graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he also earned a master’s degree in business administration. He also is a certified public accountant.
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