Purdue President Emeritus Beering to head National Science Board

Steven Beering

Beering was appointed to the National Science Board in 2002 and reappointed in 2004. The board elects officers, who serve two-year terms, from its current membership. His chairmanship was announced in Washington, D.C., last week.

The National Science Board, established by the U.S. Congress as part of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, serves as an independent body of advisers to both the president and Congress on broad national policy issues related to science and engineering research and education. NSB members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Purdue's president from 1983-2000, Beering remains a director of the Purdue Research Foundation. He and his wife, Jane, continue to work as goodwill ambassadors for the university, and he continues to have an office on campus.

Before coming to Purdue, Beering served as dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine and director of the I.U. Medical Center. He has held senior positions with numerous national and state committees, boards of directors and educational policy-making groups. He is past president of the Association of American Universities and was co-chairman of the NCAA Presidents' Commission Subcommittee on Gender Equity. He is a member of the National Academy of Science/Institute of Medicine.

He spent more than 12 years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps, where he served as an adviser to the U.S. surgeon general in internal medicine and was a medical consultant on the U.S. space programs' early attempts to put humans into orbit.

Beering received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and subsequently was graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: Steven C. Beering, scb@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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