New Brunswick, NJ, June 22, 2016 — William E. Best, a senior vice president at PNC Bank, has been elected to a one-year term as chair of the Rutgers University Board of Trustees. The Belle Mead, N.J., resident’s term as a Charter Trustee runs through 2017.
Best had been co-vice chair of the Board of Trustees. He succeeds Frank B. Hundley, a financial services industry executive from Flemington, N.J., as chair.
Heather Taylor, from North Brunswick, N.J., a director and certified public accountant with EisnerAmper, LLP, will serve as co-vice chair for a second straight year. She serves on the board of directors of the Rutgers Alumni Association and is the 1989 class president for Rutgers College, where she earned a joint Bachelor of Science degree with Rutgers Business School. Her term as a Charter Trustee runs through 2020.
Jose Piazza, a resident of Belle Meade, is the other Board of Trustees co-chair. At Verizon, he is vice president-finance operations. His term as a Charter Trustee runs through 2017.
Best is past chair of the International Economic Development Council. He is a board member of both New Jersey Future and the Newark Regional Business Partnership, and a member of the New Jersey Regional Plan Association.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including from the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority (2007), the African-American Chamber of Commerce (2006), and the New Jersey state Senate and Assembly (2005).
Best had been co-vice chair of the Board of Trustees. He succeeds Frank B. Hundley, a financial services industry executive from Flemington, N.J., as chair.
Heather Taylor, from North Brunswick, N.J., a director and certified public accountant with EisnerAmper, LLP, will serve as co-vice chair for a second straight year. She serves on the board of directors of the Rutgers Alumni Association and is the 1989 class president for Rutgers College, where she earned a joint Bachelor of Science degree with Rutgers Business School. Her term as a Charter Trustee runs through 2020.
Jose Piazza, a resident of Belle Meade, is the other Board of Trustees co-chair. At Verizon, he is vice president-finance operations. His term as a Charter Trustee runs through 2017.
Best is past chair of the International Economic Development Council. He is a board member of both New Jersey Future and the Newark Regional Business Partnership, and a member of the New Jersey Regional Plan Association.
He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including from the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority (2007), the African-American Chamber of Commerce (2006), and the New Jersey state Senate and Assembly (2005).
Best has been a member of the Rutgers Board of Trustees/Board of Governors financial due diligence subcommittee, the Board of Governors’ committee on audit, and the Board of Trustees’ executive and emeriti committees.
Taylor is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the New Jersey State Society of CPAs, and a past member of the board of directors of the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is past treasurer of the Rutgers Alumni Association, which inducted her as a Loyal Daughter of Rutgers in 1999.
Taylore was named as a Best 50 Women in Business in 2013 by NJ Biz, and has served on the Board of Governors’ committee on audit, the Board of Trustees’ executive committee, the Rutgers Board of Trustees/Board of Governors task force on health and science education, and the Joint Task Force on Governance.
Piazza is a member of the of the American Institute of CPAs and the New Jersey State Society of CPAs, former board member of the Court Appointed Special Advocate of New Jersey and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, among others, and was named to Diversity MBA Magazine’s Top 100 Under 50. He served as chair of the Board of Trustees’ committee on diversity and inclusion in 2015-2016 and has served on its nominating committee as well as on the Board of Governors’ committees on audit, and finance and facilities.
Historically, the Board of Trustees was the governing body of the university from the time of its founding as Queen’s College in 1766 until the university was reorganized under state law in 1956.
The board acts in an advisory capacity to the Board of Governors and comprises 41 voting members: 20 charter members (at least three of whom are women), 16 alumni members and five public members appointed by the governor of the state with confirmation by the New Jersey state Senate.
Of the 20 charter seats, three are reserved for students with full voting rights.
Taylor is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the New Jersey State Society of CPAs, and a past member of the board of directors of the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is past treasurer of the Rutgers Alumni Association, which inducted her as a Loyal Daughter of Rutgers in 1999.
Taylore was named as a Best 50 Women in Business in 2013 by NJ Biz, and has served on the Board of Governors’ committee on audit, the Board of Trustees’ executive committee, the Rutgers Board of Trustees/Board of Governors task force on health and science education, and the Joint Task Force on Governance.
Piazza is a member of the of the American Institute of CPAs and the New Jersey State Society of CPAs, former board member of the Court Appointed Special Advocate of New Jersey and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, among others, and was named to Diversity MBA Magazine’s Top 100 Under 50. He served as chair of the Board of Trustees’ committee on diversity and inclusion in 2015-2016 and has served on its nominating committee as well as on the Board of Governors’ committees on audit, and finance and facilities.
Historically, the Board of Trustees was the governing body of the university from the time of its founding as Queen’s College in 1766 until the university was reorganized under state law in 1956.
The board acts in an advisory capacity to the Board of Governors and comprises 41 voting members: 20 charter members (at least three of whom are women), 16 alumni members and five public members appointed by the governor of the state with confirmation by the New Jersey state Senate.
Of the 20 charter seats, three are reserved for students with full voting rights.
