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SU Foundation Welcomes Three New Board Members

From left to right are Phyllis Vinyard, Dr. Peter Jackson and Sonya Whited.
From left: Phyllis Vinyard, Dr. Peter Jackson and Sonya Whited.

SALISBURY, MD---The Salisbury University Foundation, Inc., recently welcomed three new members to its board of directors.

They include Dr. Peter Jackson of Eden, MD; Sonya Whited of Delmar, MD; and Phyllis Vinyard of Salisbury.

A former member of the foundation board, Jackson is a retired senior vice president of technology for telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm. He and his wife, Judy, are members of SU’s Sea Gull and Holloway societies in recognition of their generosity to SU, where they have supported the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra and Delmarva Public Radio and cultural affairs efforts, among others. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Duke University.


Whited is the director of process, packaging and commercialization for Perdue Farms, Inc. A longtime supporter of SU, she also is involved with the United Way of the Eastern Shore, a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Eastern Shore, and past president of the Princess Anne Alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, of which she was a member while earning her B.S. in chemical engineering at Rutgers University.

Vinyard has supported SU’s Dudley-Eshbach Study Abroad Scholarship Program, as well as other community institutions. She also has served on the board of directors of the Sussex Shores Water Co. A member of the Peninsula Regional Medical Center and Wor-Wic Community College foundations, she earned her bachelor’s degree from James Madison University in 1970.

“These new board members are a really exciting addition to the foundation,” said Jason E. Curtin ’98, the organization’s director and SU vice president of advancement and external affairs. “Each has a unique background and expertise that will greatly enhance the efforts of the foundation in supporting SU.” 

Guided by a 32-member board, the SU Foundation was created in 1973 to accumulate funds by gift and investment to enhance the University. Since then, it has enriched the academic growth and physical expansion of SU through the support of student scholarships, faculty research, new facilities and community outreach.

Earlier this summer, the foundation launched “We Are SU: The Campaign for Salisbury University,” a $75 million fundraising initiative to further support those priorities.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website.