Industry Leading Financial Practitioner, Mary Quist-Newins CLU®, CHFC®, CFP®, Named New State Farm Chair in Women and Financial Services

Bryn Mawr, PA (PRWEB) May 6, 2008 -- The American College, the nation's leading financial services educator, today announced the appointment of Mary Quist-Newins, CLU®, ChFC®, CFP®, as the new State Farm® Chair in Women and Financial Services. As a former Senior Financial Consultant and Regional Management Associate with Thrivent Financial, Quist-Newins brings strong academic and business credentials to the position.

"Women are the single most powerful driver in a new economy and our colleges and universities can be incredibly impactful in helping financial advisors understand that women plan for retirement, invest their savings and look at life insurance differently from men," notes Dr. Larry Barton, President and CEO of The American College. "Women directly purchase 83 percent of all products and services, making them one of the most important markets. Professor Quist-Newins will help The College and financial professionals improve their understanding of women's financial needs."

"The State Farm Insurance Companies are committed to enhancing the financial security of American women and their families," notes Susan D. Waring, CLU®, ChFC®, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, State Farm Life Insurance Companies, and member of The American College Foundation Board of Directors. "We are delighted to sponsor research and academic scholarship through The American College that will benefit women as financial consumers."

As the State Farm Chair in Women and Financial Services, Mary Quist-Newins will teach coursework and create educational content that will help financial professionals better serve the women's market. Professor Quist-Newins will be instrumental in the creation and dissemination of academic research studies and results through print, exclusive webcasts, and audio interviews.

Prior to joining The College, Mary Quist-Newins was a Senior Financial Consultant and Regional Management Associate with Thrivent Financial. In this role, she was responsible for a client base in excess of 2,400 member households, with over $75 million in assets under management. She also served as a field consultant on company wide projects including a highly successful advisory process rollout; the development of a fee-based financial planning platform; group practice management; as well as recruiting and retaining women professionals. While at Thrivent, she was also named to the Million Dollar Round Table for five consecutive years, and qualified as a Senior Financial Consultant (top 5% of producers).

Professor Quist-Newins has an extensive industry background that includes positions as Region Vice President with ING Advisors Network and Director of Distribution Channel Marketing at American Express. In both positions she counseled field leaders and financial associates in representative recruiting, client acquisition, retention, and operational best practices.

She earned her MBA at The Garvin School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona, and her Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) designation, in 2001, and Chartered Financial Consultant®, (ChFC ®), in 2003, from The American College.

Mary Quist-Newins resides in Frederick, MD, with her husband and two children. She is involved with her church and also finds time to devote to fundraising and volunteer work.

The American College benefited from the counsel of several members of a special

Search Committee whose diligence was instrumental in advising the President and faculty on this outstanding selection:

- Shalyn S. Clark, LUTCF, State Farm Agent, Shalyn S. Clark Insurance Agency.

- Connie Fontaine, J.D. LL.M., CLU®, ChFC®, Larry R. Pike Chair in Insurance and Investments and Associate Professor of Taxation at The American College.

- Deena Katz , Associate Professor of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, and President of Evensky & Katz.

- Karen Lahey, Ph.D., Professor of Finance, Charles Herberich Professor of Real Estate at the University of Akron.

- Nancy Morith, CLU®, President of NP Morith, Inc.

- Linda Need, Senior Vice President, Division Sales Executive, Atlantic South Division, Bank of America.

- Susan Waring, CLU®, ChFC®, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of State Farm Life Insurance Companies, member of The American College Foundation Board of Directors.

- Walt Woerheide, Ph.D., CFP®, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean, Frank M. Engle Distinguished Chair in Economic Security Research, Professor of Investments and Search Committee Chair.

State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 77 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

The American College is dedicated to leadership in innovative training and development that helps financial services companies and their employees succeed. As a non-profit educational institution holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has served as a valued business partner to banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and others for over 80 years. The American College's faculty represents some of the financial services industry's foremost thought leaders. For more information, visit TheAmericanCollege.edu

# # #