Jim Nevels ’74 will be speaking on campus on November 17th at 7:30 pm in in the ELC Gallery Theatre at the inaugural Phi Beta Kappa lecture. He will be speaking about how the broad-based, liberal arts education he pursued as an undergraduate at Bucknell has impacted his professional and personal success.
James E. Nevels, born in Greensboro, Alabama, is Chairman of The Swarthmore Group, an investment advisory firm which he founded in 1991, as well as the Chairman of The Hershey Company Board of Directors.
He is an honors (cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) graduate of Bucknell University, and holds an A.B. degree in Political Science and Philosophy, a M.B.A. degree from The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mr. Nevels has also received four honorary degrees.
Mr. Nevels practiced law from 1978 through 1984 as counsel in bond transactions with the law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll in Philadelphia where he specialized in taxable, tax-exempt and government-assisted finance.
He has more than thirty-four years experience in the securities and investment industry. From 1984 until 1991, he was Vice President of Prudential-Bache Securities and Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. At Smith Barney, he was responsible for analyzing and structuring taxable and tax-exempt fixed income credits in transactions totaling in excess of $750 million.
Mr. Nevels was appointed a member of the three-person Board of Control of The Chester-Upland School District by the President Judge of Delaware County in April 1998 to administer the $65 million budget of this state-declared financially distressed school district. He served as a gubernatorial appointee on that district until 2001. In December 2001, the Governor of Pennsylvania appointed Mr. Nevels as Chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission to oversee the turnaround of the financially distressed Philadelphia School System, then the ninth largest school district in the United States. Mr. Nevels served as Chairman until September 2007.
Mr. Nevels was appointed by President Bush to the Advisory Committee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and served a three year term, 2004-2007. He served as Chairman from 2005-2007. Mr. Nevels also served as a member of the Board of Tasty Baking Company, the Board of Trustees of the Gettysburg Foundation, the Board of Trustees of Bucknell University, the Board of Berea College, the Board of St. Joseph’s University, the Board of the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities, the Board of Visitors for Temple University-Fox School of Business and Management, the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Advisory Board of Drexel University, LeBow College of Business, Baiada Center.
In addition to The Hershey Company Board of Directors, Mr. Nevels is currently a member of the Board of the Hershey Trust Company and Milton Hershey School, Chair and member of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, member of the Board of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, member of the Board of MeadWestvaco, member of the Board of MMG Insurance Company, member of the Board of The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, member of the Board of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and corporate member of the Orange Bowl Committee. In addition, he serves as Member of Council and Chair of the Nominations Committee of The Pennsylvania Society.
Mr. Nevels has also received a plethora of awards including the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Atlas Award (2003), The Philadelphia Tribune: “One of Philadelphia’s Most Influential African Americans” (2004), Musser Excellence in Leadership Award (2004), Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Award of Excellence (2005), American Jewish Committee Civic Achievement Award Recipient (2005), Emma Sloat Rendell Education Award (2007) and the Bucknell University Humanitarian Service Alumni Award (2009).