Vergis Honored with Alumni Fellow Award
Janet S. Vergis, ’86 Biology, ’88 M.S. Physiology, is one of 24 Penn State University alumni who were awarded the lifelong title of Alumni Fellow, the highest award given by the Alumni Association, on October 26, 2016.
Vergis currently serves as an executive advisor to private equity firms where she helps identify and evaluate investment opportunities and provides operational expertise in the healthcare industry.
Recently, Vergis served as the chief executive officer of OraPharma, Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company. In that role, she led the successful turnaround of the busi- ness and its subsequent sale.
Preceding her role at OraPharma, Vergis managed a $6 billion portfolio at John-
son & Johnson as president of Janssen Pharmaceutica, McNeil Pediatrics, and Ortho-Mc- Neil Neurologics. She contributed to a number of Johnson & ohnson companies during her career serving as a member of company management boards for over 10 years and holding positions of increasing responsibility in research and development, new product development, sales, and marketing.
Vergis serves on the board of directors for Church and Dwight, Co., Inc., Impax Lab-
oratories, Inc., and medDay Pharmacueticals. She also is chair of the Biotechnology Advisory Board and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, as well as a member of the Corporate and Foundation Relations Advisory Board at Penn State.
The Alumni Fellow program is administered by the Penn State Alumni Association in cooperation
with the University's academic colleges, campuses, and the Office of the President. Each Alumni
Fellow receives a commemorative award, designed and hand cast by 1972 Penn State graduate Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, an acclaimed sculptor and medalist. For more information on the 2016 Alumni Fellows, please visit alumni.psu.edu/awards/individual/afa.