Susan D. Waring recently became the first woman to ever be inducted into The American College’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

Waring, an executive vice president and chief administrative officer for State Farm Life and vice president of health for the company, was nominated by her peers and selected based on her active participation in volunteer efforts for The College. Waring was inducted in a ceremony at The College’s annual Knowledge Summit in Boston, Mass.

The Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes graduates of The College who have made extraordinary contributions in time, effort and energy to the nation’s premier financial services educator. Individuals must be long-term volunteers of The College and active participants in The College’s community and learning environment, officials at the college said.

Waring is only the fifth individual to be inducted into The American College Alumni Hall of Fame.

In 2004, she was instrumental in the creation of the first State Farm Women’s Symposium on The College’s campus in Bryn Mawr, Pa.  In 2007, she led a panel to create and endow the State Farm chair in Women and Financial Services, a post recognized for its production of top academic research and publication. The State Farm chair is held by Mary Quist-Newins, assistant professor of women’s studies at The American College.

Waring also serves as secretary for The College’s Foundation board of directors.

‘Passionate’ about learning

The selection of the Alumni Hall of Fame recipient is based on the recommendations of a review committee comprised of past Hall of Fame inductees and the president of The American College Alumni Association.

“Susan Waring’s selfless dedication to The College and her service as a champion of women in financial services make her more than deserving of this honor,” said Larry Barton, president and CEO of The American College, in a statement. “Her work on The American College Foundation Board of Directors, leading committees and helping create the State Farm Chair in Women and Financial Services, demonstrates her commitment to professional education.”

Waring said she is “a passionate supporter of lifelong learning.

“My entire career has been about moving forward and embracing new challenges in various positions at State Farm,” she said. “None of that would be possible without a desire to confront challenges and always learn and grow.”

Born and raised in upstate New York, Waring moved to Central Pennsylvania in 1967. Waring worked in academics for 15 years before becoming an insurance agent with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. in Mercersburg, Pa., in 1986. Over the next two decades, she steadily progressed in roles of increasing responsibility with the company, achieving her first promotion to agency manager in Hanover, Pa., in 1990. Four years later, she moved to Concordville, Pa., to assume the position of agency director.

In 1996, Waring was named executive assistant –agency in the company president’s office and moved in 1997 to Ballston Spa, N.Y., to become vice president of agency. Three years later, she advanced again to vice president of mutual funds, moving back to the home office in Illinois. In 2001, Waring became senior vice president and chief administrative officer at State Farm Life Insurance. She assumed her current position in 2004.