Marcia Peitzmeier Anderson is a native of Bloomfield, Nebraska. She completed the first nine years of her education in a one-room school several miles from town and graduated as valedictorian of her Bloomfield High School class. Her high school business teacher inspired her to become a business education teacher.

Her first teaching position was in Stromsburg, Nebraska (Swede Capital of Nebraska) where she taught business education and French. She joined the National Business Education Association during this time and has been a member since then.  She then taught business in Lincoln, Nebraska and completed the master’s degree majoring in business education at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and Dr. Gordon Culver, former NBEA president, was her mentor.

She joined the business teacher education faculty at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1970, completed the doctoral degree, and became coordinator of SIU’s Business Education Program.  NBEA was always the foundation organization that guided her preparation of future business teachers and her personal professional direction—course requirements included NBEA student membership. She rarely missed attending a national NBEA Convention and served in a variety of NBEA leadership roles including Chair of the National Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education and Delta Pi Epsilon National President.

Dr. Anderson was recipient of several awards during her career: SIU-C Alumni Association Great Teacher Award, 1981; University Teacher of the Year Award, National Business Education Association, 1995; Outstanding Teacher Award, Illinois Vocational Association, 1980 – 1981; John Robert Gregg Award, Highest National Recognition in Business Education, 2004.

In her spare time, she enjoys time with her daughter and her family, church work, volunteering, gardening, gourmet cooking, travel, and attending the NBEA national NBEA Convention to visit former colleagues and friends.