Isabelle Cherney, Ph.D.
HERS Board [Position]
President
Mount Mary University
Milwaukee, WI
Isabelle Cherney, Ph.D., a respected social scientist and educator who was invited by the Obama administration on four occasions to participate in White House conferences, became the 13th president of Mount Mary University on July 1, 2022, and was formally installed on March 31, 2023.
Cherney’s academic research focuses on the effects of gender on STEM education and career pathways. She has experience in launching new programs, supporting educators, and establishing early college and dual degree programs that provide high school students early exposure to college.
She was previously vice provost for graduate education at Merrimack College near Boston, Mass. Cherney has held multiple roles at the college since 2016, including dean of the Winston School of Education and Social Policy and founding director of the Merrimack Institute for New Teacher Support.
Cherney has also held positions at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., since 2000, including professor, director of the honors program, founding director of the interdisciplinary doctoral program in leadership, and associate dean of the Graduate School and College of Professional Studies.
Cherney’s steady leadership in higher education resulted in enrollment and revenue growth. Under Cherney’s direction as dean of the Winston School of Education & Social Policy, the number of students nearly doubled and the revenue increased by over 30%. As vice provost for graduate education, graduate enrollment increased by over 20% during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in an increase in revenue of 24%.
A native of Switzerland, Cherney speaks four languages and is a world traveler who has spent time in 32 countries on five continents and visited 48 states in the U.S. She earned her Ph.D. in educational psychology and cultural studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her M.A. in developmental psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Creighton University.
