Chatham University has selected Rhonda Phillips as its next president, the university’s board of trustees announced today. Phillips will be the 10th woman and 20th president overall in the college’s 154-year history.
Phillips holds several degrees in economic development and city planning and has focused on sustainable development. The environmental pioneer Rachel Carson graduated from Chatham, and Chatham has highlighted its 400-acre auxiliary Eden Hall campus as part of its continued commitment to producing environmental leaders.
“I am thrilled to lead the university that influenced Rachel Carson to shape new environmental standards while leaving a legacy that influenced my own and countless others’ work in sustainable development,” Phillips said in an emailed press release.
Phillips spent the last decade as the inaugural dean of the honors college at Purdue University, where she led around 3,000 undergraduate students. Chatham currently enrolls about 1,400 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students.
Phillips' career has taken her to Georgia, Mississippi, Indiana, Florida and Arizona where she has held a variety of professional, academic and administrative roles since earning her Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996.
Some of her recent research has focused on how to incorporate “happiness” and quality of life as goals of development, in addition to promoting inclusion and increasing the participation of people of color, according to Phillips’ C.V. Chatham was a women’s college until 2015 when it began admitting men.
“Dr. Phillips was the unanimous choice of the Board of Trustees based in large part on her commitment to fostering inclusive and transformative learning environments and opportunities, which is a hallmark of the Chatham undergraduate experience,” said David M. Hall, Chair of Chatham University’s Board of Trustees.
Last year Phillips helped shepherd Purdue’s honors college through the aftermath of an altercation between a University of Purdue police officer and a Black student that led to public meetings and protests. She also expressed support for students in 2017 after desks were arranged in the shape of a swastika.
Phillips will be a member of the teaching faculty at Chatham as well as serve as president, according to the press release.
Phillips had previously been a finalist to be the president of the College of Charleston in 2018 and the president of New College of Florida in 2021 where she presented her vision to students.
