Office of the President

President Rhonda Phillips earned her bachelor’s degree of geography and her master’s degree of economic development at the University of Southern Mississippi. She applied those degrees to her first professional positions with the City of Birmingham, Alabama, then at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the International Development Research Council. She earned a M.S. Economics degree and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology—the first woman to earn that doctorate.
Dr. Phillips returned to the University of Southern Mississippi for her first academic professional position, as Director of the Community Planning Program in the Department of Geography and Economic Development. She gained further academic experience at Arizona State University, then as founding Dean of the John Martinson Honors College at Purdue University as well as Professor of Agricultural Economics. As President of Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Dr. Phillips helped stabilize the future of that historic institution.

During her academic career President Phillips was named a three-time Fulbright recipient including as a UK Ulster Policy Fellow in Northern Ireland; a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners; and a Fellow of the American Council on Education.
President Phillips is a passionate advocate for the vital roles of honors learning; the liberal arts, sciences, fine arts, and athletics; and interdisciplinary teaching and research within academies of higher education. She is a dedicated advocate for the vital contribution of higher education to the personal growth and career development of her students—as well as the social, economic, and environmental progress of our communities. She seeks to exemplify those values within her own teaching, research, and academic leadership as President of St. Mary’s College of Maryland.