Cheryl Richardson, a woman with short gray hair, wearing a black blazer and white high-neck blouse, smiles at the camera against a plain gray background.

Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D.

Associate Provost

Academic Affairs

“The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane.” – David Orr.

crichardson2@adler.edu (312) 662-4176

OVERVIEW

Dr. Richardson has more than two decades of experience in academic leadership, inclusive teaching, and faculty development. Her work focuses on advancing high-quality learning through strategic policy design, curriculum innovation, faculty enrichment, and leadership cultivation.

At Adler University, she serves as associate provost, overseeing faculty affairs across three locations and guiding initiatives that strengthen academic excellence and institutional alignment. Her current scholarship explores how justice-centered leadership can transform learning ecosystems.

Before joining Adler, Dr. Richardson led institutional efforts in teaching and learning and supported faculty advancement across diverse academic settings, such as University of Chicago, University of Delaware, and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. She is also a trusted consultant on equitable pedagogical practices and academic policy reform, committed to fostering environments where both faculty and students thrive.

MEMBERSHIPS + ASSOCIATIONS

  • Professional and Organizational Development Network (POD Network)
  • Council on Academic Affairs

PRESENTATIONS + PUBLICATIONS

Presentations

Deepening Educational Developer’s Understanding of Educational Inequality

2024 International Consortium for Educational Development – Nairobi, Kenya
Author(s): Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D.

Building Capacity for Affective Connection to Sustain Human-centered Futures

2024 International Consortium for Educational Development – Nairobi, Kenya
Author(s): Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D.

Examining the Landscape to Advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education

2019 POD Network – Pittsburgh, PA
Author(s): Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D. (Facilitator of Presidential Plenary Panel)

Flip the Script: Critical Self-Awareness about Identity and Power in the Field of Educational Development

2019 POD Network (Two-day preconference session) – Pittsburgh, PA
Author(s): Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D.

Confronting the Racial Reality: Supporting Faculty of Color

2016 POD Network (Pre-conference session) – Louisville, KY
Author(s): Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D.

Packaging Diversity: Exploring Cross-Campus Collaboration Models for Student Success

2016 AAC&U Diversity, Learning, and Student Success Conference – Philadelphia, PA
Author(s): Cheryl R. Richardson, Ph.D.

LEADERSHIP + ENGAGEMENT

  • Elected member of POD Network Core Committee (Trustee), 2022-2025
  • Chairperson of the Christine A. Stanley Award Committee, POD Network (2017-2020)
  • Manuscript Reviewer, To Improve the Academy (2014-Present)
  • Diversity Committee Co-Chairperson, POD Network (2015-2017)
  • Conference Planning Committee Member, AAC&U 2016 Network for Academic Renewal Conference: Diversity, Learning, and Student Success (2015)
  • Grant Evaluator, US Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) (2003)
  • Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Chicago Alumnae Chapter (2018 – Present)
  • Board of Governors, Secretary, International Community School, Addis Ababa Ethiopia (2019 – 2021)
  • Trustee, Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Greenfield, MA (2016-2019)
  • Board of Management and Secretary, Foundation for a College Education, East Palo Alto, CA (2005-2009)
  • Board of Management and Secretary, International School of Uganda (2003-2005)