Christine Pharr was selected to become the twelfth president of Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The university, founded in 1913, enrolls about 750 students in its undergraduate programs which are reserved for women. More than 500 students are enrolled in the university’s graduate degree programs.
Dr. Pharr will become president of Mount Mary University on July 1, upon the retirement of Ellen Schwalbach who has led the educational institution since 2008. Dr. Pharr currently serves as vice president for alumnae and donor relations at the College of St. Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. Previously, she served as vice president of academic affairs at the College of St. Mary. Earlier in her career, Dr. Pharr was academic dean and a professor of chemistry at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.
A native of South Dakota, Dr. Pharr is a graduate of Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota, where she majored in biology and chemistry. She holds a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of South Dakota and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Idaho.