Rhonda Phillips

Rhonda Phillips is an American academic administrator and economic development expert serving as the eighth president of St. Mary's College of Maryland. She was previously the twentieth president of Chatham University from 2023 to 2025, the inaugural dean of Purdue University Honors College, and a professor of agricultural economics from 2013 to 2023.

Life Phillips was raised in Santee near Bassfield, Mississippi. She earned a bachelor's degree (1983) in geography and master's degree (1986) in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). She completed a master's degree (1992) in economics and a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from Georgia Tech in 1996. She worked at the University of Florida and USM. She was a finalist for the presidency of College of Charleston in 2018 and New College of Florida in 2021. Phillips stepped down as the president of Chatham University on June 1, 2025, and was succeeded in interim by Lisa Lambert.