Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D., will become the ninth president of Stetson University in July 2009. She will be the first woman to serve at the helm of Stetson.

Dr. Libby has 28 years of higher education experience. She has been president of Stephens College, the nation's second-oldest women's institution, since July 2003. At Stephens, she united the campus in a major strategic planning initiative, launching the college into a remarkable turnaround that reduced a multi-million dollar deficit, substantially increased undergraduate student enrollment and reinvigorated the Graduate & Continuing Studies division.

Before coming to Stephens, Dr. Libby served as vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. Her higher education experience also includes positions at Westbrook College (now a part of the University of New England), the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, The Ohio State University and Cornell University.

In honor of her outstanding leadership, Dr. Libby received the 2007 Athena Award from the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Women's Network for her support of women in realizing their full leadership potential and for contributing to the quality of life in the community. Other awards include the Four-Fold Girl Award from the Board of Trustees given at the 2007 Stephens College Commencement and the 2006 Citizen of the Year Award from the League of Women Voters in Columbia.

Dr. Libby was a founding board member and board chair of the Tuition Plan Consortium (the Independent 529 Plan), a national pre-paid tuition plan offering American families a flexible and affordable way to save for tuition at its more than 270 private college member institutions, of which Stephens is a founding participant. She is the treasurer of the national Women's College Coalition and a board member of the Council of Independent Colleges. Dr. Libby also has served as a member of the Council of Presidents of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. She serves on the boards of Boone County National Bank and the Chamber of Commerce in the Columbia, Mo., area.

Dr. Libby earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Connecticut in 1994, her M.B.A. in Finance from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in 1977 and her B.S. in Biology from Cornell in 1972.

She is married to Dr. Richard M. Libby, a former college president. They have two sons, Glenn and wife Ginger, and Gregg and wife Lori, and four grandchildren.

Dr. Libby's CV