Mary L. Churchill

Dr. Mary L. Churchill is Professor of the Practice and Associate Dean of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement at Boston University's Wheelock College of Education and Human Development where she also serves as Director of the Higher Education Administration program. Churchill serves as a trustee at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, a 4-year minority-serving college in Boston, where she chairs the academic affairs committee. She also serves as an advisor for the American Council of Education’s Learner Success Lab. Churchill co-authored When Colleges Close: Leading in a Time of Crisis, telling the story of the Wheelock-Boston University merger. Prior to her appointment at Boston University, Churchill served as vice president for academic affairs at Wheelock College, where she helped lead the merger of Wheelock College and Boston University. She has also held leadership roles in universities and colleges in New England for over 30 years.

In 2021, Churchill served as the Chief of Policy for Mayor Kim Janey in Boston where she supported the launch of the mayor’s Children’s and Youth Cabinet, led the development of an alternative response to 911 calls for mental health emergencies, and coordinated the implementation of a city-wide COVID-19 mask mandate. Upon her return to BU, she co-chaired the Boston Career and College Pathways Partnership working group with Harvard’s Project on Workforce.