Madeleine Wing Adler was the first female president of West Chester University in West Chester,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. She received a bachelor's degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and master's degree and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in political science from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. Prior to her West Chester University presidency, she held administrative positions at

Framingham State College Framingham State University (Framingham State or FSU) is a public university in Framingham, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate programs as well as graduate programs, including MBA, MEd, and MS. History As the first secretary of the newly ...

in Massachusetts, The City University of New York, Queens College, and the CUNY Central Office. Adler also has taught at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. Adler has served on numerous boards and committees for civic organizations, including

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...

Fund for Women and Girls, the Chester County Historical Society and the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

/American Canvas. In 1998, Chester County named her its citizen of the year and the

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named her a Woman of Distinction in 2002. On May 3, 2007, Adler announced her retirement after serving 15 years at the institution. She is a senior associate at The AASCU-Penson Center for Professional Development, and plans will retire to her family's ancestral seaport town of

Sandwich, Massachusetts Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, and is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The town motto is ''Post tot Naufracia Portus'', "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census. History Cape Cod wa ...

, on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre

The Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre which opened in 2008, is the newest performing arts venue on the West Chester University campus and has a capacity of 375. It was named in honor of Madeleine Wing Adler in 2008.

Personal life

Adler is a

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

survivor, and has received the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition's Pink Ribbon Award in 2001.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Worthington, Ohio Northwestern University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Presidents of West Chester University {{US-academic-administrator-20C-stub