Cheryl Swanier

Cheryl Swanier is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research focuses on computer science education, HCI, visual programming, and equity in STEM. She previously served as the Henry N. and Alice Carson Tisdale Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Claflin University (2016-2019) and held tenure as an Associate Professor at Fort Valley State University. She has over two decades of industry experience at IBM and TSYS.

Swanier is a leader in educational outreach, co-founding the Kewl Girlz Kode summer program and the SIS Foundation, Inc. to broaden computing participation. She has received multiple awards, including the White House Champion of Change and Google igniteCS honors. She actively serves on national committees (ABET, NCWIT Academic Alliance) and collaborates with NSF initiatives like ASCEND and iAAMCS.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Computer Science (Auburn University, 2015), an EdD in Educational Leadership (Auburn, 2004), and a Master of Divinity (Emory, 2017). She also founded Swanier Consulting LLC to support institutional and educational initiatives.