Meet the 24th President of St. Cloud State University

Dr. Robbyn Wacker became the 24th President of St. Cloud State University in 2018 and is the first permanently appointed female president to lead the university. She is a leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education as a university teacher, researcher and administrator. President Wacker has been energizing the campus and community with her engaging leadership and commitment to making St. Cloud State the university of choice for the Minnesota and beyond.

She is a strategic thinker, a visionary leader, and an organizational innovator who understands both the challenges and the opportunities for our university. Through a bold framework called It’s Time, she is leading SCSU in reimagining how the university delivers on its promise to inclusively educate a broader range of students to be global and engaged citizens and to partner with business and community leaders to address the changing societal, community and workforce needs. She is a leading voice on the future of higher education as an invited panelist and guest speaker for regional, national, and international conferences. President Wacker’s administration is creating a bright future for SCSU.

Earlier in her career, President Wacker held several administrative posts including Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, Assistant Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Provost at the University of Northern Colorado. As a faculty member in gerontology, she had a leadership role in attracting major external awards, published over 65 referred presentations, scholarly articles, and conference proceedings, and authored three books. She has earned numerous university and professional awards for leadership excellence and attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Management Development Program for leaders in higher education.

She is a first-generation student who holds a doctorate in sociology from Iowa State University, and a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in gerontology from the University of Northern Colorado.