Joan M. Phillips-Hernandez

Dean, of the NIU College of Business; Professor

Department

Dean's Office
Department of Marketing

Education

• B.A., University at Albany, political science
• MBA, University of Virginia, general management (marketing)
• Ph.D., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, business administration (marketing and statistics)

Biography

Joan M. Phillips-Hernandez is an experienced higher education executive committed to student success, academic excellence, innovation and strong partnerships with business and community. Her leadership focuses on preparing future-ready talent, advancing emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, strengthening alumni and donor engagement, and ensuring that business education evolves with the needs of employers and society.

An experienced academic leader, she has built her career around strategic leadership, innovation, organizational transformation and creating opportunities for students, faculty and the communities universities serve.

As dean, Phillips-Hernandez works closely with faculty, alumni, donors and business leaders to strengthen connections between business education and industry. Her leadership interests include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, financial technology, analytics and innovative approaches to graduate, online and executive education. She brings extensive experience in strategic and financial planning, fundraising and donor relations, academic innovation, accreditation and program development.

Prior to joining NIU, Phillips-Hernandez served as business dean at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Barry University and held senior administrative roles at Loyola University Chicago. She was also an American Council on Education Fellow at Purdue University Northwest and held faculty appointments at the University of Notre Dame, University of Kentucky, Michigan State University and Loyola University Chicago. Before entering academia, she worked in publishing and consulting in New York and Washington, D.C.

An accomplished scholar and educator, Phillips-Hernandez has taught undergraduate, MBA and executive audiences. Her award-winning research has received national and international media attention, including coverage in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

A first-generation college graduate, Phillips-Hernandez earned a B.A., cum laude, in political science from the State University of New York at Albany, an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and statistics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.