Answering the call to lead
Cheryl Vedoe ’74 appointed Board of Trustees chair
When the term of Wheaton Board of Trustees Chair Janet Lindholm Lebovitz ’72 approached conclusion, she turned to a familiar face and recommended a former colleague to succeed her—Trustee Emerita Cheryl Vedoe ’74.
Vedoe served on the board from 2003 to 2018, including eight years working with Lebovitz. She began her term as chair on July 1, 2024.
“I am delighted that Cheryl Vedoe will serve as the board chair for the college,” said Lebovitz. “She has sound judgment, a reflective and decisive temperament, experience working collaboratively and managing change and a complementary leadership style with President [Michaele] Whelan.
“She brings to the role the maturity, expertise and understanding necessary for success; the capacity, willingness and enthusiasm to serve; and, most importantly, a love for the college and a commitment to its future.”
In her 15 years as a trustee, Vedoe served as chair and vice chair of the Audit, Finance and Facilities and Student Affairs committees. She also was a member of five committees: Academic Affairs, Executive, Faculty/Staff, Philanthropy, and Reach and Reputation.
A self-described introvert and a math major at Wheaton, Vedoe recalled in a recent Zoom interview that the college “was a good environment for me to come into my own.”
She took as many math and science courses as possible, graduated magna cum laude and became a software engineer. Vedoe later earned an M.B.A. from Northeastern University.
“Had I gone to a more traditional school to prepare me for software engineering, I would have been in classes with 90 percent men, if not more,” she said. “If I’d been in that environment I don’t know if I would have developed my confidence, because I think I would have been overshadowed by the number of men.”
She spent her career in the technology field, culminating in 30 years focused on the potential for technology in K–12 education.
“I became very passionate about education, focusing my work on creating and improving educational opportunities and outcomes in the K–12 space,” she said.
In addition to working for Apple under Steve Jobs in the early 1990s, she later served as CEO for three companies, concluding with 17 years at Apex Learning. The privately-held Seattle company started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen provided digital curriculum for middle and high school students.
She joined Wheaton’s President’s Commission under former President Dale Rogers Marshall prior to her tenure as a trustee.
“I had a consuming professional position and reasoned that anything I did outside of work needed to fit holistically in my life,” said Vedoe. “Being involved with Wheaton has given me a different connection to education and broadened my perspective. My Wheaton education helped to prepare me and gave me the confidence so that I could do the things that I did.
“I’ve been fortunate in my career and my life, and I want to be able to give back. For me, the Board of Trustees was a natural way to get involved,” she said. “When I met Michaele, I felt she brought tremendous knowledge, expertise and strategy to the college, and that influenced my decision to rejoin the board in this capacity.”
In addition to her service to the college, Vedoe has also provided generous philanthropic support as a champion of annual giving over the years. She backed the Mars Center for Science and Technology; created a memorial scholarship in the names of her parents; and supported the college’s newly created Life and Career Design Institute. She was one of the first leaders to invest in All Together Now, supporting the Life and Career Design Institute and endowing a professorship in business and management.
Vedoe is also a member of the Founders Society, helping to ensure the college’s future.
“I’m very committed to Wheaton, and I have chosen to prioritize the college in terms of where I give back,” she said. “My parents were always my biggest champions and made it possible for me to go to Wheaton. They supported my desire to do whatever I did throughout life. The scholarship is a tribute to them and their support.”
Vedoe is eager to continue the work of the Board of Trustees as chair. “I recognize that higher education is under a lot of pressure. Small, private, residential liberal arts colleges are facing challenges. Change is difficult for all of us, but as the environment for higher education continues to change, Wheaton needs to evolve, grow and adapt so that it can continue to thrive.”