Class of 1955

Sherry Hood Penney, Ph.D.

College Professor

Chancellor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Award Winner for Citizenship and Service

Sherry Hood Penney graduated from Royal Oak High School in 1955.

Sherry Hood Penney earned her bachelor's degree at Albion College and her Ph.D. from State University of New York at Albany. She also has honorary doctoral degrees from Albion College and Quincy College.

Sherry Hood Penney is a professor of leadership in the College of Management at the University of Massachusetts in Boston holding a chair named in her honor. She served as Chancellor at UM from 1988-2000 and was the first female to be appointed Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs at SUNY. Prior to that appointment she served as instructor and associate provost at Yale University.

Dr. Penney has published several articles and books describing people and events associated with United States History and politics. She has chaired the board of directors of the Educational Resource Institute and served on advisory boards for the South Shore Hospital and the Road to Seneca Falls project in women's history

Sherry Hood Penney has been awarded the Pinnacle Award for lifetime achievement from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the New England Women's Leadership Award, the Distinguished Citizen Award for Racial Harmony and the Abigail Adams Award from the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus.

Dr. Penney was inducted into the Royal Oak High School Hall of Fame, 1996.