Christopher R.L. Blake, Ph.D. President of Mount Mercy College

Christopher R.L. Blake, Ph.D., received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in theology from the University of Oxford, Keble College. He received his Ph.D. in faculty of education from the University of London, King's College.

Before coming to Mount Mercy College, Blake was provost of Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md. The Catholic university, which includes undergraduate and graduate programs, has an undergraduate enrollment of 1,612.

As provost, Blake was Mount Saint Mary's second-ranking officer and had responsibility over academic departments and faculty, academic deans, graduate and continuing studies, admissions and enrollment management, financial aid, information technology, registrar, learning support services, institutional research and development.

Blake oversaw a nationally recognized liberal arts program and spearheaded new undergraduate and graduate programming in both the liberal arts and professional fields. In addition, he implemented an enrollment management plan that resulted in the largest freshman class in the college's 200-year history, while increasing student retention and average freshman SAT scores.

Prior to serving as provost, Blake was director of teacher education and chair of the education department at Mount Saint Mary's. He was also a professor of education.

Before his work at Mount Saint Mary's, Blake served as an associate professor of secondary education, director of graduate studies in secondary education and associate dean of the College of Graduate Education and Research at Towson University in Towson, Md. He also served as an adjunct faculty member in the division of education at Johns Hopkins University.

Blake's research projects and interests include values education, assessment in religious education, professional development for teachers and teacher education.

He is a member of the American Educational Research Association, American Association of University Professors, University of Oxford Alumni Association of the United States, Pi Lamba Theta International Honor Society in Education and Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in education.