Dr. S. Alan Ray has served as the president of Elmhurst College since 2008. He has a joint faculty appointment in the political science and religious studies departments, with the title of professor of religion and society.

A Harvard-trained student of theology, a lawyer and a scholar of federal Indian law, President Ray has written and taught on religion, philosophy and Native American issues. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. In 2010 President Obama appointed him to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education.

Elmhurst College is a leading liberal arts college located eight miles west of Chicago. The College’s mission is to prepare its students for meaningful and ethical work in a multicultural, global society. Approximately 3,200 full- and part-time students are enrolled in its 24 undergraduate academic departments and more than 15 graduate degree programs.