Mary M. Dwyer, Ph.D., is President and CEO of IES Abroad, the Institute for the International Education of Students. IES Abroad is one of the nation’s oldest, largest, and most academically reputable not-for-profit study abroad and internship program providers for U.S. and international college and university students.

IES Abroad is an academic consortium with more than 260 top tier U.S. colleges and universities, with more than 240 additional partner universities worldwide. Having educated nearly 140,000 students since its founding in 1950, IES Abroad operates more than 400 programs in 85 cities, in 6 continents, across 21 countries. 

During Dr. Dwyer’s 22 year tenure as the CEO of IES Abroad, she has grown the organization significantly from 1,000 students, when she first joined, to nearly 10,000 students originating from a variety of countries.  She has also initiated new business lines that have positioned IES Abroad as the premier study abroad program provider in the field, including the development of full-time internships programs in 2013.  Her most recent effort is reflected in the recent merger between IES Abroad and The Study Abroad Foundation (SAF), another highly regarded not-for-profit provider, in 2017. The merger enhances the IES Abroad mission to provide innovative, high-quality academic experiences to as many students as possible worldwide. 

Additionally, to increase access to study abroad experiences for all students, Dr. Dwyer initiated the highly successful diversity initiative at IES Abroad, which has resulted in increasing the number of underrepresented students attending IES Abroad programs by 77% within the past 10 years.  This initiative has increased the number of underrepresented students studying abroad in the past 10 years by more than 10,000 students, which IES Abroad has honored in its recent World of Difference campaign.

She also developed the IES Abroad Advancement department responsible for raising funds for need-based and merit-based scholarships for students. IES Abroad provides nearly $6 million in financial aid and scholarships for its students.

Dr. Dwyer has launched numerous innovative projects at IES Abroad positioning the organization as a key thought leader in the field. One such project, the IES Abroad MAP, established standards for IES Abroad programs and formed the basis for standards for the entire field.  It prompted two other IES Abroad MAPs establishing standards for language and intercultural learning and crisis management, health and safety.

Dr. Dwyer has been awarded several leadership awards throughout her career. Most recently, she was awarded the 2018 PIE News Outstanding Contributions to the Industry Award in International Education. She was awarded the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Woman of the Year Award, Loyola University’s alumna award, and a honorary doctorate in Civil Law by the University of the South, to name a few.

Dr. Dwyer is active in multiple national efforts to advance international education policy and practice. She was a founding member, Board Vice Chair and Board Chair of the Forum on Education Abroad, the only membership organization founded to set standards for the field. She also was one of two study abroad professionals appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve on the 17-member Abraham Lincoln Commission on Study Abroad, a bi-partisan, Presidential and Congressional Commission formed in 2003 to explore ways to increase the number of American students abroad. This effort ended up generating the Paul Simon Senate bill.

Dr. Dwyer is a frequent speaker at higher education associations and at colleges and universities on a variety of research topics in the field of study abroad.  These include but are not limited to presentations on trends in study abroad, outcomes assessment, evaluation systems, the longitudinal impact of studying abroad, the impact of globalization, organizational change and leadership, etc.  She has served on numerous grant review committees, program review committees, and governance Boards.

She has extensive Board experience. She was the Chair of the Rhodes Scholars Selection Committee for the Midwest region for seven years.  She chaired the Holland Peck Foundation Board for 12 years.  She served on the Advisory Board of the Gannon Center at Loyola University for 10 years. For six years she chaired the Co-Op Grant Review Committee of NAFSA: Association of International Educators.  She has been a Board member and the Treasurer of the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation 2004 through present. She sits on the Citadel Theatre Board. She has sat on numerous finance, investment, strategic planning, marketing, and governance committees of boards of directors.  

Additionally, Dr. Dwyer was one of the lead researchers on a 50-year longitudinal impact study conducted by IES Abroad to measure the life-long impact of study abroad on students. It is the only study of its kind in the field of study abroad. The study examined the impact of studying abroad on academic career, language development, personal growth, career and intercultural development. Numerous peer-reviewed articles describing various analyses of the data have been published in academic journals.

Prior to IES Abroad, Dr. Dwyer was a faculty member in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) for 18 years and the campus Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. In these capacities she taught health policy, organizational change and leadership at the graduate level and oversaw multiple research development offices and research centers. She attracted more than $4.5 million in grant support for research while at UIC.

Dr. Dwyer has consulted and taught extensively over the past 40 years and been called upon by an array of U.S. and international organizations across 20 developed and emerging countries, including the World Health Organization (WHO), global ministries of health and education, the Kellogg Foundation and national health profession associations. Dr. Dwyer holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Social Sciences from Mundelein College, a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and a doctorate in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an honorary doctorate in Civil Law from University of the South – Sewanee.