Dr. Summer Cherland is an author, speaker, and educator. She researches, writes, and teaches about the historical significance of race and social justice in public and higher education, particularly in the urban Southwest. Her publications and presentations include investigations into the Chicano Movement, Civil Rights organizing, and leadership in the era of segregation. Dr. Cherland is also an expert on the scholarship of teaching and learning, faculty training, and the benefits of higher education to historically underserved populations.

Dr. Cherland is a faculty member at South Mountain Community College, where she teaches American, African American, and Chicano history. In 2017, Dr. Cherland co founded the South Phoenix Oral History Project with a group of students. SPOH is a student led initiative to capture and preserve the untold stories of innovation, education, and equity in South Phoenix, Arizona.

She grew up playing and loving sports. For most of her childhood, she was either on the softball field or the sidelines of a football game. She has been a scorekeeper and statistician for various baseball, soccer, and football teams. Her appreciation for athletics goes beyond the field as well. She researches and writes on the importance of sports in community and educational activism, including a published chapter on the fascinating history of Black bowlers in the era of segregation. She loves teaching athletes and incorporates sports into many of her classes at SMCC. On her own time, Dr. C. is learning to golf.

In her spare time, Dr. Cherland enjoys exploring the state of Arizona, cheering for the Broncos and the Cardinals, and destroying wayward weeds in her garden.