Chris Xaver Ph.D.

Background

Chris Xaver is the program chair of Communication and Media Arts at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

Chris brings to Tompkins Cortland a strong and varied background. She received her B.S in broadcast journalism, cum laude, from the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, her M.A. from Syracuse in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Capella University. 

Currently Chris is an in-depth reporter for WCNY’s Central Issues television show. She also hosts The Sweet Life with Chris Xaver. Chris produces and hosts podcasts on iTunes for Cappella University. For more than 20 years Chris worked as a reporter and anchor in both television and radio. And as a voice over talent, Chris can be heard on radio, TV, and audio books both locally and nationally.

At the College, Chris has embraced a strengths-based approach to teaching and leading. She’s one of just a dozen Gallup selected StrengthsQuest trainers in the U.S. StrengthsQuest is a revolutionary program from The Gallup Organization that focuses students on strengths rather than weaknesses.