Moore College of Art and Design

Dr. Happy Craven Fernandez has served as Moore's President for 11 years. She previously was elected to two consecutive terms on Philadelphia’s City Council and taught for 18 years at the School of Social Administration at Temple University. She also ran an historic campaign as the first woman seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia in 1999.

Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in Biblical History and Literature from Wellesley College; an MA in Teaching from Harvard University; an MA in History from the University of Pennsylvania; and a Doctorate of Education from Temple University.

A lifelong advocate for children and families, Fernandez founded and led the Parents Union for Public Schools, the Children’s Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the Powelton Mantua Education Fund. She served for 20 years as a Trustee of the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania.

Fernandez currently serves on several Boards: The Parkway Council Foundation, The Association of Independent Schools of Art and Design, Philagrafika 2010, ArtsRising, and the PA. Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She is a member of various advisory committees and is Vice Chair of the Mayor’s Council for Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. She has provided leadership on various Boards including the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and The Philadelphia Award.

Among her many awards and honors, Dr. Fernandez has received the Women’s Way Women in Education Award, Public Citizen of the Year Award, The Philadelphia Business Journal Woman of the Year Award, Woman of the Year Ivy Willis Award, the Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial Founders Award , and the American Association of University Women Achievement Award.  

In 2002, Fernandez was selected by Gov. Mark Schweiker to be a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. She is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who of American Women.

Fernandez is a long-term resident of Philadelphia and has been married to the Rev. Richard Fernandez for over 40 years. They have three grown sons, three daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren. Tennis is her main hobby and her first visit to Philadelphia was in 1955 to play in the Junior Girls National Tennis Championships.