Mercersburg Academy is pleased to welcome Jacob Cherry as the school's new school chaplain and faculty member effective August 17, 2026.

Cherry joins Mercersburg Academy as Chaplain after serving as a professor at Wilson College, where he taught philosophy. His academic background spans philosophy, psychology, and theology, with undergraduate studies in those fields and graduate degrees in psychology from Northeastern University and philosophy from Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in bioethics at Duquesne University.

As school chaplain, Cherry will serve as a trusted mentor and supportive presence for students and employees of all faith backgrounds, fostering a community where everyone feels seen, valued, and connected. In addition to providing pastoral care, he will lead interfaith programming, oversee cherished chapel traditions, guide faith-based student unions, teach in the History and Religion Department, and help create opportunities for reflection, ethical exploration, and spiritual growth that enrich the student experience.

"Jacob embodies the kind of educator who thrives at Mercersburg," said Head of School Quentin McDowell P ’25, ’27. "His interdisciplinary scholarship, genuine care for students, and enthusiasm for collaborative learning will enrich our classrooms and our community. We are delighted to welcome him to campus."

Cherry’s work has long been guided by questions at the intersection of lived experience and reflection: how people make meaning, how they confront suffering and mortality, and what it means to live a good and thoughtful life. He has conducted research at Georgetown University and the University of Massachusetts, and has published on topics in moral psychology, normative ethics, and the epistemology of religious belief. He has also presented his work nationally at institutions such as Columbia and Georgetown and internationally on subjects including aesthetics, the role of play in human curiosity, and metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God.

Alongside his academic and teaching work, Cherry’s experience extends into clinical and pastoral settings. He has worked as a counselor in an outpatient setting supporting individuals experiencing suicidal ideation, served in an inpatient psychiatric hospital teaching high school–aged students, and worked in hospice care, accompanying patients at the end of life and supporting families through the process of dying and bereavement. These experiences have deeply shaped his understanding of presence and the significance of human vulnerability.

He is also a painter published in The Penn Review, Tendon Magazine of Johns Hopkins Center for Medical Humanities & Social Medicine, and L’Esprit Literary Review. Across both scholarly and aesthetic forms, his work reflects a sustained interest in how human beings make sense of experience and articulate meaning.

His thinking has been shaped by a range of philosophical influences, including Martin Heidegger, Aristotle, Simone Weil, Martin Buber, and Sir Roger Scruton, whose work reflects a shared concern with the depth of human life.

"I’m grateful to join the Mercersburg community," says Cherry. "I look forward to accompanying students, faculty, and staff in reflection, formation, and the shared work of care and inquiry, and to learning alongside them as we build a community rooted in curiosity, compassion, and care." 

Mercersburg is already familiar territory for Cherry. In 2023, he served as an instructor in the Academy's Young Writers Summer Program, helping aspiring writers strengthen their voices through workshops and individualized feedback. He later returned to campus as a junior varsity tennis coach, experiences that introduced him to the Academy's vibrant community and student-centered culture. He is also married to English faculty member, Kacie England. Since 2023, both Cherry and England have lived in South Cottage where England serves as the dormitory dean.