Dillon earned a B.A. in English from
Whittier College in 1973. She completed a M.Ed. (1977) and Ph.D. (1980) in the economics of higher education from
Claremont Graduate University. Her dissertation was titled,
The Rising Costs of Higher Education, 1946-1977.
Howard Bowen was her doctoral advisor. Dillon was a senior leader in student affairs at the
University of Southern California from 1985 to 1998. From 1998 to 2002, she served as dean of academic services and student affairs at
Tufts University. She was president of the
Consortium on Financing Higher Education from 2002 to 2018. In 2019, Dillon became a senior advisor of higher education practice at
Huron Consulting Group. On July 1, 2023, she became interim president of Whittier College, succeeding interim president Sal Johnston. She had served on its board from 1994 to 2013 and as chair of its enrollment and student life committee from 2002 to 2012. She rejoined the board in 2023. == References ==