Dr Cheryl de la Rey is a graduate of the universities of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) and Cape Town. Before joining the senior management team of the University of Cape Town (UCT) as Deputy Vice Chancellor in 2002, Dr De la Rey was an Associate Professor of Psychology (UCT) and Executive Director: Research Promotion at the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Dr De la Rey has wide knowledge of and experience in the higher education sector policy environment as well as the related field of research support and promotion. Dr De la Rey's areas of publication include psychology, and science and technology policy.