Cheryl Elisabeth Praeger AC FAA (born 7 September 1948, Toowoomba, Queensland) is an Australian mathematician.

After graduating high school, Praeger went to the government vocational guidance section to inquire about how she could further study mathematics.

So she left without getting much information that day, but did continue on to receive her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Queensland.

Having met several women on the mathematics staff during her undergraduate studies, the prospect of becoming a mathematician did not seem strange to her.

Afterwards, she returned to ANU, where she met her future husband, John Henstridge, who was studying statistics.

[1] In 1989 she received the degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Western Australia for her work on permutation groups and algebraic graph theory.

She was appointed full professor in 1983 and was head of the Department of Mathematics 1992–1994, inaugural dean of postgraduate research studies 1996–1998, chair Promotions and Tenure Committee 2000–2004, deputy dean of the Faculty of Engineering Computing and Mathematics 2003–2006, ARC Professorial Fellow 2007.

During her career, Praeger has been invited to speak at many conferences, including ones in Croatia, Canada, China, USA, UK, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Slovakia, Serbia, Hong Kong, Morocco, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Germany, Greece, USSR, Belgium, Iran, Italy, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Japan.

Praeger has been a member of the Curriculum Development Council of the Commonwealth Schools Commission,[17] the Prime Ministers Science Advisory Council, WISET Advisory Committee to the Federal Minister for Science on participation of women in Science, Engineering, and Technology, UWA Academy of Young Mathematicians Lectures, the Western Australian School Mathematics Enrichment Course Tutor, and Data Analysis Australia Pty Ltd. She has also served on the Australian Federation of University Women (Western Australian Branch) and the Nedlands Primary School Council.

[20] Praeger promotes the involvement of women in mathematics by encouraging girls in primary and secondary schools with lectures, workshops, conferences and through the Family Maths Program Australia (FAMPA), which she was key in implementing in local primary schools.