Over the past nine months, the Academic Search Committee has worked tirelessly to discover and select the 22nd President of Hamline University. After reviewing 90 candidates from start to finish, the committee has selected Dr. Mayme Hostetter to fill the position. Under the leadership of Hamline alum and search committee chair Cindy Gregorson, the committee aimed to find a candidate who would fit a number of criteria, including someone who would be a president who represents the whole of the Hamline community.
“As we were working with talking to each candidate and determining and deliberating who was the best person to bring forward, we kept asking ourselves, is this a person who can energize, inspire and mobilize the campus towards Hamline’s future?” Gregorson said. “Does this person bring the skills, experience and temperament to help us deal with our pressing challenges? Will this be a president for the entire Hamline community? Will they engender confidence and trust? And finally, is this a person who will bring up the best in people and work collaboratively while also moving us toward action and implementation?”
The process of selecting the best fit for the position involved much more than only Gregorson, however. The committee was composed of 12 total individuals: eight Board of Trustee members which included Gregorson, two faculty members, one staff member and one student. In this instance, the “student” position was split between the Hamline Undergraduate Student Congress (HUSC) External President junior Elisa Lopez and HUSC Internal President senior Oliver Engstrom.
Over the summer, the committee was tasked with hearing presentations regarding best practices and diversity, equity and inclusion. Additionally, the committee held listening sessions to hear direct feedback from students, staff, faculty and alumni. Throughout the fall, the pool of candidates was narrowed down from 90 to 15 to eight, with three of the candidates moving into a final round of interviews. In December, the search committee nominated two candidates to meet with the Board of Trustees, and through a unanimous decision, chose Hostetter as the newest president. The chair of the Board of Trustees, Doron Clark, named Gregorson as a significant leader in this process.
“Under Cindy’s leadership, they approached their work thoughtfully, diligently, and communicated their progress regularly to the whole Hamline community through that search,” Clark said.
Dr. Hostetter originally hails from New York, where she has served as the President of the Relay Graduate School of Education since 2018. She graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in English. eventually making her way back to Harvard to complete her master’s degree in education. After obtaining her degree, she worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she investigated the neural pathways of typical and atypical reading development using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology in their Brain and Cognitive Sciences department. She is joined by her wife, Krista, her two children, Vivian and George along with their dog, Captain.
Hostetter explained that throughout the process, transparency regarding Hamline’s strengths and weaknesses was addressed, with a strong community to back it up.
“People know that the past few years have been a really rocky time for the community and they’re eager to address some of the challenges that led to that and also move forward together. I appreciated that the process was so transparent both about the strengths and areas of improvement,” Hostetter said.
Clark praised Hostetter for her mental and emotional fortitude, explaining to the enraptured audience that she may be exactly what the community needs.
“She brings the innovation and grit that we need right now at Hamline, the board is very impressed by her energy level, the commitment to our values and the fresh ideas we know she will bring to Hamline,” Clark said.
For many students, Hostetter is the third president that has held office during their time at Hamline. Despite this, she has noted the commitment to bettering the community throughout her time on campus and aims to use this clarity in her vision to create a well-rounded institution.
“You are clear-eyed about Hamline’s opportunities for growth and improvement, including growing our impact through increasing retention and enrollment, ensuring all our students are graduating into great careers and achieving financial sustainability such that this great institution will be here for many, many generations to come,” Hostetter said.
Although her leadership will provide new and exciting opportunities for constituents both on and off campus, Hostetter recognizes that she is stepping into a culture that already exists. She concluded her announcement speech by inviting students, staff, faculty and alumni to show her the version of Hamline we have come to know.
“When I land here in July, please help me to get to know Hamline as you know it. I want to talk with and learn from all of you and as we gear up to write Hamline’s next strategic plan and chart the institution’s path for the future together, I come with experience, but I will need your expertise and engagement to really get to know Hamline as you all know it,” Hostetter said.
Dr. Hostetter will begin her work as the 22nd President in July, following the conclusion of Dr. Murray’s current interim presidency.