Hamline University has recently welcomed its 22nd President, Dr. Mayme Hostetter. With the semester kicking off, many students have had the chance to see Hostetter on campus. Whether it is during a session of her listening tour or simply eating lunch in the dining hall, she has been present on campus.
“I’ve been having a lot of fun, I have really enjoyed eating lunch with students, walking around and running into people and getting to hear what they’re doing and what they love about Hamline,” Hostetter said.
There are many opportunities for students and faculty to meet with Hostetter as she is also currently hosting “listening tours” where she sits with groups of students and listens to their concerns, thoughts and feelings regarding Hamline. Student outreach and accessibility were attributes that those on the Presidential search committee looked for.
“One of the students in the interview process at some point along the way everyone had their list of questions and they had asked the same questions when they asked ‘How would you get to know students?’ and she was like ‘well where can I bring my sleeping bag,’” Jeff Bailey, member of the presidential search team and presidential transition committee, as well as the Music Department Chair, said.
Even with the lighthearted answer, Hostetter has continued to remain very accessible to students and faculty alike. This includes a close working relationship with the Hamline Undergraduate Student Congress (HUSC) representatives.
“We [HUSC] were the first group of students she met with on her listening tour,” HUSC External President and junior Anna Beaudry said.
Hostetter’s connection with HUSC extends past a listening session, as she has attended a General Assembly (GA) meeting and plans to attend more in the future.
“ [Hostetter] came to GA, which has been super cool, and she is planning to come to GA again after they have their big semesterly meeting between all the really important people involved in the University,” Beaudry said.
The accessibility focused presence Hostetter has cultivated on campus has given her a chance to experience all the identities of students Hamline has.
“There is no quote unquote one type of Hamline student, we represent so many different backgrounds, origin stories, political perspectives, interests and ambitions,” Hostetter said.
The diverse identities and backgrounds of students at Hamline allow for a large crossover of activities between students — similar to Hostetter’s own undergraduate experience, where she walked onto the Harvard Rowing team as well as edited a literary arts magazine.
“In college, I was both a division one athlete and the editor of the arts and literary magazine on campus… It was a really important part of my college experience to have both arts and athletics play such prominent roles,” Hostetter said.
Beyond athletics and academics, Hostetter enjoys eating frosting, at times competitively but also as a snack.
“I really like cake frosting, just the standard grocery store tubs. And in college, I discovered that I can eat one of those frosting things very very fast, much faster than anyone else. This became a kind of a thing where people would challenge me. And I remain to this day undefeated,” Hostetter said.
Students, faculty and staff who want to talk to Hostetter, whether it is for big picture ideas or casual conversation, possibly to challenge her to a frosting eating competition, can often find her around campus.
“I have really enjoyed getting to know people. I’ve been really impressed by both the candor and thoughtfulness that folks have come to the table to express,” Hostetter said.
