MILWAUKEE – President Mary J. Meehan, who has led Alverno College for more than a decade, will step down in
June 2016. The school made the announcement in a press release issued Monday, March 16.Meehan began her tenure as the seventh president and first lay president of the college in May 2004, and is one of the longest tenured college presidents in the state.
Meehan recently completed a $30 million capital campaign and her contract is up at the end of the 2015/2016 academic year.
According to the release, the Alverno College Board of Trustees will embark upon a nationwide search for a new president.
Meehan’s tenure is marked with expanded academic offerings, increased student services and dramatic changes to Alverno’s campus.
Among the changes:
- In 2006, a campus beautification and enhancement project added new NCAA athletic fields, exterior landscaping, new roadways and the addition of the Reiman Plaza to create a more reflective and inspiring setting for teaching and learning.
- In response to the need for expanded on-campus living, Clare Hall was renovated in 2008 into a residence hall.
- Earlier this year, Alverno announced it had surpassed its $30 million capital campaign goal in December, raising $32,793,000. The expansion and renovation, which broke ground in March of 2014, is the most significant enhancement in the college’s 128-year history. Improvements include a new classroom building, a state-of-the-art nursing simulation center for the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing and the creation of a new, larger student commons.
- Alverno’s graduate programs have seen dramatic growth from just one master’s program in education to now include: an MBA, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), a Master of Science in Community Psychology (MSCP), an MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner track and an MSN-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner track, and expanded licensure tracks in the education program. Graduate school enrollment is nearing 700 students.
- In 2013, Alverno launched the Alverno Advantage programs to meet the needs of returning adult students.
These accelerated bachelor’s completion programs combine in-classroom and online learning, while ensuring students master Alverno’s ability based curriculum.
In addition to her leadership at Alverno, Meehan has served on the boards of Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (chair), Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the Women’s College Coalition, the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, Georgian Court University, Loras College, and as a member of the NCAA Division III Chancellors/Presidents Council.
Locally, Meehan has been a leader in the Greater Milwaukee community through directing initiatives such as the Milwaukee Public Museum Recovery Task Force (chair) and the Greater Milwaukee Committee’s Health Care Policy Task Force (co-chair) and Well City Initiative (co-chair). She has also served the boards of: Sacred Heart School of Theology (chair), Aurora Visiting Nurses Association (chair), Froedert Health, Grand Avenue Club and Milwaukee Achiever Literacy Service.
She has received numerous awards and recognition nationally and locally, including Seton Hall University’s Woman of the Year, Professional Dimensions Sacagawea Award and the Business Journal’s Women of Influence. In addition, she was recently awarded the Tempo Mentorship Award.