St. Mary's College of Maryland President Tuajuanda C. Jordan has appointed Shana Meyer as interim vice president for student affairs. She will join St. Mary’s College on August 13 and will report directly to the president.
“I have worked at a campus with an enrollment of approximately 1,000, and I appreciated the hands-on opportunities to know and work directly with students. Once an honors student myself, my daughter is now a college sophomore in an honors program. I understand the ability, struggles, and challenges many honors students face,” said Meyer.
Meyer has more than 20 years’ experience in higher education. Previous to her interim role at St. Mary’s College, Meyer served as vice president for student affairs at Missouri Western State University where she oversaw the areas of health and wellness, student development, and student services, the Center for Multicultural Education, and student government.
She served as a member of the president’s cabinet, planned and developed policy, and created constituency-building affiliations with other cabinet members to create a campus culture that promoted student success, provided a safe and welcoming campus environment for a diverse student body, and fostered a sense of community among the students.
Among many other duties, she also served as one of two Title IX coordinators, with primary responsibility for coordinating university Title IX compliance efforts, including the advancement, execution, and monitoring of compliance with Title IX legislation, regulation, and case law; leading deputy Title IX coordinators and task force members in the management of policies; education and prevention programming and the investigations of cases.
At Missouri Western State University, and previously at Fort Hays State University where she served as assistant vice president of student affairs, she focused on diversity. According to Meyer, “Issues of diversity, justice, and equity are important to me. At Missouri Western State University, I established a Diversity Task Force to study campus climate and establish action plans. At Fort Hays State University, I created the first full-time coordinator for diversity affairs position. Presidents of major and diverse student organizations met regularly under my direction at FHSU to develop training sessions and programming calendars for the benefit of all students. I believe all students must develop global and intercultural fluency.
“The St. Mary’s Way principles are the underpinning of an inclusive, well-rounded education, both inside and outside the classroom,” said Meyer. “I look forward to putting my experiences to work alongside other executive council members, to ensure students’ time at St. Mary’s College is one of education, growth, introspection, and the creation of memories that will last a lifetime.”
Meyer received both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Emporia State University. For her PhD from Kansas State University, she defends her dissertation in December 2020.
