St. Mary’s College of Maryland President Tuajuanda C. Jordan has appointed Jerri Howland as vice president for student affairs. She will join St. Mary’s College on July 1, 2021, and will report directly to the president
“I am excited to welcome Dr. Howland to St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Her career has been dedicated to higher education in various student life, support, and student development positions, and I know she will not only be a leader to our student body, but also an inspiration,” said President Tuajuanda C. Jordan.
“St. Mary’s College has a proven record of student success and building a campus that reinforces a commitment to inclusive diversity, equity and excellence. I am excited to join the St. Mary's College family to help continue to move the campus forward in those efforts by focusing on student engagement. I met wonderful staff and students during the process and look forward to working with the full campus community,” said Howland.
A Baltimore, Maryland native, Howland has more than 20 years’ experience in higher education. She is currently serving as vice president for student affairs and dean of students at State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego. Recently in that position, she chaired the Campus Student Life Covid-19 Planning Group, preparing the campus for reopening, supervising baseline testing for all students during move-in, and serving on Oswego Forward Reopening Working Group to draft the reopening plan.
Beginning in 2014, Howland provided leadership in a number of positions for student affairs and enrollment management at SUNY Oswego, including Financial Aid, Admissions, Campus Life, Career Services, Student Involvement, Residence Life, Student Conduct, Auxiliary Services, Intramural/Recreational Sports, Athletics, Community Service/Service Learning, New Student Orientation, and over 200 student clubs and organizations.
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.
“Why St. Mary’s College? I am honored to join such a great leadership team at SMCM. It is a great liberal arts institution doing some great things where the success of students comes first. I will have the opportunity to be hands on, in the trenches, with students to support their sense of belonging, resiliency and exploration. It has always been my hope to be able to work with students from my community and now I have that opportunity. I feel like I am back home,” said Howland.
Previously, she held similar positions at Rhode Island School of Design, SUNY College of Technology at Alfred, University of Maryland College Park, University of Iowa, Loras College, and Southeast Missouri State University.
Howland earned her bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University, her master’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University, and her PhD from University of Iowa.