St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM), the National Public Honors College, has appointed Stephen L. McDaniel, CFRE, as the interim vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation and Eileen Petula as interim vice president for business and chief financial officer.
“Eileen Petula and Stephen McDaniel bring a wealth of higher education knowledge and experience to these key leadership roles,” said Rhonda G. Phillips, Ph.D., FAICP, president of St. Mary’s College. “Stephen’s proven track record in development and outreach will provide continued strong leadership for institutional advancement, while Eileen can be counted on to maintain excellent fiscal and operational oversight of our business functions.”
McDaniel brings an extensive background in senior-level fundraising and marketing leadership positions at numerous universities and colleges, including Lincoln University PA, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of the Virgin Islands, Norfolk State University, Alcorn State University, Fayetteville State University, Alabama A & M University, North Carolina A & T University, Tuskegee University, Atlanta Technical College and the University of Maryland at College Park.
Beginning his professional fundraising career with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in 1980, McDaniel supported the Capital Resources Development Campaign as assistant director, later serving as regional telethon coordinator. He concluded his service at UNCF in 2006, having led the Atlanta, Georgia, area office for six years.
In addition to his remarkable achievements in the U.S., McDaniel has also worked internationally as a philanthropy consultant in Niamey, Niger, in 1997, and served on the evaluation team for fundraising readiness at the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology, and Management in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2001.
McDaniel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and holds a certificate in Institutional Advancement Management from the University of Chicago. He is a Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE), a former member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) National Commission on Philanthropy and has served on the Board of Directors for CASE District III and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Advisory Council for Communications and Public Affairs.
Additionally, McDaniel serves as the administrative trustee for the Charles B. Wright Charitable Trust, secretary of the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation Board of Directors and is an active member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., where he chairs the Development Committee of the PBS Impact Foundation and the Capital Development Committee.
McDaniel hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and is the proud father of two adult sons.
Eileen Petula joins SMCM as the interim vice president for business and chief operating officer. In this role she is responsible for finance, accounting, budgeting and financial reporting, information technology, human resources, facilities and auxiliary services.
Petula comes to SMCM after serving as interim chief operating officer at Chatham University. She has held senior executive roles at Bucknell University and Allegheny College, preceded by increasingly responsible roles in higher education financial administration at Lafayette College and Swarthmore College. At Chatham University, she was part of a senior leadership team that steered the institution through the challenge of closing a significant operating budget deficit, implementing a plan that produced balanced budgets and restored fiscal integrity while maintaining the institution’s academic and co-curricular excellence. At Bucknell, she managed the university’s $264 million annual budget and endowment of more than $1 billion.
A certified public accountant, Petula holds a master's degree in business administration from Villanova University and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She also has extensive experience on boards of directors for a variety of economic development, health care and arts organizations, most recently serving as a board member for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.
