The following inaugural address was delivered by President Rhonda Phillips on April 17, 2026 at the Nancy R. and Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Good afternoon! Welcome all to this celebration of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, located in the Congressionally designated Southern Maryland National Heritage Area, the birthplace of our State. I hope all of you will have the opportunity to explore this historically important place where we are co-located with the living history and archeology museum – Historic St. Mary’s City – and Trinity Church located here since 1672.
Members of the Board of Trustees - thank you for this opportunity to join you and our colleagues in continuing to elevate this historic institution. To other members of the platform party, distinguished guests, visiting college and university leaders, elected officials, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends of St. Mary’s College - thank you for being here and for the roles you play in the life of this institution and our host region. Let’s take a moment and recognize our guests from other institutions – there are at least 15 states, and DC, represented. Your participation in this celebration is very much appreciated!
I also want to ask our faculty and staff members to stand for recognition. These are the people that make this institution excel. None of what I will present today could be achieved without our faculty and staff. I am in awe of and energized by your accomplishments and dedication - thank you for all you do for our college.
I would also like to take a moment to recognize our immediate past president, Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan, who stood for her inauguration 12 years ago, in 2014.
President Emerita Jordan will you please stand so we can recognize you for your many contributions and service to St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Now, for heartfelt thanks to my family. Thank you for your love, your support, and for always being by my side. It has been a long journey to arrive at this point, and I appreciate your patience and encouragement throughout the years.
I also want to recognize my friends and mentors, some of whom have known and supported me for over 40 years. Without my family and friends, I would not be here. You have traveled far and wide to join me today – Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania! Please stand and be recognized.
And to our students: you are the reason we are here. You are the heartbeat of this institution and the future it serves. (If you would, please stand so we may recognize you). Everything we do and every action we take begins and ends with the intention of ensuring excellence for our students.
Let me explain why the inauguration is today, nine months after I joined St. Mary’s. In my first months on campus, I spent time listening and hearing ideas, challenges and opportunities across campus and the community to better understand what defines this institution and what is held dear by those who call it home. This continuing process is to ensure that our people, purpose and place are understood and how we can “reimagine the excellence” we already experience to shape it for addressing needs of the rapidly changing environment of higher education. Taking this time to learn and reflect on what St. Mary’s is today will empower us to move forward and consider the future, including the next phase of development and growth in a new strategic plan to be announced soon. One thing that became clear to me over and again is that the strength of this institution is rooted in our people and in their shared commitment to our mission.
So today is not simply a celebration - it is also a commitment.
- A commitment to build on the work of those who came before us.
- A commitment to one another to respect and value our differences while working towards our goals.
- And a commitment to the future we are called to shape together.
This moment also comes at a time when higher education receives more questions about value, relevance, and trust. For public institutions especially, those questions matter deeply. We must be able to demonstrate not only who we are, but the value we create for our students, our communities, and the future that we are charting.
The responsibility and purpose of providing measurable and impactful value is a defining feature of St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
As the first standalone honors college in the nation – hence the name The National Public Honors College – St. Mary’s holds a distinctive place in higher education. We are ranked 5th in the Nation by US News & World Report in Top Public Liberal Arts Colleges, among other accolades.
As a proud member of the COPLAC – the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges – we stand among institutions that affirm the enduring value of the liberal arts, not as an abstract ideal, but as a practical foundation for how students think and lead in and contribute to our rapidly changing world.
At its best, a liberal arts and sciences education prepares students for careers, complexity, and change. It equips them to ask meaningful questions, connect knowledge across disciplines, and navigate a world that demands both adaptability and judgment. These are essential capabilities for success, citizenship, and meaningful engagement in the world ahead.
The liberal arts have long served an empowering role in the evolution of societies. From its ancient roots, “liberal” is the term for “free,” as in “liberated.” In other words, having the freedom to pursue education, explore, and discover – to pursue a life of learning. St. Mary’s proudly joins many other higher ed institutions in the vital work of enhancing the value of and accessibility to liberal arts education.
At St. Mary’s, our work is not theoretical. It is lived.
- You see it in our classrooms.
- You experience it in creative expression.
- You apply it in undergraduate research.
- You live it through public and community service, and in the daily interactions that shape each student’s experience.
That is what we do here, and it is reflected in our Honors College Promise and LEAD – Learning Through Experiential and Applied Discovery – that provides every student who becomes part of this community opportunities to engage and grow with internships, study away and study abroad, or conduct research. And what opportunities – Fulbright and many other prestigious awards are continually being won by our students.
The value and purpose of this college is not found in any one feature, but in the way it all comes together: a deep sense of connection, a commitment to academic excellence, and a shared belief in the distinctiveness and diversity of this community.
St. Mary’s is recognized for academic excellence, for access and inclusivity, and for the strength of its outcomes. Our graduates leave here prepared not only with knowledge but with the ability to apply it in meaningful ways. An example? The Princeton Review named us #2 recently for Public Schools Making an Impact.
Our students continue forward after graduation to lead organizations, to serve society for the public good, to pursue advanced study, and to make a meaningful difference in their communities and professions. Ninety percent of our graduates are employed, in graduate study, or engaged in service within six months – this is one of the highest placement rates in the State and beyond.
Equally important is the sense of community that defines us. It is a community grounded in shared values, intellectual curiosity, and deep respect for diversity and one another - what we know as the St. Mary’s Way – our guiding star, our ethos. You will find the tenets of the St. Mary’s Way proudly presented on our website and displayed on banners hanging outside on campus.
You see those values in action across campus, including with our student-athletes. Just this week, at our Spirit Celebration in JLR Stadium, we recognized eight championship teams. This represents a reflection of the discipline, teamwork, and pride that define Seahawk athletics. That success builds on a strong legacy, including 17 – yes, that’s 17 – national sailing championships and sustained excellence across our varsity programs.
Our identity as a public honors college is both a legacy and a responsibility. It calls us to uphold the rigor that defines this institution while ensuring that the opportunities we offer remain within reach for all our students we are here to serve.
And place matters here as well.
Situated along the Chesapeake Bay, at the mouth of the St. Mary’s River, this historic campus is not simply where we are, it is who we are. Here, place shapes the educational experience from its historical roots as the birthplace of religious freedom before our Nation was founded, to archeological sites, to modern research facilities and a commitment to preserving the integrity and health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed ecology. Students connect their learning to the world around them through research, community engagement, public service, and interdisciplinary study. This setting deepens learning and reinforces the core truth I mentioned earlier: education is most powerful when it is connected to people, purpose and place.
Because of this foundation, we are well-positioned for what comes next.
As we look ahead, our focus and priorities are clear as we reimagine excellence:
- We will clarify who we are and ensure others understand it. We will strengthen our national and international visibility and elevate our voice as a leading example of what a public honors college provides.
- We will strengthen the student experience from access to outcomes, ensuring that students are supported from enrollment through graduation and beyond, and that they leave St. Mary’s prepared to contribute, lead, and make an impact.
- We will invest in the environments where learning and life happen, modernizing our campus, adopting new technologies, and creating conditions for an even higher level of excellence and connection.
- We will continue to build a community where people want to be and choose to stay involved, one that supports faculty, staff, students, alums, partners and friends with a culture of community well-being, collaboration, belonging, and shared purpose.
- We will enhance community relations and existing partnerships while building new ones – locally, in the State, the US, and beyond.
Many of these priorities are already taking shape. It gives me great pleasure to announce one of these – a renewed Educational Partnership Agreement with our nearby neighbor, the Naval Air Station Patuxent River and The Patuxent Partnership, building on a successful collaboration first established in 2011.
This updated agreement expands opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff to engage in advanced research, applied learning, and career pathway development in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, as well as business and many other disciplines.
Through this partnership, our community will have access to specialized facilities, technical expertise, and real-world applications not typically available in a traditional academic setting.
Our connections between education and workforce will be strengthened, with internship and mentoring opportunities positioning our students to contribute to innovation and technological advancement at a regional and national level.
This is what higher education must do at its best: connect learning with real-world impact.
Looking ahead, I am confident in what St. Mary’s College of Maryland is and all that it can become.
We have the opportunity to be even better known for our impact on our students, our communities, and on higher education itself.
We are building a place where academic excellence and access are not competing priorities, but complementary strengths.
- A place where the liberal arts and sciences are not simply preserved, but advanced in ways that meet the needs of today and tomorrow.
- A place where students are prepared not only for what comes next, but to shape what comes next.
That is the value of a public honors college in this moment: not simply readiness, but the capacity to lead, to contribute, and to make meaning in a complex world.
And this work belongs to all of us.
- To our faculty and staff, who shape the daily experiences of our students.
- To our alumni, who carry the St. Mary’s story into the world.
- To our partners and supporters, who help us extend our reach and deepen our impact.
- And to our students, who remind us why this work matters.
It is a privilege to serve this remarkable institution.
I am honored to engage in this work alongside you to continue to lift up our people, purpose, and place.
And I look forward to all that we will build together for St. Mary’s College of Maryland as we reimagine excellence for this beloved institution.
Thank you.
