Dr. Kathleen Murray took office as the 21st president of Hamline University on January 1, becoming the third consecutive woman to lead Minnesota’s oldest institution of higher education, which enters its 170th year in 2024. She will serve as Acting/Interim President.
President Murray comes to Hamline University with a twenty-year track record of effective leadership at private institutions nationwide. She became Dean of the Conservatory at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1999, becoming Dean of the Faculty in 2003. From there, she moved to Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. Like Hamline, Birmingham-Southern is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. She served there from 2005-08 as Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
From 2008-15, President Murray worked at Macalester College in St. Paul, where she served as Provost and Dean of the Faculty. While there, she directed planning for the university’s Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, a $70 million project that was completed in 2014. She also served as the interim president of the institution for four months in 2013.
She then served for seven years as president of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. From 2015-22, President Murray guided a community engagement process that laid the groundwork for a $100 million comprehensive campaign completed prior to her retirement. She also raised over $10 million for a new dining and residence hall on campus, representing the largest fundraising effort for a capital project in Whitman’s history.
Dr. Murray succeeds Dr. Fayneese Miller, who began a sabbatical on December 31. She will retire on June 30.
Hamline University is proud to welcome Dr. Kathleen M. Murray as our 21st president.
