Dr. Mayme Hostetter, a founding leader and current president of the Relay Graduate School of Education in New York City, was introduced as the 22nd president of Hamline University at a campus gathering on Wednesday.
Dr. Hostetter, who was raised in the Twin Cities, brings a proven background of excellence in educating teachers and commitment to student success to Hamline, Minnesota’s first university and a regional leader in education.
“I’ve known Hamline since I was a kid,” Hostetter said. “I have always had great respect and admiration for Hamline’s role in the Twin Cities as an engine for socio-economic mobility, and as a place that connects college to career. Hamline also has an unbeatable longstanding commitment to inclusion and equity, which are values that are deeply important to me personally and professionally.”
Dr. Hostetter attended Kenwood School in Minneapolis and St. Paul Academy. She then attended Harvard University as a National Merit Scholar, graduating Magna Cum Laude in English and captaining the women’s rowing team. She taught middle and high school English for many years, before earning her Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and doing research in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She then moved to New York to become a founding Director of Teaching and Learning at Hunter College’s “Teacher U.” In 2011, she helped found the Relay Graduate School of Education, an independent graduate school of education that serves thousands of teachers nationwide, where she serves as President.
Under Dr. Hostetter’s leadership, Relay Graduate School of Education sustained or improved many key graduate student factors, including significantly increasing the percentage of graduate students who are people of color, while increasing students’ programmatic satisfaction and sense of belonging.
Even with this record of accomplishment, the Hamline position was simply too good for Hostetter to pass up.
“I had not looked at another job in 17 years because I am very proud of Relay, but Hamline is special,” she said. “Hamline is bringing me back home to the Twin Cities, and I feel at home among this community because our values align. Additionally, Hamline has made some really good and difficult decisions and, as a result, it is in a great spot to really flourish.”
“Dr. Hostetter brings the innovation and grit that we need right now at Hamline,” said Doron Clark, chair of the Hamline Board of Trustees. “We are very impressed with her energy level, commitment to our values and the fresh ideas we know she will bring to Hamline.”
Cindy Gregorson ’81 chaired the presidential search committee, which received over 90 qualified applicants from around the nation. “We have to adapt without losing the core of what makes us unique,” Gregorson said. “Dr. Hostetter has done entrepreneurial, innovative work that has shifted to meet higher education needs. She has a track record of seeing what that need is. She has higher education experience but in a different lane, so she comes with ideas and perspectives we may not have seen in the past.”
“She does her research and her homework,” Gregorson added. “That speaks to who she will be as a leader. She is relational as well as disciplined in terms of goal-reaching. She is a learning leader, and she brings a high energy level and commitment. That made her the right fit for Hamline.”
Hostetter is the successor to Dr. Fayneese Miller, who retired last year. Dr. Kathleen Murray has served as Acting/Interim President since January 1, 2024.
“Dr. Murray has done a superb job,” Clark added. “She is a messenger, a communicator, and a strong leader. We will build on her successes.”
Hostetter describes herself as a team player. “I play for the ‘front of the jersey’ always,” she said. “So, I want to start my first several months by listening and learning, finding out what the community sees as important in terms of quick wins, big possibilities, and long-term strategic direction.”
Dr. Hostetter will assume her new responsibilities on July 1, 2025 and plans to be visible right away.
“I love seeing people at their best,” she said. “I love watching people succeed when they thought they couldn’t, when they write their first “A” paper, when they score the winning basket when they aren’t a starter. I love watching people see excellence in themselves.”
