Maureen A. Hartford
Meredith College President

Maureen A. Hartford, Ed.D , was named President of Meredith College on February 26, 1999, and officially assumed the duties of that position the following July 1. Dr. Hartford is the first female president of Meredith, one of the largest private colleges for women in the United States. She came to the presidency from the University of Michigan, where she had served as vice president for student affairs since 1992 and also as a faculty member of the Center for the Study of Higher and Post-Secondary Education. Prior to her roles at Michigan, Dr. Hartford served in senior administration positions at Washington State University, Case Western Reserve, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Maine.

Dr. Hartford, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, earned a Bachelor of Arts in French and a Master of Arts in College Teaching at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Her doctorate in higher education administration is from the University of Arkansas, where her dissertation topic was Profiles of Women Chief Executive Officers.

Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Hartford has focused on student health and safety, leadership, and community service initiatives. She helped establish the University of Michigan's Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, and was the mentor for the University's first female Rhodes Scholar. Dr. Hartford worked with the administration of United States President William Clinton in the establishment of the Americorps Program. She was instrumental in expanding LeaderShape, a national program which focuses on ethical leadership development for college students, and currently serves on the national LeaderShape Board of Trustees.

During her tenure at Meredith, Dr. Hartford has led the College in the creation of exciting new campus initiatives, as well as in the development and implementation of a five-year strategic plan and a comprehensive $41.5 million capital campaign.

In 2004, the US Secretary of the Navy appointed Dr. Hartford to the Marine Corps University Board of Visitors, a group that advises the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and the president of the Marine Corps University in education, doctrinal, budgetary, enrollment and research policies and programs. In 2007, she was reappointed to a second term and also named as chair of the Board. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Hartford has been honored with numerous awards including The Triangle Business Journal's 2002 Women in Business Award, the 2002 Distinguished Scholar Award from the NC College Personnel Association and the 2003 Woman of Achievement Award from the General Federation of Woman's Clubs of North Carolina. In 2005, she was inducted into the YWCA Academy of Women in the Education category, which honors women who demonstrate a commitment to the community and exemplify the YWCA mission of empowering women and eliminating racism.

In 2007, Maureen Hartford was chosen by Business Leader magazine as one of the publication’s “Women Extraordinaire.” In August 2008, she received the inaugural Humanitarian Award as part of Women in Business Awards presented by Triangle Business Journal. Dr. Hartford received the 2008 Alumni Achievement Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Education in recognition of “exceptional achievement of an alumnus or alumna who personifies the School of Education’s commitment to support diverse and democratic communities in order to improve education in the state and nation for all children and the adults who care for them.”

President Hartford and her husband, Jay Hartford, who retired as senior director of corporate and foundation relations at the University of Michigan, live in the Massey House President's Residence on the Meredith campus.