Dear Maria Community,
On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, I, along with Search Committee Chair Giovanni Virgiglio, Ed.D., am pleased to announce that we have come to the unanimous decision to appoint Lynn Ortale, Ph.D. as our 6th president. Her appointment has also been affirmed by the Institute Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Dr. Ortale will begin her role as president on July 1, 2022.
Dr. Ortale comes to Maria College with more than three decades of experience in higher education administration in the context of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. For the past 13 years, she has served as Vice President for Student Life at Chestnut Hill College in Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph. She is also an adjunct faculty in DeSales University’s higher education administration graduate program in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.
A mission-driven and student-focused leader, Dr. Ortale has demonstrated success in the personal and academic development of students at small colleges that offer career-relevant experiences, just like Maria. Her career has been a commitment to assisting underserved and diverse populations while enhancing student life and co-curricular opportunities to strengthen the learning communities she led.
Our decision was made following a comprehensive national search through the consulting firm Academic Search, which began in November 2021 following President Thomas Gamble’s announcement of his upcoming retirement. With input from faculty, staff, alumni and students, the committee developed a leadership profile comprised of characteristics and traits that would help lead the College forward. As you recall, this process brought three finalists to campus last month to meet and interview with the campus community.
Ultimately, Dr. Ortale proved to be the strongest candidate based on her extensive experience in faith-based higher education, and her commitment to the success of the students, faculty and staff of those communities. Her ‘mission-in-action’ approach to leadership directly aligns with the core values of Maria College to provide career-relevant opportunity education to all that may benefit. We believe that Dr. Ortale is the most qualified candidate to lead Maria College into the future that has been so dramatically re-shaped by the pandemic. We are confident she will increase opportunities for students while maintaining our Mercy identity and values.
Some of Dr. Ortale’s notable career accomplishments include:
- As Vice President for Student Life at Chestnut Hill, she provided leadership and vision for the Division of Student Life and Athletics where she led strategic planning and assessment, managed student behavioral and psychological interventions and guided the facilities team through ever-evolving COVID-19 guidance and protocols.
- As Dean of Students at Chestnut Hill, she enhanced existing infrastructure to support student academic success and personal development.
- As Assistant Vice President for Campus Life at Saint Joseph’s University, she provided leadership for Campus Life including the expansion of student leadership opportunities while increasing student involvement.
In addition to her administrative and teaching experience, Dr. Ortale is an active and national professional speaker, having delivered more than 60 presentations to various national associations on myriad topics such as student suicide prevention, leadership development, neurodiversity and learning differences.
Additionally, she is an accreditation evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), a role that brought her to Maria College’s campus back in 2019.
The Board is grateful to Dr. Gamble for his leadership during the past six years and through some of the most challenging years of the pandemic. We will always appreciate his focus on our students and effectively implementing policies and procedures that allowed us to successfully reopen this past fall. His tenure was marked by the addition of our first graduate degree program (MSOT), the largest one-time purchase of property – the Pine Tree Lane property to the south of Marian Hall, and a financial increase in net assets. We wish him a blessed retirement!
Thank you to all who helped us reach this decision whether it be through input on the leadership profile, meeting with the candidates or providing feedback after their presentations. We did not arrive to this conclusion on our own; you all helped pave the way.
We look forward to welcoming Dr. Ortale this summer when she will once again be meeting with the Maria community. We will be holding a welcome event for the community and press on June 15, with a full installation ceremony in the near future.
Sincerely,
