Dr. Mary Dana Hinton is the 13th president of Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, and President Emerita of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota. An active and respected proponent of the liberal arts and inclusion, her leadership reflects a deep and abiding commitment to educational equity and the education of women.
Hinton earned a Ph.D. in religion and religious education with high honors from Fordham University, a Master of Arts degree in clinical child psychology from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Williams College. She is the recipient of the Bicentennial Medal from Williams College and honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Misericordia University and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. In 2021, Hinton was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, an organization established more than 240 years ago by the nation’s founders to honor exceptionally accomplished individuals and engage them in advancing the public good.
Hinton’s scholarship focuses on higher education leadership, strategic planning, the role of education in peace building, African American religious history, and inclusion in higher education. Her new book, Leading from the Margins: College Leadership from Unexpected Places, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in February 2024. She is also the author of The Commercial Church: Black Churches and the New Religious Marketplace in America and a frequent op-ed contributor across higher education publications.
Hinton is a member of the board of directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, InterFaith America, The Teagle Foundation, and the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset, and the board of trustees at Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles.