Leader to Leave School With High Marks

St. Mary's College of Maryland President Is Stepping Down After Era of Growth

Jane Margaret "Maggie" O'Brien is planning to step down as president of St. Mary's College of Maryland, but students will still be able to find her on campus, maybe even in their classrooms.

O'Brien, who announced last week her plans to resign by 2010 or sooner, if a successor is found, is credited with intensifying the school's curriculum and elevating its national standing, landing it on several magazine lists of top public colleges. She has also been seen as an approachable administrator who jokes with students. Many call her Maggie.

O'Brien, 55, said she plans to continue her fundraising work for the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England, and will teach at the college in St. Mary's City.

"It will be an extension of what I have done already," she said. "We've been talking about it for a while . . . and I am very excited about it."

In coming weeks, the board of trustees will begin the search for a new president. O'Brien said she estimated that the process will take about eight months.

O'Brien became president of the college in 1996 and continued the work of her predecessor, Edward T. Lewis, to step up the school's academic rigor. In the mid-1980s, Lewis successfully fought to keep the school independent of the University of Maryland system and filled its board of trustees with affluent people who helped its endowment balloon.

The school was designated a public honors college by the Maryland legislature in 1992 because of its honors-level curriculum, small class size and independent study opportunities.

Under O'Brien's leadership, the college raised millions of dollars for construction, scholarships, professorships, lecture and learning series, and arts, athletic and community programs, such as free summer concerts. The college's international study abroad program was expanded and flourished.

"Maggie O'Brien has done an exceptional job as president of St. Mary's College, positioning the college as one of the premier liberal arts institutions in the country," U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement last week.

"Her tenure is marked by a period of progress and increasing recognition for the academic quality of the college and its students," he said.

In 2002, the college established the Center for the Study of Democracy, which organizes public lectures and offers scholarships. O'Brien also formed a partnership to help preserve Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland's first capital, while providing learning opportunities for students.

During O'Brien's tenure, the college has grown from 1,600 students to 2,000, and the percentage of full-time students who live on campus has increased from 60 to 85 percent.