Listening and Learning
Summer 2026 Hamline Magazine
By Rhoda Madson
Photos by CT Ryan Photography
President Hostetter welcomes feedback from all corners of the Hamline community
Mayme Hostetter is good at remembering names, even if she's only met you once. Add to that ace eye-contact skills and a relational leadership style and this is the message she conveys:
You matter.
You belong.
You have something to say.
She’s met hundreds of people on and off campus since becoming the 22nd president of Hamline University in July 2025. Their insights and feedback have been invaluable as Hostetter is learning what the community considers important to Hamline’s long-term strategic direction.
“I’ve learned from all of you what you love about Hamline, and what you think that together, as a full community, we could do to make Hamline’s future even brighter,” she said. “I can’t wait.”
Today, 340 people later, the formal listening tour is over. Hostetter has already notched some "quick wins" by delivering what people had asked for — from new washers and dryers in residence halls to improved vacation and holiday benefits for employees.
She heard more about what people see as the core strenghs of the university, as well as aspects that could be improved.
What the President Learned
Our people: faculty, staff, students, human warmth
Faculty excellence, teaching, mentorship
Community, belonging, connection
Mission, values, commitment to social justice
Twin Cities location, community engagement
Learning On- and Off-campus
Hostetter has found other ways to listen and learn. For example, she held 30 learning sessions with Hamline’s internal departments and work groups to understand more about what they do.
She also instituted regular Coffee with Colleagues events during the school year for faculty and staff to connect and learn more about notable buildings and spaces on campus. From Hutton Arena to the Violence Prevention Project Research Center, employees could count on coffee, tea, sweets and President Hostetter at each gathering.
Off campus, she’s been building bridges and getting more feedback. She’s met with alumni in the Twin Cities and across the country at small gatherings in Naples, Fla., Tucson and Scottsdale, Ariz., Madison and Milwaukee, Wis., and Chicago, Ill.
Planning for the Future
President Hostetter’s efforts to connect with, listen to, and learn from as many members of the Hamline community as possible during her first year directly informed the work of a strategic planning committee that met throughout the spring semester. The resulting plan will guide Hamline’s growth and impact during the next four years.
Ran into President Hostetter? Ask her about these fun facts!
- Her brother is a New York City police detective.
- She designed an AI-driven teaching simulator to give practice and feedback to teachers-in-training.
- She has rowed for former First Lady Barbara Bush at Harvard — wearing pearls, an homage to Bush’s trademark jewelry.
- She officiated at a friend’s wedding that made the society pages of the New York Times.
- Her LinkedIn bio includes this nugget about her first teaching job: “worked hard and was nice.”
- She greets every student she passes on campus.