Mayme K. Hostetter, EdD, was formally installed on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, as the 22nd president of Hamline University. In her inaugural address, she encouraged the university community to build on its past and present milestones as it envisions its role preparing students for the future.
An alumna of Kenwood School and St. Paul Academy and Summit School, Hostetter has returned home to the Twin Cities from New York City, ready to lead Hamline as it positions itself for the future in a complex environment for academic institutions.
“President Hostetter brings exceptional vision and leadership to Hamline at this pivotal moment in our institution’s journey,” said Dr. Wesley Kisting, provost and dean of the faculty, who served as master of ceremonies. “Her installation marks not just a transition, but a new chapter filled with possibility and promise for our entire university community.”
Pep talk from a coach
The hourlong ceremony was held at the historic Hutton Arena, a fitting site for the former basketball player and coach who promised a “pep talk” to those gathered. The ceremony began with a musical prelude from a brass ensemble composed of students, alumni, faculty and professional musicians, and included an academic procession with Hamline University leadership, trustees, past presidents, university faculty, and delegates from colleges and universities, military, law enforcement, and learned societies.
Rev. Mariah Furness Tollgaard, senior pastor of Hamline United Methodist Church, gave the invocation.
Rev. Carol Zaagsma, assistant to the bishop for connectional ministries, Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, offered greetings from Bishop Lanette Plambeck. Zaagsma gave Hostetter a tree of life crystal ball and a tree of life journal as gifts of welcome.
Winnie Sullivan, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, brought greetings on behalf of Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and Commissioner Dennis Olson Jr., of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Sullivan presented Hostetter a letter of welcome from Governor Walz.
Up close and personal
In introducing Hostetter, Laela Sturdy, managing partner at CapitalG, offered personal reflections from their days at Harvard University 28 years ago, when Hostetter first bounded onto the basketball court hoping to earn a spot on the women’s basketball team (She ended up joining the rowing team instead, and rose to co-captain during her senior year).
“What struck me immediately was both her discipline and her joy – the pure enthusiasm she brought to practice, her willingness to work harder than anyone, and her genuine desire to be part of something larger than herself,” Sturdy said. “That spirit of collaboration and commitment has defined every stage of her career since then.”
Education is not just a job for Hostetter, but a calling, Sturdy said.
“The match between Mayme’s values and Hamline’s mission is profound,” Sturdy says. “She has spent her career demonstrating that access and excellence are not competing values. They are inseparable commitments.”
Doron Clark, ‘00, chair of the Hamline University Board of Trustees, led the investiture, the formal statement to confer the office of the presidency. Hostetter also received the symbols of office: the presidential regalia, university seal, charter and mace. Hostetter is the fourth woman – and the fourth woman in a row – to serve as president of Hamline.
Early firsts, long-standing firsts and future firsts
In her address, Hostetter noted Hamline’s early “firsts,” from the university’s first graduates – sisters Elizabeth and Emily Sorin – in 1859, to its role as host of the first intercollegiate basketball game in 1895.
“Hamline has been the site, the source, the inspiration of so many firsts,” Hostetter said. “And they all represent an important type of ‘first.’ They are all team wins that represent not only institutional excellence but also changing the game for the better for those who come next.”
Midway through her remarks, Hostetter asked the audience to take two minutes to share with each other how they’d answer the question: ”What ‘first’ is in Hamline’s near future?”
She shared two possibilities informed by her ongoing listening tour with the Hamline community. She said Hamline could be the first university to ensure that its students – across their differences – report high levels of belonging, engagement with each other, and on-time graduation. Hamline could be the first university to ensure that its students earn a great first job or a seat in a great graduate program in their field of their choice or that puts them on the path toward successful lives of leadership, scholarship and service.
“These would be ‘firsts’ for Hamline and wins for so many,” Hostetter said. “Those are some ‘firsts’ that are worth training for, like so many of the ‘firsts’ we’ve earned as a community – ‘firsts’ that change the game for so many.”
Hostetter wrapped up her remarks like a coach in a huddle with a rousing “Let’s go get ‘em!”
The ceremony came to a close with the benediction by Rev. Dr. Kelly Figueroa-Ray, Hamline University chaplain and director of the Wesley Center. During the recessional, the inauguration ensemble played New Orleans jazz.
After the ceremony, the celebration continued with a private luncheon for trustees, honored guests, dignitaries and delegates, and concluded with a reception in Anderson Center for faculty, staff, students and trustees.
Feedback from students
Many students who attended the ceremony had not attended a presidential installation before. They gave Hostetter high marks.
Nicole Phillips, a fifth-year student majoring in biology and anthropology, said she has already talked to the president a few times. Phillips is on the women’s swimming and diving team and Hostetter has come to the pool deck to talk to them.
“I wanted to support her because I feel supported through her,” Phillips said.
Phillips said she appreciated Sturdy’s personal memories of Hostetter, who on past visits brought Sturdy’s children new books and boxes of Junior Mints.
“When everyone sees someone in a role like a president, you tend to dehumanize them because you see them as just a leader,” Phillips said. “But it made it feel really personal and it's just special that she's here and able to make those connections.”
Michael Cromer, a senior majoring in criminal justice and Allen Walker, a junior majoring in finance and business analytics, said they were inspired by Hostetter’s path to Hamline and the work she put in.
“With all of her hard work, it’d be fantastic to get to a similar position that she is in,” Cromer said.