EMMITSBURG – Dr. Gerard “Jerry” Joyce was officially inaugurated as president of Mount St. Mary’s University in an April 12 ceremony to the cheers of faculty, staff and students.
“The path ahead will have bumps, as it always has, but Mount St. Mary’s’ history teaches us resilience and our mission reminds us that this work transcends us,” he said during a speech.
The private Catholic university in Emmitsburg brought Joyce on to replace retired president Timothy Trainer, who held the position from 2016 to the summer of 2024.
Joyce took over in July 2024, coming from his position as executive vice president of DeSales University in Pennsylvania, also a Catholic university.
He worked at DeSales for more than 30 years, including a period when he was interim president of the university in 2017.
He helped lead DeSales through the COVID-19 pandemic, and, according to Mount St. Mary’s Office of the President, he helped usher in two of the largest first-year classes in 2021 and 2022 while serving as vice president at DeSales.
One of the university Board of Trustees’ goals in hiring Joyce was to increase enrollment, Board Chairman Rich Miller said in July.
Joyce now leads Mount St. Mary’s and more than 2,000 graduate and undergraduate students as the university’s 27th president.
Joyce received a doctorate in education administration and policy studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He received a bachelor of science degree from DeSales University.
Hundreds attended Joyce’s inauguration at Knott Arena at Mount St. Mary’s, including many local leaders.
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater said she expects Joyce to provide good leadership in increasingly uncertain times in the academic world.
“Dr. Joyce assumes the mantle of leadership at a challenging moment,” Fitzwater said in a speech. “Liberal arts colleges, which had a prominent place in the American higher education system, are under remarkable pressure, because the model is changing in this country.”
Frederick County Council President Brad Young and Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor also spoke at the inauguration, praising the place the university holds within the local community.
Young is an adjunct professor at the Richard J. Bolte Sr. School of Business at the university.
“The Mount was founded in 1808 and has been a great asset for our county ever since,” Young said.
One of Joyce’s first actions as president, according to the Mount St. Mary’s website, was to begin development of the university’s next strategic plan. The plan, set to finish in June, will set goals and performance indicators for the university.
“Together, we could reimagine education, expand access to opportunity, strengthen our communities, and lead in sustainability,” he said of the plan.
During the inauguration, Miller conferred on Joyce three of the school’s artifacts that signified his office – a crucifix presented to the university’s founder by a pope, a mace dating to the centennial celebration of the university, and the presidential medallion made for the school’s 175th anniversary.
Joyce in turn promised to protect, further and govern the university and its mission.
Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori celebrated an Inauguration Mass April 11. Concelebrants include Monsignor Andrew Baker, vice president and seminary rector; Father Justin Gough, university chaplain; and Monsignor Richard B. Hilgartner, a member of the Mount St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees and pastor of St. Joseph in Cockeysville.
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