Mount Mercy president has vision for growth, service

CEDAR RAPIDS - The first thing Laurie Hamen did when she began her tenure as Mount Mercy University's ninth president in early February was meet with every faculty member. There are more than 150.

The 55-year-old Twin Cities native who had been serving as a vice president for North Central College in Naperville, Ill., also 'researched the heck out of this place.” She visited on several occasions as 'secret shopper” before taking the helm.

'That was really helpful,” Hamen told The Gazette this fall as she embarked on her first full academic year at the Cedar Rapids-based four-year Catholic liberal arts university. 'I don't understand leadership unless you know people.”

Hamen said she wanted to hear from faculty, staff and students on their vision for Mount Mercy.

'And it was well worth the research,” she said.

At a time of significant change in the higher education landscape - especially in Iowa, where competition is ramping up, the pool of prospective students is shrinking, and funds are tight - Hamen said she sees 'fantastic opportunities” for the institution.

In less than a year, Hamen has overseen initiatives to increase access to low-income students, improve opportunities for community college transfers and expand the school's athletic facilities. She also arrived just months after Mount Mercy debuted its new graduate center.

And, Hamen said, she wants to grow enrollment and expand online offerings, all while maintaining priorities in line with the institution's founding mission of compassion and service.

'Our Catholic mercy heritage is extremely important,” Hamen said. 'Not everyone is Catholic or needs to be, but we have a good grasp on compassion … and we don't shy away from it, nor do we want to.”

Hamen, in her professional career, has worked for faith-based institutions - most recently as vice president for enrollment management, athletics and student affairs at North Central College, where she spent 18 years. Before that, she held positions at the College of St. Benedict and St. Mary's University, both in Minnesota.

She earned a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago, and completed doctoral work in educational administration at the University of Minnesota. She holds a master's degree from Winona State University and an undergraduate degree from the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul.

But she didn't always see herself as an administrator in Catholic higher education. In fact, during her undergraduate years, Hamen sang in a rock band and paid her way through school by working at a fabric store.

'I looked at my life, and it was not going anywhere, so I decided to take control,” she said. 'I was a late bloomer.”

Fast forward to 2013 when Mount Mercy in May announced that previous President Christopher Blake would not be returning from a one-year sabbatical. Hamen said a search firm reached out to see whether she was interested in applying.

After talking to an alumnus who happened to be friends with her son, Hamen said, 'I got very enthusiastic about the student experience.”

She was appointed as Mount Mercy's ninth president in December 2013 - becoming the school's first female leader since 1977 - and began her tenure in February.

Hamen said she prepared herself as much as she could, but one thing took her by surprise.

'I expected a small town,” she said. 'But I've been impressed with the strength of the community.”

That's important, Hamen said, because the 'vast majority” of Mount Mercy students come from Iowa and stay in Iowa after graduation. Many, in fact, stay in the Eastern Iowa corridor, she said.

'So we understand community engagement,” she said.

The new athletic complex in the works exemplifies one way the university is reaching its neighbors, Hamen said.

'It will be a great place to connect with neighborhood kids,” she said. 'They will be able to think of themselves as college students and be a part of it.”

Before Hamen's inauguration, board of trustees Chairman Brandt Worley invoked Mount Mercy's founders, the Sisters of Mercy, when describing the new president.

'President Hamen has been doing a marvelous job since assuming the presidency,” he said. 'She leads with the same spark of courage and faith as the founders.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com