McDaniel College welcomes 10th President, Dr. Julia Jasken

Dr. Julia Jasken becomes McDaniel College’s 10th president on June 1, 2021. She has dedicated nearly her entire professional life to higher education and most notably to McDaniel, beginning in the classroom in 2003 as an English professor. Dr. Jasken has served in various administrative roles at the college, most recently as executive vice president and provost, overseeing academic and student life.

Julia Jasken Video — McDaniel College welcomes Dr. Julia Jasken as she becomes McDaniel College’s 10th president on June 1, 2021.

McDaniel College welcomes Dr. Julia Jasken as she becomes McDaniel College’s 10th president on June 1, 2021.

McDaniel College President Julia Jasken has dedicated nearly her entire professional life to higher education and most notably to McDaniel, beginning in the classroom in 2003 as an English professor specializing in new media pedagogy and teaching a variety of professional writing courses.

Dr. Jasken has served in various administrative roles at the college, most recently as executive vice president and provost, overseeing academic and student life. A champion of both the liberal arts and McDaniel’s student-centered mission, she has overseen the establishment of many of the college’s most important strategic initiatives, including the Center for Experience and Opportunity, the college’s first cross-divisional entrepreneurship program, and the McDaniel Commitment, which guarantees that every McDaniel student, guided by a team of mentors, can construct and tailor their personal educational path.

A special message from Dr. Jasken will be broadcast through YouTube Premieres from the McDaniel College YouTube channel at 10 a.m. on June 1.

With Dr. Jasken at the academic helm, McDaniel launched 10 new career-oriented majors and charted professional pathways for students through agreements with graduate schools and community colleges as well as McDaniel’s own five-year bachelor’s-to-master’s programs.

Most recently, she led the Return to the Hill planning efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also served as the chair of the college’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Administrative Team and oversaw the development of the college’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement that was unanimously endorsed by the McDaniel College Board of Trustees.

At the graduate level, Dr. Jasken made the decision to centralize graduate admissions and enrollment, resulting in improved institutional recruiting and tracking. She also helped craft a Data Analytics partnership program. As a proponent of campus-community partnerships, particularly related to community engagement efforts, she earned the Maryland-D.C. Campus Compact Statewide Faculty Award for Outstanding Service-Learning in 2012 for her work developing a “Writing for Non-Profit Organizations” course that pairs McDaniel students with many nonprofit organizations within Carroll County.

Nationally, Dr. Jasken is widely respected for her contributions to higher education, most recently serving as the keynote speaker for the Higher Education Resources Services (HERS) Wellesley Institute. In addition to her role as Chair of the Finance Committee and Executive Committee Board member of HERS National Women Leadership Network, Dr. Jasken also serves as an Executive Committee Board member for Westminster's Target Community & Educational Services and as a Board Member for Chamber Music on the Hill.

A native of Moorhead, Minn., Dr. Jasken earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University. She resides in Westminster, Md., with her husband and two sons, along with their rescue dog, Kira. Learn more about President Jasken.

You can also read more about President Jasken in the Carroll County Times article, "Q&A: Jasken on her future as McDaniel College president, past as provost," (subscription required).

"Q&A: Jasken on her future as McDaniel College president, past as provost"