Key Takeaways
- Maura Mast will become Seattle University’s 23rd president on September 1.
- She is the first woman to lead the university in its 135-year history.
- Mast brings strong experience in college leadership, student support, and math education.
Seattle University has chosen Maura Mast as its 23rd president, and she will be the first woman to lead the school. She will start on September 1 after a national search for the next president.
Maura Mast Chosen to Lead Seattle University
Seattle University’s Board of Trustees picked Maura Mast to lead the school into its next phase of growth. The board voted unanimously after a national search that looked for leaders with strong experience in higher education and student-focused work.
Mast most recently served as dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill at Fordham University from 2015 to 2025. In that role, she helped grow student success programs, improved academic offerings, raised more funds, and supported faculty research and course planning.
Before Fordham, Mast worked as a professor of mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She also held leadership roles that focused on undergraduate education and academic planning.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and anthropology from the University of Notre Dame. She later earned a doctorate in mathematics from the University of North Carolina.
Focus on Student Success and Academic Excellence
Mast has spent much of her career working to improve student learning, support faculty teamwork, and encourage new ideas in teaching. At Fordham, she introduced a new advising system to give students better support and created internship opportunities to help prepare them for jobs after college.
She also worked to bring in more private support for key school goals and encouraged new teaching methods across the college. University leaders said these efforts showed that she can support strong academics while also helping an institution grow over time.
Mast is also a respected mathematician. Her research focuses on differential geometry, a field of math that studies shapes and spaces. She has received several grants for math education and research and has taken part in national academic groups.
Her honors include being named a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics for helping create more chances and more visibility for women in the field. She has also written and edited several academic books and papers, including an award-winning math textbook.
New Leadership Marks the University’s Next Chapter
Mast takes over from Eduardo Peñalver, who led Seattle University from 2021 until earlier this year before becoming president of Georgetown University. After he left, former Seattle University president Stephen Sundborg served as interim president while the school searched for a new leader.
University leaders said Mast’s background fits Seattle University’s goals in academic quality, student growth, and Jesuit values. Her experience as both a teacher and an administrator gives her a strong base to build on the school’s recent progress and guide future plans.
Seattle University has reached several major milestones in recent years. The school has expanded academic programs, improved student engagement, welcomed Cornish College of the Arts into the university, returned to the West Coast Conference, and moved ahead with plans for the Seattle University Museum of Art. These steps have widened the school’s academic and cultural reach and created new chances for students and faculty.
Mast has said she looks forward to joining the Seattle University community and working with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners. Her appointment begins a historic new chapter for the university and keeps the focus on student success, new ideas in teaching, and community ties.
She will officially begin her role on September 1, becoming the first woman to lead Seattle University since the school opened in 1891.
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