Notre Dame of Maryland University announces three finalists for president

Notre Dame of Maryland University has announced the names of the three finalists who are vying to lead the Baltimore institution.

The finalists are Dr. Andrea Chapdelaine, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Albright College in Reading, Pa.; Dr. Sara Thompson, associate provost for new program initiatives and dean of the Metropolitan School of Professional Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Marylou Yam, provost and vice president for academic affairs at St. Peter’s University (formerly St. Peter’s College) in Jersey City, N.J.

The Feb. 19 announcement follows a comprehensive nationwide search and more than three months of review, discussion and interviews, according to the Baltimore institution.

As the search committee enters the final phase of the recruitment process, the finalists have been invited to campus the week of Feb. 24 for meetings with faculty, students, staff, the university’s administration, trustees and the School Sisters of Notre Dame, among others, according to the institution.

The open forums will allow the greater Notre Dame community, which includes alumnae, alumni and friends of the university, to hear from each of the candidates.

The forums are scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Knott Auditorium, 4701 N. Charles St., Baltimore: Feb. 24 with Dr. Sara Thompson; Feb. 26 with Dr. Marylou Yam; and Feb. 28 with Dr. Andrea Chapdelaine.

In August the university’s board of trustees announced they appointed Dr. Joan Develin Coley, president emerita of McDaniel College in Westminster, as interim president of the university.

The announcement came after Dr. James F. Conneely, who became the university’s president in July 2012, resigned citing family reasons, according to Notre Dame. He was the first male president in the school’s history.