Timothy Trainor Appointed 26th President of Mount St. Mary’s University

The Board of Trustees of Mount St. Mary’s University announced the permanent appointment of Timothy Trainor, Ph.D., as president of the university. Trainor, who has been serving in an interim capacity over the past year, was the unanimous selection of both the Board of Trustees and the cross-campus Selection Committee.

“Since his appointment last summer, Tim and his wife, Donna, have become true members of our Mount family,” said Board Chair Mary D. Kane, C’84, in announcing the appointment at this weekend’s Alumni Reunion. “Tim has harnessed the energy of all of those who love the Mount to build remarkable forward momentum for the university. He has helped to improve trust, build community, and enhance communication across the campus. On behalf of the board, I’m thrilled to make Tim’s appointment permanent and pledge that he will have the board’s continued support as we work together to chart a course for the Mount.”

“The permanent appointment of President Trainor is great news for Mount St. Mary’s and builds upon the momentum that began with his arrival last year,” said Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, who is also a university board member and chancellor of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. “In his time serving in an interim capacity, President Trainor’s leadership has brought a renewed energy and collaboration within the entire Mount community that has positioned the university on a course for growth and success.”

“From the moment we first visited campus, Donna and I could feel the warmth and strength of this community,” said Trainor. “The Mount is a special place and having had the opportunity to work closely with colleagues over the last year, I know the university’s future is bright. Together, we’ve tackled challenges and worked hard to have the kind of community, rich in Catholic values, that enables our students to develop into the next leaders of our society. It’s an honor to receive this vote of confidence from the university and the board, and to know that our work together will continue.”

During Trainor’s tenure as interim president, he has focused the community on keeping students at the center of everything the Mount does and on a list of shared priorities, while developing a new strategic plan. He has also overseen improvements in enrollment, which are poised to be among the largest in Mount history, with the incoming freshman class expected to top 500 students (a 24 percent increase over last year). In addition, the freshman-to-sophomore retention rate is likely to be the highest in years at greater than 80 percent. Trainor has also launched a capital campaign, Forward! Together As One, with a goal to raise $30 million.

Academic achievements this past year include three new academic programs, new academic leadership, an articulation agreement with Frederick Community College, the three student Fulbright award winners, and securing a $1 million donation to create the Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship and hiring its new director. Outside the classroom, Trainor approved efforts to elevate the women’s rugby program to a varsity-level sport, the return of varsity men’s soccer, and expansion of rosters for several existing Division I teams.

Prior to joining the Mount in August 2016, Trainor served a thirty-three-year-career in the Army, retiring as a Brigadier General, with his final six years as dean of the Academic Board at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. In this role, he was the chief academic officer, leading more than 800 faculty and staff across 13 departments and 23 centers that provide a core curriculum and 40 different majors in engineering, basic sciences, math, humanities and social sciences to 4,400 students. U.S. News & World Report ranks West Point as one of the top 25 National Liberal Arts Colleges in the nation.

As chief academic officer, he was also responsible for governance and planning in regard to faculty, curriculum, accreditation, master planning, athletics, and class committees. He has published extensively on innovative leadership, systems engineering, operations research, and decision-making. He also has broad experience in strategic planning, outreach to alumni, and involvement with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education as an evaluation team chair. He also played a role in supporting the recent successful West Point capital campaign.

Prior to his appointment as dean of the Academic Board, Trainor spent four years a professor and head of the Department of Systems Engineering and three years as director of the Engineering Management Program, both at West Point.

Trainor earned his doctorate in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University, an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a B.S. from the United States Military Academy. He and his wife, Colonel (Retired) Donna Brazil, are the parents of three children: Cory, Daniel, and Zachary.