Mary Dana Hinton

Mary Dana Hinton grew up in a low-income family in rural North Carolina. In 10th grade, she was discouraged from pursuing higher education—her guidance counselor suggested the military instead of college, citing her race. But with the support of a family her mother worked for, Hinton enrolled at Saint Mary’s School, a girls’ boarding school in Raleigh. That opportunity set her on a new path.

In 1988, she began studying psychology at Williams College, where she would later be awarded the prestigious Bicentennial Medal. She went on to earn a master’s degree in clinical child psychology from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in religion and religious education with high honors from Fordham University. She has since received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Misericordia University, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Mount St. Mary’s University.

Hinton began her professional life as an elementary school teacher in Maryland before working with the education nonprofit Replications, helping to launch 22 schools in New York and Baltimore. She transitioned into higher education with leadership roles at Catholic institutions, serving as associate vice president for academic affairs and chief diversity officer at Misericordia University, and later as vice president for academic affairs at Mount Saint Mary College. Her presidency at the College of Saint Benedict marked the beginning of her executive leadership in higher education—before she joined Hollins University in 2020.