Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 14, 2025 Marie Hardin at Quinnipiac University's main campus in Hamden on her first day as the school's new president. HBJ Photo | Michael Puffer 'Learning Mode' From humble beginnings, new Quinnipiac President Hardin's task is to bring university to the 'next level' bilities in my college and across the university. And that served me very well because it gave me lots of different experiences." Moving 'great ideas forward' Quinnipiac's Board of Trustees named Hardin president in January. She has replaced Judy Olian, whose last day was June 30, after seven years leading the school. During that time, she was credited with overseeing a major campus reno- vation and expansion, among many other things. Hardin said Quinnipiac's board has charged her with bringing the high-performing university "to the next level." That means strength- ening partnerships with employers, industry, community leaders and the public, and ensuring the school's offerings align with the state's and country's workforce needs, she said. Literature issued in the year-long search for a president emphasized building on the university's "strong foundation" to lead it to increased achievement and national recogni- tion. It also spoke of pressures on revenue and expenses, requiring a president with a well-honed ability to raise money and the university's profile. Hardin said she will tackle these tasks using tools developed as a jour- nalist and academic leader, sourcing answers from staff, local leaders, students and other stakeholders. "The ideas for how to do that are not going to come out of my head as much as they will come out of conversations with faculty, staff, students, alumni and corporate leaders who have an interest in this By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com Q uinnipiac University's new President Marie Hardin traces her path to the office all the way back to the school newspaper she joined as a fifth grader in a small Houston, Texas suburb. College wasn't a serious prospect for most in Oak Ridge North in the 1970s, Hardin, now 59, recalled. Her father, an HVAC technician, left home every morning at 4:30 a.m. Her mother was a homemaker with four children. Her brother dropped out of school at age 16 to bus restaurant tables. But working with student news- papers in middle and high school ignited Hardin's passion for learning. "Journalism was the thing that lit the fire under me to want to go to college," Hardin said during an interview on July 1, her first day as president of Quinnipiac University, a private school based in Hamden with over 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. "When you are a journalist, you are constantly in learning mode, and there's something beautiful about that." That passion led Hardin to Ambassador College, a small four- year school in Big Sandy, Texas. Now defunct, it was affiliated with the Worldwide Church of God, an evangelical branch of Christianity. Harding's parents felt comfortable sending her to the university tied to their church. Ambassador offered a handful of degree tracks. Hardin graduated with a bachelor's degree in theology and mass communication in 1988. She went to work in journalism, quickly rising to lead small newspapers in Texas. She also freelanced. Hardin eventually earned a master's degree from Georgia State University in communications and a doctorate from the University of Georgia in communications and journalism. Equipped with post-secondary education, Hardin became an assis- tant journalism professor at Florida Southern College in 1998. Later, she joined the faculty at Pennsylvania State University's school of commu- nications. She worked her way up to dean in 2014. Harding led the college's rebranding in 2017, after securing a $30 million gift from alumnus Donald P. Bellis- ario, a television producer and screenwriter. She also gained the university's backing for a new media center. Under Hardin, the college's endowment tripled, with gifts increasing more than 50% in the past three years. A big part of her success at Penn State, she said, came from her willingness to take on new roles and responsibilities. That track record is what eventually landed her in Hamden, Connecticut. "I told myself in my early 20s that I was going to be someone who said yes," Hardin said. "So, when I got to Penn State, and they started asking me to do a whole lot of different things, I said yes. I ended up taking on all kinds of different responsi- QUINNIPIAC AT A GLANCE Main campus: 275 Mount Carmel Ave., Hamden. York Hill Campus: 305 Sherman Ave., Hamden. Home to student center, M&T Bank Arena and upper-class residence halls. North Haven campus: 370 Basset Road, North Haven. Home to graduate programs in education, health sciences, law, medi- cine, nursing and social work. Fall 2024 enrollment: 6,557 undergradu- ates, 2,867 graduate students (9,424 total) Fiscal 2023 expenditures: $501 million Four-year graduation rate (2015 cohort): 77% Six-year graduation rate (2015 cohort): 80% Endowment (fiscal 2023): $770.2 million Faculty and staff (2023-2024): 1,988 Tuition and fees (2025-2026): $57,700 On-campus housing and food (2025-2025): $17,900 Sources: U.S. Department of Education; Connecticut Office of Higher Education; Quinnipiac University MARIE HARDIN President Quinnipiac University Age: 59 Education: Master's degree in communications, Georgia State University; doctorate in communi- cations and journalism, University of Georgia Last position: Dean of Pennsyl- vania State University school of communications, 11 years

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