‘Grateful beyond measure’: Meredith College president to retire by end of school year
Meredith College President Jo Allen will retire by the end of the upcoming academic year, the college said Monday.
Allen, the eighth president of Meredith, has served in the role since July 2011. A North Carolina native, she graduated from Meredith in 1980 and was the first alumna to become president of the Raleigh college.
“Being president of my alma mater — a college that so enriched my life by helping me identify my life’s goals and build my confidence, my sense of purpose, and my network of friends and supporters — has been an honor and privilege,” Allen said in the announcement Monday. “Few people have the opportunity to live full circle with the closing of a career at the very place that career began to take shape. I am grateful beyond measure for all those who have helped prepare and sustain me all these years.”
As president at Meredith, Allen has been noted for guiding the college through significant growth, including by raising more than $90 million through a six-year comprehensive campaign from 2012 to 2018. Under her leadership, the college has consistently raised more than $10 million per year, per Monday’s announcement.
Meredith’s 225-acre campus also changed and grew under Allen’s leadership with the addition of a new fountain plaza, a fitness center and an academic building, as well as extensive renovations to residence halls, a dining hall and other areas of campus.
Allen has been especially proud of Meredith’s commitments to community, inclusion and belonging under her leadership, the college said.
“Through the pandemic, no employees were laid off or furloughed; emergency fund sources were established or enhanced to help students and employees with unanticipated expenses,” the college said. “A renewed commitment to inclusion and belonging reinforced the spirit of the Meredith community, especially at times when remote work and study were necessary.”
Allen has been known to host international and out-of-state students and staff at her home for Thanksgiving, providing meals and fellowship for those who are unable to travel home for the holiday.
“Nobody should be alone during the holidays,” Allen told The News & Observer in 2019. “It’s a time when people can’t go home that I think they’re particularly missing their friends and family. We want to make sure that’s not how any of our students feel.”
Prior to returning to Meredith, Allen was a tenured professor of English at East Carolina University, N.C. State University and Widener University, a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. At Widener, she also served as senior vice president and provost, overseeing academic and student affairs on four campuses in two states.
She holds a master’s degree from ECU and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University, both in English literature.
Allen has served on several higher education boards, including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, where she served as chair. Allen is the current chair of the board of directors for the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.
A national search for Meredith’s next president, led by the college’s Board of Trustees, will begin soon, the college said Monday.
“Dr. Allen is an outstanding president and has and will continue to make a lasting impact on the entire Meredith community,” board chair Charles Royal said. “While this news is never easy to hear, we are happy for Jo as she starts another chapter.”
