Mary Grant

Dr. Grant is the new president of MassArt, assuming the role this summer. Her career in public higher education spans nearly 30 years, including significant leadership positions as president of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and chancellor of the University of North Carolina Asheville.

As President of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts from 2002 to 2014, Dr. Grant led the effort to rebrand MCLA as the premier public liberal arts college in New England, secured state and private funding to renovate and build new academic buildings, and led the first comprehensive capital campaign of the MCLA Foundation. While serving as Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Asheville for three years, she led a period of strategic and institutional growth, including a new five-year strategic plan focused on equity and inclusion, academic rigor, student success, community engagement, and organizational capacity.

Dr. Grant earned a Ph.D. from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, an M.S. in Public Affairs from University of Massachusetts Boston, a B.A. in Sociology from MCLA/North Adams State University, and holds an honorary doctorate from Williams College.