President Timothy E. Trainor, Ph.D., has appointed Elizabeth “Liz” Monahan as chief of staff. Monahan, who comes to the executive office from the university’s School of Education, assumed her new role in mid-May. As chief of staff, she serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet with responsibility for external relations with key government and other agency officials, oversight of university operations, coordination of legal actions with partner law firms, and service as the recording secretary for the Board of Trustees.
Monahan most recently served as director of the Center for Catholic School Excellence (CCSE) within the School of Education. Through her various roles, including her longstanding directorship of the CCSE and additional roles as an instructor in the School of Education, and academic advisor of the Catholic High School Dual Enrollment Program and School of Education’s Adult Undergraduate Program, Monahan has made many connections to people and organizations in Frederick County and the state.
“Liz is a tremendous addition to the Cabinet and the senior leadership of the Mount,” Trainor said. “In her 30 years at the Mount, she has excelled as a lecturer, director, advisor and leader. Many will remember how skillfully Liz led the university’s Bicentennial for four years from within the Office of Advancement. Liz is well known for her collegial manner and is respected for her business acumen.”
“I am honored to serve the Office of the President in this role,” Monahan said. “I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff, all of whom believe in the mission of the university.”
As CCSE director, Monahan led the university in its commitment to support Catholic education by providing professional development, consulting services, strategic planning, and dual enrollment programs to Catholic schools in the Mid-Atlantic region. She is experienced in working with boards, including the CCSE Advisory Board of prominent Catholic school leaders. Her excellent work has been recognized with the receipt of the Fr. John McElroy Award from the Friends of Catholic Education, Inc. and the President’s Medal from St. John’s Catholic Prep, both in 2019, as well as the Excellence in Education Award from the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce in 1990. Monahan also has been awarded numerous honors from the Mount, including the Outstanding Merit Award in 2017 and the Bicentennial Medal in 2008.
Monahan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a Master of Science from Johns Hopkins University. She and her husband Peter, a 1982 graduate of the Mount, own the award-winning Federal Pointe Inn in Gettysburg and have two daughters. She is a member of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.