Meggan Madden’s mission to “enhance the academic as well as the personal experience”

Dr. Madden speaks at College Commencement.

A leader who “shows up”

Drawing on six years as dean of academics at the College and 15 years of teaching and scholarly work in international higher education, Madden’s respect for “community” is emerging as a pillar of her leadership style.

“Dr. Madden listens carefully, engages respectfully, and brings people together to move forward,” says Principia Chief Executive Barbara Blackwell (HON ’22). “Her care for students is evident in every decision, and her support for faculty and staff turns shared goals into real progress.” 

Her collaborative manner is an “inspired . . . new tone,” says Faculty Senate President Dr. Sarah Andrews (US’03, C’07). “You can just tell she’s a solid metaphysician while still being very clear-eyed and transparent about the challenges all liberal arts colleges are facing.”  

“She shows up,” is the delightedly blunt assessment of Student Body Vice President Amarachi Ejimadu (C’27). It surprises students that Madden breaks away from the presidential suite—or from her nights and weekends to judge the Game of Homes house competition, listen to capstones, and cheer on student-athletes (once, even wandering into a basketball practice). 

She doesn’t just show up, adds Student Body President Rafa Ascencio García (US’23, C’27), she engages. “She always has a smile on her face,” he says. “You can have a conversation with her.”

And that smiling approachability doesn’t evaporate when there are “elephants in the room,” Ejimadu adds—topics like student financial aid issues, dining operations questions, or controversial student clubs. “She actually listens.” 

A leader who listens

Her ear for understanding and leveraging what she hears is legendary. For her former George Washington University graduate student Dr. Meg Holland, it’s the “earnestness” in her ability to pull out problem-solving threads.

“I wouldn’t have finished [my dissertation] if it weren’t for her,” she says of Madden, her mentor and dissertation advisor. She recalls how Madden encouraged her at a critical moment when personal challenges seemed insurmountable. 

“I kept saying I was gonna take a break,” says Holland. “And she said, ‘No you’re not.’ And you just knew she was seeing the best parts of you when she would talk about what’s next and how we’re going to get there.”

Empathy—infused with her faith and own similar experiences—is foundational to Madden’s sense of community, suggests Holland, now an associate dean and lecturer at George Washington University. Education is a very personal journey for a student, she explains, and Madden wants to “help enhance the academic experience as well as the personal experience.” 

Madden feels the importance in modeling this skill. “In the world today with so much polarization happening,” she says, “we need models of how to work effectively in a community where you can have mutual respect.”

And modeling is simply part of her innate curiosity, she explains: “I’m listening for how [students] see the world and for what makes them unique [to] help them see their own uniqueness.”

Madden’s lead-by-listening style is deliberate and disciplined. Principia College classmate and tech entrepreneur Dr. David Gutelius (C’93) describes her “quiet confidence” as strategically powerful and influential.

Former Principia College Philosophy professor Dr. Karen Grayson (C’86) agrees, recalling that even in her student days, Madden exhibited a “courage” and “tenacity” beyond her years. “She has this ability to pull out the kernels of truth in disparate positions . . . see the value even if she doesn’t agree . . . and take the gems and create something really strong,” says Grayson. “She’s really good at that, which is what makes everyone think, ‘Oh, she heard me.’” 

 

Leading boldly and strategically

Madden’s presidency didn’t come out of nowhere. Drawing on her PhD in higher education and comparative, international, and development education, as well as more than two decades of experience in higher education, she stepped in as acting- or interim-president twice during recent leadership transitions—periods that earned her the informal campus title “Presi-Dean.” Her able negotiation of those transitions demonstrated her willingness and ability to face uncertainty and navigate big challenges.

Madden is candid about the College’s existential problem: enrollment. Today’s enrollment is about a third of its high of 900 students four decades ago, and operating expenses don’t drop in proportion. 

In two key speeches this fall, Madden laid out her enrollment priority: creating new opportunities by broadening the vision of who serves the Cause of Christian Science. She shared two personal testimonies of Christian Science healing of people who did not identify as Christian Scientists, noting that these healings serve the Cause, because those healed become communicators of their demonstrations. 

Madden shared her great-grandfather’s healing of a debilitating work injury, after a neighbor referred him to a Christian Science practitioner. While he remained a Presbyterian, his openness to healing resulted in Madden’s grandmother joining the movement. Principia can be that neighbor, sparking study and further understanding, suggests Madden.

She also recalled a similar experience right after college, when a Baptist roommate was healed of asthma through Christian Science prayer. Though he remains a Baptist, he openly acknowledges that Christian Science healed him.

Both cases, she says, demonstrate how receptivity to the values of Christian Science can serve the Cause. 

But Madden asserts that turning enrollment around will require a collective effort. “We need alumni help.” 

She is “very excited” about mobilizing Principia’s alumni network to help boost the student body by identifying three types of students: the traditional Christian Scientist; the “renaissance” student seeking a wide range of opportunities in an intimate setting; and the “adventurer” interested in studying abroad or participating in research across Principia’s 2,300 acres.

Blackwell believes Madden’s blend of strategic thinking and student-focused leadership is the right combination at the right time. “Dr. Madden’s commitment is heartfelt and enduring,” she says. “I have no doubt we are entering a chapter defined by principled leadership, collaborative partnership, and lasting impact.”

For all of the experience, accolades, and professional esteem Madden brings to the office, those close to her never fail to mention she does “have a life” full of humor and adventure. 

Madden and husband Lee Eubank (C’97), a landscape architect and the College’s director of facilities, are well-traveled coastal and mountain hikers, known for epic cross-country road trips to California and Florida. But no conversation about them is complete without including their miniature terrier, Beau, and his collection of dog clothes. (It all started logically during Madden’s time at the University of Toronto when her previous shorthaired dog couldn’t take the Canadian cold, and a sewing class led to designing and sewing dog outfits.)

There’s intentional hilarity in a leather dog jacket or dinosaur t-shirt, but true to form, Madden’s levity is guided by empathy-driven policy: A good outfit, she says, must “reflect the personality of the dog, and then it has to be well-fitted on the dog, too.”

Even in fun, Madden is good at what she does.