By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director
BALTIMORE – The Daily Record has named Notre Dame of Maryland University’s president, Dr. Marylou Yam, to its 2024 listing of Maryland’s Top 100 Women. She is one of 10 women who will be inducted into the publication’s Circle of Excellence after receiving the award for a third and final time.
In its 29th year, Maryland’s Top 100 Women was founded to recognize outstanding achievements by women demonstrated through professional accomplishments, community leadership and mentoring. A panel of business and legal professionals, previous Maryland’s Top 100 Women honorees from throughout the state, and a representative of The Daily Record reviewed the final applications and selected this year’s honorees.
Dr. Yam was appointed as NDMU’s 14th president in 2014. She has a strong record of growth and impact over the past decade as a visionary leader at Notre Dame, realizing historic fundraising goals, setting records for new student enrollment, and ushering in an era of unprecedented growth in academic programs. Under her leadership, Notre Dame has launched the State’s first bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Art Therapy, the first Doctorate in Occupational Therapy program at a private university and only the second program in the State, and the State’s first Master of Physician Assistant Studies program at a private university, serving the healthcare needs of Marylanders and fulfilling workforce demand.
Her service to the state and community is extensive. Appointed by the governor to the Maryland Commission on Women, Dr. Yam chaired the Health & Wellness Committee for three years and led the development of the Maryland Women: A Status Report, which was completed in 2021. Last year, she was appointed as a Trustee for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She also serves as a Trustee on the Knott Scholarship Fund board, and she has previously served on several boards, including Chair of the Colonial State Athletic Conference (2019-2021), Chair of the Maryland Independent Colleges and Universities Association (2021-2023), and Trustee and Vice Chair of the Keswick Multi-Care Center.
She has served as a mentor to colleagues, including those in higher education, for executive leadership programs at both the University of Maryland Leadership Program and the Council of Independent Colleges mentorship program. In 2022, Dr. Yam was paired with a high school student from the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, who spent a day shadowing her to learn more about her role as university president. She was also an invited speaker for a Conversation on Mentoring at the Women Spanning the Globe Conference, hosted by the Baltimore-based World Trade Center Institute in 2020.
Maryland's Top 100 Women for 2024 will be honored at a reception and awards celebration on May 6. Dr. Yam was previously named to The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women list in 2020 and 2017.
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
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