When Cheryl A. McConnell, Ph.D., was inaugurated as the first woman president of St. Joe’s on Sept. 8., both McConnell and attendees said they felt the weight of witnessing university history.

“It’s a complex set of emotions,” McConnell said to The Hawk at a community reception, dubbed “McConnell’s Barbeque.”

“It’s joy. It’s responsibility,” McConnell said. “But mostly, it’s optimism, optimism for our future and optimism that we’re going in a great direction.”

The ceremony brought together people from across the St. Joe’s community. Attendees included current students, five former St. Joe’s presidents and students from Samuel Gompers, an elementary school located next to St. Joe’s Hawk Hill campus.

Nicholas S. Rashford, S.J., president of St. Joe’s from 1986 to 2003, was present at the inauguration and attended the celebration afterwards to help pass the baton to McConnell.

“I don’t think you could find a better woman. I don’t think you could find a better president,” Rashford said.

Shoshanna Edwards-Alexander, Ed.D., clinical assistant professor in the master of social work program, said McConnell is the “true model of a great president.”

“She’s already shown to us her leadership and her creativity and her understanding of what it means to be a true community,” said Edwards-Alexander.

Sure enough, McConnell was focused on community-building even at her own inauguration celebration. Sporting a “McConnell’s Barbeque” apron, she helped serve food to attendees from the event’s multiple stations, chatting and taking photos with anyone who stopped by.

McConnell’s involvement in the community, and especially in supporting women, is what makes her stand out, said Sheridan Leak ’25, vice president of the Black Student Union.

“[At an event last year,] she shook my hand and said, ‘It’s the Year of the Woman,’ and I just feel like that follows into today,” Leak said. “I love to see how amazing she’s doing, and how much she values womanhood and women, and how much she is really for every single student on campus.”

Attendees also expressed their hopes for the upcoming years under McConnell’s leadership, including Gerald Smith, assistant professor of the department of physician assistant.

Smith said he hopes that “McConnell brings all the new members of the community together. Certainly USciences, and next the nursing programs coming into the university, just making sure that everyone feels that they’re an integral part of the university’s mission.”

Witnessing the first woman president in the university’s history has been inspiring for many students and for all young women who want to pursue a leadership role at some point in the future.

“I think [McConnell’s presidency] is going to set a precedent for a lot of women in higher education,” said Lanie Smith ’25. “They can do a lot of things that most people don’t.”

McConnell’s historic position is especially impactful to those like Edwards-Alexander, who has only seen men in the position of university president.

“The interesting part was when they had the past presidents here. I was here for all of their reigns. I’ve been here almost 27 years,” Edwards-Alexander said. “For me to actually witness the first woman president, I feel honored to have been able to share a stage with her and to know that I was part of this history.”

Allie Miller ’24 and Hannah Pajtis ’26 contributed to this story.