Saint Mary’s College Adds Vice President and Chief of Staff to Leadership Team
Erin M. Hoffmann Harding, J.D. will join the College on August 1
President Katie Conboy announced today that Erin M. Hoffmann Harding, J.D. will join the leadership team at Saint Mary’s College on August 1 as Vice President for Strategy and Legal Affairs and Chief of Staff.
As a member of the President’s Executive Team, the Vice President for Strategy and Legal Affairs and Chief of Staff will advise the President on a range of issues—from legal matters and risk management to government relations and institutional strategy—and will also partner with all Executive Team members to advance the College’s mission and to support the College’s strategic direction.
For nine years, Hoffmann Harding served as vice president for Student Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. There, she enhanced Notre Dame’s distinctive student experience for a student body of 12,600 students with operational responsibility for $35 million in annual budget and 225 full-time staff members. Prior to that, she formed the Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research as Associate Vice President at Notre Dame.
After leaving Notre Dame, Hoffmann Harding returned to McKinsey & Company, Inc., where she also began her career. As Expert Associate Partner in McKinsey’s Education practice, she served clients in the education, public sector, and philanthropy sectors. She has supported large research universities and small liberal arts colleges as they advance mission-driven growth, enhance campus life, and navigate demographic shifts and financial pressures. This role has provided her with a breadth of experiences that will also inform her work at Saint Mary’s College.
“As we navigate an increasingly complex higher education landscape, I am thrilled that we will have in Erin Hoffmann Harding a person uniquely qualified to fulfill the three elements of her position,” Conboy said. “First, she will take the lead on ensuring that we are resourceful and creative in implementing the next five years of our strategic plan, Revere and Revise. Second, she will assist us in identifying and mitigating legal risks and in designing and revising policies that keep us current in our operations. And finally, in the Chief of Staff aspect of her role, she will help us to grow our institutional effectiveness and our relationships with the external community.”
“On a personal note, when I arrived at Saint Mary’s in June 2020—that difficult pre-vaccine Covid era—Erin was incredibly supportive of me and of others on campus as we made many difficult decisions here and in the tri-campus community,” Conboy added. “Her proactive outreach and her concern for our students and our community members demonstrated how much she valued Saint Mary’s as a vital partner in the tri-campus.”
Hoffmann Harding expressed her own enthusiasm for her new role: “I am truly honored by the opportunity to serve Saint Mary’s and to support both its distinctive place in the Holy Cross family of institutions and its inspiring mission to educate and empower women. I am also particularly excited to learn from President Conboy, and to work with her, the Executive Team, and the broader College community to ensure Saint Mary's continues to flourish in an evolving higher education environment.”
Erin Hoffmann Harding earned her undergraduate degree in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She is active in local community organizations including The Stanley Clark School, South Bend Civic Theatre, and Junior League of South Bend. She is the 2022 recipient of the Spirit of Holy Cross Award by the Congregation of Holy Cross.
July 17, 2025