Lake Erie College President | Jennifer N. Schuller
ABOUT PRESIDENT SCHULLER
Jennifer N. Schuller is the 13th president of Lake Erie College and the first woman to lead the institution in 75 years. Coming from Hiram College where she spent 16 years in alumni relations and advancement, seven as the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, Schuller served as Lake Erie College’s Vice President for Advancement before assuming the presidency on July 1, 2023.
Since her arrival at Lake Erie, President Schuller has expanded partnerships that advance the mission of the College and is leading the ambitious $40 million Now & Forever capital campaign. Having achieved over half of its goal, the Now & Forever campaign aims to ensure Lake Erie College students have access to modern living and learning spaces, as well as vibrant co-curricular and internship opportunities. As an example of those endeavors, in 2022 Schuller collaborated with Lake Erie College’s STEM faculty to secure a $1.5 million Choose Ohio First (COF) grant from the State of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Higher Education. This grant was one of the largest awarded that year to four-year institutions in the state of Ohio and has bolstered the College’s STEM degrees and STEM Scholars Program. Since 2022, the College has received two additional grants from Choose Ohio First, bringing the grand total to $4.5 million dollars. Examples of other gifts secured through the campaign include new endowed and annual scholarship programs, upgrades to residence hall lobbies and lounges, new steps on the front of the historic Morley Music Building, “curb appeal” projects, and student programming dollars.
In addition to fundraising, Schuller has experience overseeing teams in Marketing & Public Relations, Financial Aid, and Enrollment.
Schuller’s commitment to higher education is long standing. Although she attended large public universities, her passion is working at small, liberal arts campuses. Schuller earned a Bachelor of Science in Art Therapy and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Bowling Green State University (2000) and her Master of Education from Kent State University (2002). Schuller lives in Portage County with her husband, Steve, their daughter, Izzy, and their dogs Sadie and Lulu.
President Schuller welcomes new students
Convocation Welcome
Lake Erie College dates back to 1856 and was one of the first colleges in the country to be led by a female president AND an all-female faculty. This is something that was unusually progressive at the time and, perhaps as a result, the women associated with Lake Erie College, then known as the Willoughby Female Seminary, became active participants in the women’s suffrage movement.
