About
Jennifer Glowienka, Ph.D. serves as the 20th President of Carroll College, a role she assumed on July 1, 2026. She is the first woman to serve as the college's fully appointed president in its 117-year history.
President Glowienka has dedicated more than two decades to Carroll College as a faculty member, administrator, and institutional leader. Since joining the biology faculty in 2003, she has served in a series of increasingly responsible leadership roles, including Chair of the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Assistant Dean of Instruction, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, and, during the 2025–26 academic year, Interim Co-President alongside Bishop Austin A. Vetter.
As Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College from 2021 to 2026, Dr. Glowienka served as Carroll's chief academic officer, providing leadership for the college's academic programs, faculty, strategic academic planning, accreditation, and new program development. She played a central role in strengthening academic quality, expanding graduate and professional education, advancing institutional planning, and guiding initiatives that positioned Carroll for long-term success. Her collaborative leadership and commitment to academic excellence helped shape many of the strategic priorities that continue to guide the college today.
As president, Dr. Glowienka is leading the implementation of Carroll's new vision for the future, strengthening the college's Catholic mission while expanding educational opportunities for learners at every stage of life. Under her leadership, the college is strenthening the exceptional on-campus liberal arts experience that defines Carroll while broadening access through new graduate, online, hybrid, and professional programs that respond to the evolving needs of students, communities, and the region’s workforce. She is committed to fostering a culture of belonging, innovation, academic excellence, and mission-driven leadership while creating new opportunities for students to discover their purpose, serve others, and lead with integrity.
Throughout her career, Dr. Glowienka has combined academic scholarship with institutional leadership. She has secured more than $1.5 million in external research grants, helped obtain funding for campus infrastructure and new academic initiatives, and created meaningful undergraduate research opportunities for students. An evolutionary botanist by training, she has published and presented her research nationally while remaining committed to mentoring students and advancing the mission of Catholic liberal arts education.
Dr. Glowienka earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from Boise State University and her Ph.D. in evolutionary botany from the University of Colorado Boulder. She joined the Carroll faculty in 2003, was named the James J. Manion Endowed Chair in the Biological Sciences in 2018, and received Carroll College's Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 in recognition of her significant contributions to scholarship, research, and her academic discipline.
