Todd A. Olson Headshot

Todd A. Olson

President

Meet the President

Dr. Todd A. Olson was named Mount Mercy University’s president in 2021.

Prior to Mount Mercy, he served as the Vice President for Student Affairs at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., providing leadership for 15 departments and 140 student affairs staff for more than 18 years.

Throughout his 35-year career in higher education, Dr. Olson has been an adjunct faculty member and most recently taught in Georgetown’s higher education administration program and the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

Dr. Olson led the creation of Georgetown’s Healey Family Student Center and played a major role in their new residential facilities. He was active in campus planning efforts; policy revisions related to alcohol, sexual assault, and bias reporting; and developing new programs linking academic and co-curricular life. Prior to Georgetown, Dr. Olson served in a variety of roles at the University of Denver for 16 years.

Dr. Olson has co-authored articles on entrepreneurial leadership and curriculum infusion, and recently authored a book chapter on dealing with controversial speakers and events in a Catholic context. He served for 10 years as a member of the Policy Committee for the Patriot League athletic conference, and recently served a two-year term as chair of the James E. Scott Academy within NASPA, a leading national student affairs association. Dr. Olson was the President of JASPA, the national Jesuit student affairs association, from 2018-2020.

A Minnesota native, Dr. Olson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Morris and went on to receive his master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Kansas. He earned his PhD in higher education from the University of Denver, where he also worked in a variety of positions and was one of the founders of the Pioneer Leadership Program, a signature academic and residential learning program.

Dr. Olson and his wife, Regina, are the parents of three children.