Profile: Maureen Hurley
Maureen Hurley is the director of student transitions and family programs in Student Affairs. She works with students during their major transition points, including Orientation, moving off campus, and graduation. Orientation involves 136 current undergraduate students; more than 1,000 new students; and more than 150 events annually. She collaborates with numerous departments on this special welcome for the newest Emersonians, including Housing and Residential Education, Office of the Arts, the Center for Health and Wellness, and academic departments.
Hurley also serves as the primary liaison between the College and parents and families, and keeps a line of communication open through a weekly blog, emails, and social media. She oversees a few Facebook pages that give parents and families an opportunity to meet each other; ask questions; and interact with Family Ambassadors, parents of upperclass students who volunteer to help guide incoming families. She also hosts a series of Facebook Live events during the summer to introduce incoming families to Emerson resources.
Hurley and her team host a number of in-person events, including Summer Send-Off Receptions, Spring Family Day, and Family Weekend—all planned to give families a taste of the student experience at Emerson. One of her most favorite tasks each year is greeting parents as they line up to enter the Commencement ceremony.
She has been at Emerson for almost four years and loves the creative vibe that runs through the community. “Everyone has a story that makes me want to sit down and listen. Our students crackle with excitement and passion, and I enjoy getting to watch them grow and explore all the ways they discover to become story-tellers,” she explained.
Prior to her arrival at Emerson, Hurley worked at her alma mater, Boston University, in its Boston and London locations. She also worked for the British School of Boston. She has a BS in journalism and an MA in urban affairs from BU.
Hurley has called the Boston area home for most of her life, but she has also lived in London and Dallas. She lives with her wife, Mary Ann, and their 14-year-old dog, Sylvia. She is able to empathize with West Coast parents who send their children to Emerson, because her daughter currently lives in the San Francisco area after finishing a Master of Engineering program at University of California, Berkeley.
Outside of the office, Hurley is a proud member of a group called the “Soprano Sisters.” Its members sing in her cathedral’s choir and have also become the best of friends. It’s no surprise that she is an avid vocalist since she comes from a long line of musicians. Her nana (mother’s mother) was invited at the age of 16 to audition for Walt Disney to be the voice of Snow White in the animated movie. (Hurley said, “She didn’t get the role but to have been asked was testament to her talent.”) Her mom and nana sang duets on live radio shows, and her grandpa played the saxophone in a Tommy Dorsey–style big band in the 1930s and ’40s.
Hurley is also a dog lover, which is a somewhat unexpected outcome since she did not grow up with pets. She actually swore off animals after being chased by a dog when she was young. Decades later, her young daughter held an Australian Silky Terrier puppy and swore she would never ask for anything else in her life if they could take the pup home. “Sylvia has taught me so many lessons about unconditional love and devotion, and she provides endless hilarity in the household,” Hurley said.
Nancy Howell (Communications and Marketing)