Lori E. Varlotta

Higher education today feels a lot like mountain hiking: unpredictable terrain, tiring switchbacks, unexpected drop-offs, false summits. Lifelong hikers, like long-serving leaders, have had moments where they must carefully go down and around in order to ascend again, strongly and resolutely.

I’m Lori Varlotta—three-time university president, lifelong educator, trail-tested leader (and, in case you haven’t guessed it, alpine hiker). After 40 years in higher ed, I’ve learned a few things about effective leadership. The most important one is this: positive, productive, powerful leadership isn’t a solo climb. Great leaders chart paths that make it possible for others to ascend with them; they listen to the person who has the clearest line of sight, lean on the strengths of others when fatigue sets in, and know just the right amount of challenge and support the group needs to summit safely.

With that in mind, I have created this site for leaders who are navigating the steep switchbacks of governance, equity, innovation, strategy, and sustainability. It’s a space for:

• Sharing timely insights on topics that matter now,
• Fueling collaborative thought leadership, and
• Engaging in real talk about the peaks, valleys, and sprawling plateaus of leadership-in-action.

I am open to exploring a host of topics, but the ones that colleagues have asked me to address include the following:

• Mission-aligned, data-informed decision-making in good times and bad.
• The politicization of governance and its impact on campus and board leadership.
• The development of informed citizens who sustain a productive democracy.
• Leadership-assistance models such as the “embedded consultant”.
• Institutional resilience through revenue diversification, fundraising, and more.
• “Remote” leadership with presence and purpose.
• Graduate and adult education for empowerment and impact.

With those requests top of mind, I have written several short pieces and accepted contributions from others as well. You can check them out in the Blog Section of this website. As we collectively make our way forward, I invite you to submit short articles that address these issues or suggest other topics that we can explore and expand.

After all, in higher education—as on the trail—the most rewarding climbs are the ones we do with those we care about, respect, and want to grow stronger with.