Lori E. Varlotta

I’m Lori E. Varlotta, a university educator and leader with 40 years of academic leadership experience, including two university presidencies. I’ve worked in a wide range of higher education institutions—single-sex and co-educational, large and small, public and private, faith-based and secular, system-embedded and standalone. I’ve seen and done a lot, but I certainly don’t claim to know it all. Instead, I’ve grown wise enough to know what I don’t know and how to build and work with the right teams to fill in those gaps.

Currently, I’m on the first research leave of my career, and I’m using this time to partner with colleges and universities across the country as an “embedded advisor.” This means I work both on-site and remotely, collaborating closely with leadership teams to tackle their most pressing challenges.

So far, my projects have focused on strengthening the financial and reputational standing of tuition-dependent institutions while reinforcing their commitment to student learning and success. My work includes guiding boards and senior leaders through critical processes such as:

• Revenue growth and diversification
• Strategic and master planning
• Academic prioritization
• Rebranding
• Curricular and co-curricular integration
• Reaccreditation readiness