Alison Morrison-Shetlar became the 11th President at the University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, VA and the first woman to be in the role on August 1, 2020. In the last four years, under Morrison-Shetlar’s leadership, the University has developed: a strategic plan with three areas of distinction: Leadership Development, Innovation and Collaboration, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and a comprehensive campaign focused on: endowed scholarship, programmatic support, and two facilities projects, underwent a significant institutional transformation, with goals to: rightsize the university faculty and staff to student ratios, eliminate a financial structural deficit, focus on programs that the workforce and students want and eliminate those programs that were not sustainable, enhance the student experience, and increase the market profile of the university to increase enrollment and retention. She and her team have further promoted the role of the university as an ‘anchor institution’ within the Lynchburg community to provide students the experiential learning and job opportunities that they deserve.

Morrison-Shetlar has held leadership roles at four private institutions (Wesleyan University and Trinity College, CT., Elon University, NC. and University of Lynchburg, VA) and three public institutions (Georgia Southern University, GA., University of Central Florida, FL., Western Carolina University, NC.). Morrison-Shetlar is a consultant and workshop and keynote speaker in the areas of Higher Education, Leadership Development and Teaching and Learning. She is also a Gallup Strengths Coach for hIgher education, business, government and non-profit organizations.

A native of Scotland, Morrison-Shetlar earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry and a Doctorate in Biomedical Science from Dundee College of Technology (now Abertay University). She served as a researcher and department leader for seven years at the Max-Planck Institute, Dortmund, Germany, before coming to the US in 1993.