Torti, Selected by the University’s Board of Trustees, to Lead Utah’s Only Independent, Nonprofit, Private Institution of Higher Education
SALT LAKE CITY—Westminster University announced today that Dr. Sylvia Torti, PhD will become its twentieth President. Torti, currently serving as President of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, was selected by the university’s Board of Trustees after a competitive, months-long national search. Dr. Torti will take office upon the retirement of outgoing President Beth Dobkin, who led the university for eight years—the longest tenure of any currently-serving college or university president in the state.
A highly accomplished academic leader, ecologist, and writer, Torti previously served as the Dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah from 2012–2023. In her role as President of the College of the Atlantic, a small liberal arts institution, Torti led the college’s strategic planning process to develop a five-year roadmap, stewarded and built donor relationships resulting in new operational support and student scholarships, and completed an economic impact report to assess the college’s local value to its community and the state of Maine.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce Dr. Torti’s appointment to become our twentieth president,” said Preston Chiaro, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “The Board has enormous confidence in Dr. Torti’s ability to embrace change while honoring our core mission and lead us into the future.”
Dr. Torti was selected from dozens of highly qualified candidates evaluated during a months-long, national search process. Board of Trustees Vice Chair Amy Wadsworth and Board of Trustees member Danny Giovale ’94 chaired the search committee consisting of trustees and representatives from the Westminster University staff, faculty, student body, alumni, and trustee emeriti. Westminster faculty, staff, students, and community members shared input with the search committee during listening sessions in Fall 2025. After an intensive process, the Search Committee made a recommendation to Westminster’s Board of Trustees, who unanimously approved Dr. Torti’s appointment.
“Dr. Torti’s extensive experience in higher education, from leading a small liberal arts college within an R1 research university right here in Utah to becoming a rapidly transformative leader at a well-respected institution like College of the Atlantic immediately stood out to us as the right leader to take Westminster into the future,” said Wadsworth and Giovale in a joint statement. “We’re grateful to the valuable input of our campus community, whose guidance led us to find a leader who’s accessible, shares our liberal arts heritage, and is energized to make an impact—all qualities that Dr. Torti exemplifies.”
“It’s an incredible honor to be selected as Westminster University’s twentieth president. I’ve long admired Westminster’s unique role in the ecosystem of higher education in Utah, rooted in the liberal arts and dedicated to building meaningful lives through learning,” said Torti. “Higher education is more than the first step toward a job—it’s about developing personal meaning for the kind of life one will lead and building capacities to use one’s talents for the common good.”
In her first years as President, Torti will focus on uniting the campus around a shared vision for growing enrollment and ensuring the university’s long-term financial health. Specific priorities include expanding community partnerships, increasing fundraising, improving how Westminster tells its story to prospective students, and aligning academic programs to prepare students for both workforce readiness and meaningful careers. Torti and her Cabinet will work to position Westminster as a distinctive, nationally recognized university while preserving the personal, high-touch learning experience that defines the institution.
Torti spent more than a decade as dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah, where she led a liberal arts and sciences college of more than 2,200 students within a major research university. During her tenure, the college significantly expanded its faculty, staff, and budget, increased honors degree completion by 150 percent, doubled student diversity, and raised significant support for scholarships and programs. She also developed globally oriented, interdisciplinary curricula that connect ecology, health, and human rights, and created innovative programs such as the Integrated Minor in Ecology & Legacy and international field-based learning experiences.
Earlier in her career, Torti directed the Bonderman Field Station and served as a conservation biologist at Red Butte Garden, where she led research and conservation planning for rare plant species in partnership with federal land agencies. She also served as associate director of Mapping Meaning, helping develop and lead immersive workshops at remote field locations for women scientists, artists, and humanities scholars focused on creativity, purpose, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Across a 30-year publication record, Torti has contributed scholarship spanning tropical ecology, environmental humanities, and higher education pedagogy, with peer-reviewed research appearing in journals such as American Naturalist, Biotropica, and Journal of Tropical Ecology. Alongside her scientific work, she has built a parallel career in creative writing, authoring the novels Cages—winner of the Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature—and The Scorpion’s Tail, which received the Miguel Mármol Award for Best Fiction Debut by a person of Latinx descent. Her essays, short fiction, and memoir writing have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, often exploring the intersections of ecology, culture, and the human relationship with the natural world.
Torti will attend Westminster University’s 151st Commencement Ceremony on campus on Saturday, May 9, to celebrate the achievements of the 283 members of the Class of 2026. She will begin her tenure this July and will be formally inaugurated in the fall.
