Sylvia Torti
FULL-TIME StaffPresident
President's Office
Email: storti@westminsteru.edu
Office Location: Bamberger Hall
About
President Sylvia Torti is an accomplished academic leader, ecologist, and writer. She joins Westminster University following her appointment as president of the College of the Atlantic–a private liberal arts college located in Bar Harbor, Maine which is guided by the philosophy of investigating and improving relationships between human beings and social or natural communities. During her time as president, Dr. Torti developed a 5-year strategic plan for the future of the college, stewarded and built donor relationships—which resulted in over $3M of new gifts for operational support and student scholarships—and completed a cultural and economic impact report to assess the college’s value to the community and the state. During this time, President Torti was also a member of the presidential leadership for Endeavor Foundation Lab Colleges, a consortium of nine institutions dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being of students at small liberal arts institutions. As part of this role, she oversaw a portion of a $5.22M gift for student mental health programming and collaborated with leaders at partner institutions to integrate best practices and novel programs.
Prior to her role at the College of the Atlantic, President Torti served as dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah from 2012–2023. Her time as dean saw remarkable growth in program resources, student success, and faculty participation. Under her leadership, the budget of the Honors College increased from $2.1M to $4.3M, and the number of program faculty and staff members nearly tripled. She oversaw a 150% increase in honors degree completion, and increased student participation in governance through mentorship. In addition, she doubled the diversity of the student body–from 15% to 30% of students who came from diverse backgrounds–and tripled the percentage of out of state students from 11% to 30%. Her achievements as dean also include the development and teaching of Ecology & Legacy, an Honors College Integrated Minor that focuses on human and nonhuman relationships and encourages students to think critically about ecosystem well-being in connection to societies and cultures.
President Torti's experience includes her role as the director of the University of Utah’s Bonderman Field Station from 2009 to 2011. She leveraged her background as an ecologist and academic leader to strategically plan and develop the field station to serve the needs of students and faculty in the natural sciences, arts, humanities, architecture, and engineering fields. This involved securing donor funds, building strong relationships with the local community, developing infrastructure, and coordinating research, education, and outreach programs.
As an award-winning ecologist and writer, President Torti has a 30-year publication record that includes peer-reviewed scientific research, pedagogical research, and creative fiction and nonfiction. Her work has been recognized nationally and has led to numerous invitations to speak and teach around the world.
President Torti is looking forward to joining Westminster University and returning to Utah, a place where she has deep family and community connections. Along with her partner Scott, she enjoys running, biking, and exploring Utah.
