Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar is the 11th president of the University of Lynchburg. She is the first woman and first foreign-born president of the University. Raised on the Scottish Isle of Bute, Morrison-Shetlar graduated from Dundee College of Technology (now Abertay University) with a BS in biology and chemistry and a PhD in biomedical sciences. After postdoctoral research in London, she became chair of the molecular biology unit at the Max Planck Institute in Dortmund, Germany. In 1993, she moved with her husband to the U.S. and over the next 20 years held teaching, research, and administrative positions at colleges and universities in various states.
Her first two years at Lynchburg have included extensive work with the campus community and city partners on three University pillars: leadership development; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and innovation and collaboration. In the summer of 2021, she launched Lynchburg Tomorrow, a joint project with community and University leaders that supports the city’s strategic plan by connecting areas of need with University experts and resources.
Morrison-Shetlar serves on the following boards:
- Academy Center of the Arts
- Centra Board of Directors
- Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV)
- Chair, Board of Directors
- Executive Committee/Past Board Chair – Sept. 26, 2024
- NCAA Division III Chancellors/Presidents Advisory Group
- ODAC President’s Executive Committee
- Chair-elect
- United Way
- YMCA of Central Virginia
- Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC)
- Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges (VFIC)
- Vice Chair-elect, July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025
