Lori Werth

The Office of the Provost has the distinct privilege of serving alongside faculty and staff who are passionate about education and dedicated to their community. They have a rich history as a vibrant liberal arts university with a nationally recognized medical school and a new optometry school that are meeting the needs of rural communities and attracting students from across the country. They believe in the power of education to transform lives, a founding promise that has been sustained by the power of relationships and a calling to serve.

Lori's path to becoming the person that she is today has not always been easy. When she was in elementary school, her family immigrated to the United States from Romania with nothing but what they could carry in a few suitcases.

She learned English as a second language, worked hard to adapt to a new school, held a job at a department store, and became the first in her family to attend college. Lori believes in the transformational impact one person can have on another. During a critical time in her development, two people, her school principal Shirley Vandrell and caring pastor Roy Litsey, believed in her and gave her the courage to set her sights higher than what anyone in her family had done before.

Today, she has the privilege of serving alongside faculty and staff who are passionate about education and dedicated to their community. They have a rich history as a vibrant liberal arts university with a nationally recognized medical school and a new optometry school that are meeting the needs of rural communities and attracting students from across the country.