Dr. Paul Burkhardt begins as President at a time when the higher education landscape is undergoing constant evolution. In his new role, he will focus on several key areas:

• Providing future-focused and student-centered leadership that anticipates trends in higher education.
• Creating a vision for the future and leading Naropa through necessary and innovative changes to meet the current and future needs of a global student and faculty body.
• Empowering an effective leadership team to achieve administrative, academic, research. and service goals.
• Working with development staff to build a strategic plan for the next decade of fundraising and development.
• Collaborating with faculty to create and support an evolving academic plan for Naropa’s future.

Dr. Burkhardt most recently served as Provost at the University of Olivet in Michigan; and, for many years, was the Executive Vice President and Provost at Prescott College in Arizona. Since 2007, he has worked with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the largest regional accreditor, as an accreditation team member and team chair, as well as a consultant evaluator in dozens of site visits to universities across 19 states.

Paul is recognized for his adept handling of student and faculty needs amid periods of rapid enrollment increase, and for leading inclusive group processes that reinforce the power of shared governance and effective collaboration among students, staff, and faculty. Paul is well-versed in transformational partnerships and has built many reciprocal and lasting relationships with schools, community organizations, unions, and businesses. He believes these collaborations nurture abundant opportunities and resources.

EDUCATION: PhD, Comparative Cultural & Literary Studies, University of Arizona (1999); MA, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory, University of Arizona (1993); BA, Summa Cum Laude, Outstanding Graduate in Humanities, University of Arizona (1991)