2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 17
Commending Alison Morrison-Shetlar, Ph.D.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 26, 2026
WHEREAS, Alison Morrison-Shetlar, Ph.D., a distinguished academic administrator and marine molecular biologist who most recently served as president of the University of Lynchburg, retires in June 2026; and
WHEREAS, raised on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, Alison Morrison-Shetlar earned a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry and then a doctoral degree in biomedical sciences from what is today Abertay University; and
WHEREAS, Alison Morrison-Shetlar completed postdoctoral research in London and served as chair of the molecular biology unit at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, Germany, before relocating to the United States, where she initially held visiting faculty positions at Wesleyan University and Trinity College; and
WHEREAS, Alison Morrison-Shetlar subsequently held a number of teaching and administrative positions at several institutions of higher education, including dean of undergraduate studies and vice provost at the University of Central Florida, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Elon University, and interim chancellor of Western Carolina University; and
WHEREAS, Alison Morrison-Shetlar was named the 11th president of the University of Lynchburg in 2020, making history as the institution's first woman and first foreign-born president; and
WHEREAS, Alison Morrison-Shetlar's tenure as president of the University of Lynchburg was defined by her deep commitment to leadership development, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and innovation and collaboration; and