Lieberman Expected to Lead La Verne to Next Stage

When Dr. Devorah Lieberman became president of University of La Verne in 2011, a private institution of approximately 8,000 students about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, she was in many ways seeing life come full circle. At the time she was offered the position, she was the provost of Wagner College in New York City, which caused the hiring committee to ask how a New Yorker would adapt to Southern California. She informed them that, in fact, she grew up about five miles from La Verne’s main campus. Although she hadn’t lived in the area in decades, she saw it as a homecoming. 

University of La Verne President Dr. Devorah Lieberman is shown with graduating students in 2013.Lieberman is the 18th president of La Verne and the first woman to lead in the university’s history. Although the institution no longer has a religious affiliation, it was founded by the Church of the Brethren, a Christian denomination that originated in Germany, and she is also the first president not of that faith. The early days of her presidency were not without bumpy moments and naysayers, including alumni who objected to a president not of the university’s founding faith and others who questioned having a woman president, but as she retires in August of this year after a remarkable 12 years, she leaves a legacy in terms of student support and diversity.

“When a culture changes, you have to stay focused on the goodness in the institution and not a few negative voices,” said Lieberman. “Anybody who’s breaking any glass ceiling has to focus on the positive.”

As the university evolved it has become increasingly diverse. It is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as well as one that celebrates many different cultures and backgrounds. Among Lieberman’s highlights is that the institution has embraced the diversity of the region. In 2015, Lieberman was named President of the Year by the Association of College Unions International for supporting an inclusive and engaged campus community.

Lieberman advocates having pride in community. “Be proud of where you’re located,” she said. “Be proud of the students who come to your institution. Be proud of the education you’re providing for those students.”

Lieberman said the university has embraced something they call the Brain Remain, which is students coming from the region, getting educated, and remaining in the region to lift their communities. She notes that U.S. News & World Report created a new category, social economic mobility, and University of La Verne ranked sixth in the country. “The number one private institution that is recruiting, retaining and graduating students who are going back to their communities … and improving their neighborhoods,” she said.

The third highlight is that the university has embraced listening to the region and what leaders in the region say they need in their graduates. “So that we graduate students who meet the needs of employers in the industries,” Lieberman said.