Sylvia Torti has been chosen as the 2026 Salem High School Alumni Association Honored Alumnus.

Torti is an ecologist, author, and higher education leader who serves as president of the College of the Atlantic. Torti earned her Ph.D. in biology from the University of Utah, where her research examined the little-understood ecological phenomenon of tropical monodominance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Torti is an accomplished creative writer. Her debut novel, The Scorpion’s Tail, received the Miguel Mármol Award for best first work of fiction by an American Latino/a writer. Her second novel, Cages, earned the Nicholas Schaffner Award. Her short stories and essays have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.

From 2012 to 2023, Dr. Torti served as dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah. Her earlier leadership and academic roles include directing the university’s Bonderman Field Station near Moab, serving as president and vice president of Writers at Work, and working as conservation biologist for Red Butte Garden. A native English speaker, she is also fluent in Spanish and Danish.