Portland Business Journal selected Thorsett as one of its Executives of the Year for 2025, in recognition of his leadership in higher education and contributions to Oregon’s academic landscape. During his fourteen-year tenure, Willamette has expanded both its footprint in Portland and its curriculum to better serve the evolving workforce needs of the Pacific Northwest.  

In January, the Willamette Board of Trustees renewed Thorsett’s contract for five more years, noting that Willamette has defied national trends of declining college enrollment, achieving a 28 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment during the past three years. “President Thorsett hasn’t just led Willamette—he’s helped transform it,” says Kevin Smith BA’79, chair of the university’s board of trustees.

For more on this story, visit news.willamette.edu/library/2025/02/executive-of-the-year.html