Lorenzo Esters

Lorenzo Esters is the Chief Advancement Officer at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, where he leads the Office of Member Engagement and Advancement. In this role, he directs AAC&U’s revenue-generating strategies, including membership engagement and growth and conference and meeting sponsorships. This work sustains the programs and services AAC&U provides to its member institutions and advances the association’s mission across higher education.

Esters has held senior leadership positions in higher education institutions, philanthropy, national organizations, and the federal government. He served as chancellor at Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis and as president of The Indianapolis Foundation. He has also held leadership roles at Strada Education Foundation, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and ETS; served as a senior analyst at the US Department of Education; and held earlier administrative appointments at Kentucky State University and Dillard University. Across these roles, his work has centered on expanding access and opportunity in higher education, with particular attention to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), community colleges, and under-resourced institutions.

Esters earned a BA in English from Rust College, an MA in English from Jackson State University, and an EdD in higher education administration from Morgan State University. His research focuses on entrepreneurial leadership, student success, and the contributions of HBCUs. His published work examines African American men in STEM fields at HBCUs and other institutions, the societal contributions of public land-grant HBCUs as articulated by their presidents, strategies for supporting men of color in STEM disciplines, and the entrepreneurial college presidency and has appeared in the Negro Educational Review, the Texas Education Review, and Tertiary Education and Management, among other outlets.

Areas of Expertise

• Advancement, fundraising, and sponsorship development
• Membership engagement and growth
• Philanthropy and grant-making
• HBCUs and community colleges
• Access and equity in higher education
• Entrepreneurial leadership