Lori Randorf, director of operations in the College of Pharmacy, joined NEOMED in 2021 after 27 years at Kent State University.
“I realized I was probably too young to be retired,” she recalls about taking on a new challenge after working in alumni relations for many years. “This position just fit my skillset. And it was something new, which was exciting to me.”
In her role in the College of Pharmacy, she supports the operational needs of the Office of the Dean and the College. That includes providing assistance with strategic planning activities, working on the budget process and financial reporting, as well human resource functions.
Randorf recently sat down with The Pulse to share a little about herself.
Are you from Northeast Ohio?
I grew up in in Painesville, and I went to high school there and went to John Carroll University for my undergrad. Then I got my M.B.A. at Kent State. So I'm an Ohioan through and through.
Where do you live now?
I live in Auburn, Ohio, with my husband, Bill. Very small town. Our mailing address is Chagrin Falls, but it’s the Bainbridge branch of the Chagrin Falls post office.
What do you do for fun?
We like to travel. Everybody says that, but we do.
Pre-kids, we would do a lot of international travel. Hopefully now with the kids out of the house, we’ll start doing that again. We've been to a lot of different places. Turkey and Greece and Iceland and Kenya. We will go anywhere but we are not typically go-sit-on-the-beach people. We do lots of ski trips, where you’re up at the crack of dawn, first on the lift, last off type of thing. Or just walking around and sightseeing.
What’s your favorite place to visit?
My husband’s family is in northern Minnesota in a little town called Ely, which is a couple hours north of Duluth. It's on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is preserved, pristine wilderness. It's a super tiny little town. We like to canoe in the BWCA where you get to truly see nature including bald eagles, wolves, moose and bears. It holds a special place in my family’s heart.
What are you recommending lately, or what was your last book you read?
I read for entertainment so I usually prefer fiction. The last book I read is The Book of Lost Names.
What else should people know about you?
Well, at some point, I had dual citizenship because my parents were both Canadian.
So where were your parents from?
They're from Ontario. My dad is a farm boy. He grew up on a dairy farm in the rural area outside of Ottawa. And my mom is French-Canadian and a city girl who grew up on the English side of the Rideau River in Ottawa.