Daniel Lugo ’94 didn’t set out to be a college president. His dream was to be a major player in the sports and entertainment world. “I didn’t quite have the talent to be a star myself, so I thought practicing law in that arena would be a smart way to be an ancillary part,” he says.
He moved to New York after earning his J.D. at Minnesota Law, diving into trademark and copyright work at a series of entertainment law firms and companies. “I enjoyed four years of that work, then spent the next five years wondering what I really wanted to do,” he says. “The entertainment business is very challenging, and it just didn’t align with my values and personality particularly well. You have to make a lot of sacrifices to be a major player, I discovered, and at the end of the day, I wasn’t willing to sell my soul.”
This past December, Lugo was announced as the 23rd president of Trinity College, marking his steady climb in higher education. He joins Trinity in July 2025 after serving as president of Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2019.
Lugo’s transition from entertainment law to higher education began when Carleton College tapped him to serve as assistant dean of admissions. A 1991 graduate of Carleton, he had volunteered to interview potential students. “That exposure to the people leading Carleton gave me the curiosity and confidence to throw my hat into the ring for the position,” he says. He worked at Carleton for seven years, gaining valuable experience in admissions and fundraising.
He moved to Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania to serve in his first vice presidential role overseeing admissions and financial aid. “Being part of the president’s cabinet and senior leadership team there gave me great insights into how strategic direction is set,” says Lugo. Colby College recognized his gifts and recruited him to be the vice president of college advancement, where he oversaw an ambitious $750 million comprehensive campaign, the largest of its kind for any liberal arts college at that time.
While at Colby, Lugo says the president of the college encouraged him to see himself as a future college president. “I was fortunate to work with a visionary who saw that the area I was leading was a key fulcrum. His encouragement and example helped me see this path.”
As Lugo began to think about a top position at a college or university, he was encouraged to be open to all opportunities and courageous in pursuing them, no matter how long it took to find a fit. But the first time he threw his hat into the ring for a college presidential search — for Queens University — he was selected. There, he led efforts that yielded a 50 percent increase in undergraduate applications, raised $25 million for capital improvements, and reclassified the university’s 25 NCAA sports to Division I competition.
Lugo looks forward to his next chapter as president of Trinity, one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges. “Being a higher ed leader in the 21st century is vastly challenging, but I think Trinity can be the standard bearer in how to face those challenges,” he says. “I am an unabashed advocate of a liberal arts education, but liberal arts colleges are threatened by many challenging dynamics. I want to ensure these types of institutions have a bright future.”
Lugo is a first-generation college graduate, born and raised in New York. “I was first in my family to go to college, first to go to law school,” he says. “While my parents would have told you they didn’t really understand why I left my law position, I can say that my legal education continues to be invaluable. Today, I understand and solve problems like a lawyer. I know how to identify and mitigate risk, valuable and transferable skills I learned in law school and in practicing law. Those skills became especially valuable during the pandemic when we had to solve really complex problems daily. My law degree is constantly helping me.”
While at Minnesota Law, Lugo was an editor of the Journal of Law & Inequality. He also fell in love with Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, he says. “I am a passionate alum. My wife is a graduate of the School of Social Work. My daughter earned her undergrad degree and is now working on her Ph.D. at the U. We’re Gophers all the way.”
His interactions with Professors David Weissbrodt and Robert Stein ’61 particularly stand out from his time at Minnesota Law. “Bob Stein is just an incredible leader of law and higher education,” he says. “What an example for me. And David Weissbrodt was so life-shaping in how he taught us to be agile problem solvers.”
Lugo says he tells students that it’s the right choice to go to law school, no matter what they want to do. He emphasizes that it’s important for them to find their passion, though. “This can’t be about getting into a highly compensated career but not personally rewarding. There are so many things you can do with a law degree from the University of Minnesota. Think broadly. The world is changing so quickly. We will need the kind of people who graduate from Minnesota Law.”