01 Sep September 2, 2025 – Skidmore President Dr. Philip Glotzbach and Human Rolodex Nihla Mehta
Dr. Philip A. Glotzbach – President Emeritus of Skidmore College and Author of Embrace Your Freedom: Winning Strategies to Succeed in College and in Life
College is so much more than that. First of all, it is an opportunity to test
drive your new adult self, and that means to think about what sort of adult
you want to be, what values do you have, what kind of person do you
want to be, what do you want other people to think about you, and how do
you want to change the world?
Dr. Philip A. Glotzbach
Dr. Philip A. Glotzbach is a distinguished leader in American higher education, having served as the president of Skidmore College for 17 years. During his tenure, he spearheaded transformative initiatives that elevated Skidmore’s academic offerings, fostered greater diversity within the student body, strengthened the college’s financial health and aid resources, and enhanced its infrastructure and physical campus. Under his leadership, Skidmore achieved significant recognition as a nationally respected liberal arts institution. Before his time at Skidmore, Dr. Glotzbach held pivotal roles at the University of Redlands, where he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and later as VP for Academic Affairs. His teaching career began in the Department of Philosophy at Denison University, where he was a valued faculty member for 15 years. He has been widely regarded for his insights into higher education and consulting on issues ranging from institutional governance to the value of a liberal arts education. Dr. Glotzbach’s academic credentials are rooted in his commitment to philosophy and education. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and went on to Yale University, where he earned his Master’s, M.Phil., and Ph.D. in philosophy. Dr. Glotzbach is also an accomplished author. His recent book, Embrace Your Freedom: Winning Strategies to Succeed in College and in Life, reflects his dedication to the exploration of philosophy and education. The book delves into the importance of intellectual freedom, critical thinking, and the role of higher education in cultivating meaningful lives and engaged citizens. Through this work, he inspires readers to appreciate the enduring value of the liberal arts and the responsibilities that come with intellectual freedom.
Nihal Mehta – Founding General Partner at Eniac Ventures
Mobile is the entire game. Mobile is more than the entire game. It’s pretty exciting. Every conversation that I have now with investors, with entrepreneurs, absolutely everything is mobile
Nihal Mehta
At Eniac, we call Nihal the human Rolodex—he’s built thousands of connections with the world’s top companies and brands, often the hard way. Since 1999, he founded five startups: Philly2nite → UrbanGroove → Chapter 7 bankruptcy; ipsh! → acquired by Omnicom (NYSE: OMC); buzzd → LocalResponse → acquired by BlueCava. The scars are real, and so are the stories. Nihal started investing early, spotting breakout companies like AdMob (acquired by Google), Alloy, Brightwheel, Tala, and Uber. He and his wife are now active angel investors and LPs backing nearly 100 underrepresented founders and fund managers. He’s also deeply committed to giving back. Nihal co-founded Project Ahimsa, a nonprofit that provides scholarships to disadvantaged youth in India—where his parents immigrated from in the early ’70s. He also helped launch Help Main Street to support restaurants during the pandemic, and The 100k Pledge, a platform tracking economic empowerment in Black communities. You’ll often find Nihal running along the Hudson River with founders and the Pitch & Run crew, or spending time with his wife Reshma—founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First—and their two boys, Shaan and Sai. Their bernedoodle Steve (RIP Stan) is always close by. Nihal’s also the engine behind Eniac’s social events and the host of the Human Unicorn Pod, now streaming on Spotify and YouTube. He holds a BA in Philosophy and a BSE in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania.