Owl Byte welcomes Luis Bovolato, visiting scholar at the College of Science and Technology.
At 23, Luis Bovolato was a geologist for a cement company — mapping terrain, positioning drill rigs. Then a local college asked him to teach. His first reaction was why me? He said yes anyway.
That call started a career: the Federal University of Tocantins in 2003, campus director from 2008 to 2016, and provost — roughly a university presidency — from 2017 to 2025. He’s now a visiting scholar at Temple, and he sat down with us to talk about careers that don’t run in straight lines.
Takeaways
- Say yes before you feel qualified. His whole academic career started with an invitation he didn’t understand.
- Industry and academia aren’t separate worlds. He ran a mineral exploration company and worked in government while teaching. Universities train the people companies hire — the connection isn’t optional.
- Building a university is really about access. He helped found two tuition-free federal universities in Brazil. Admitting one student who’d never otherwise get there changes a whole family’s trajectory.
- Leadership is communication. Explain the goal, the path, and why it matters — to faculty, students, politicians, and companies alike. “If they don’t understand the way forward, you’re not really leading.”
- What he notices at Temple: the international mix of students and faculty, plus the support around them — career counseling, mental health resources, clear paths into grad work, real industry ties. Go to the thing that isn’t relevant yet. If something interesting is happening in another department, show up. You can’t predict what will connect back. Build your network now. He offers this as a regret: nobody advised him early on, so he had to figure it out on his own. You don’t have to.
Luis Bovolato is a visiting scholar at Temple’s College of Science and Technology this year. If you see him around CST, take his advice and introduce yourself.
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