Eric Kirby
Dr. Eric Kirby is an Assistant Professor of Management, Leadership, and Business Law in the Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business at Southern Utah University.
Early in his career, Dr. Kirby successfully passed the bar exams in three states and interned, clerked, and worked in numerous capacities within the legal field. While practicing law for nearly a decade, Dr. Kirby’s practice primarily focused on civil litigation, construction law, business law, and estate planning. More recently, Dr. Kirby served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at SUU where he managed a myriad of departments and student organizations and helped create innovative campus-wide programs which increased institutional retention and completion rates to historical highs and garnered national recognition.
Dr. Kirby is a founding partner of Tippets & Kirby Consulting, LLC, and is regularly invited to give presentations, workshops, and consult with various organizations across the nation on business/leadership strategy, organizational restructure, shifting business culture, and transformative change management. He also co-authored a book on leadership, organizational strategies, culture shifts, and programming within higher education, and is the co-host of the ASCEND podcast series.
Dr. Kirby loves the outdoors and is regularly found in the backcountry with his wife and six children exploring new trails. For his doctoral dissertation, Dr. Kirby focused on leadership perceptions among indigenous tribes, which created a deep passion for indigenous culture and history, including the study of petroglyphs, pictographs, and indigenous ruins. Dr. Kirby loves sharing his knowledge of this local history and culture with others; therefore, he created Outdoor Kirbys, LLC to provide individuals and groups with unique opportunities to learn fundamental leadership skills through customizable outdoor experiences and workshops.
In conjunction with hiking and backpacking hundreds of trails across the United States and canyoneering / climbing numerous canyons throughout the southwest, Dr. Kirby has completed a myriad of outdoor endurance accomplishments, including:
- Ran/hiked the ‘Low to High’ in 140 miles in 80 hours (lowest point in the US (Badwater Basin (Death Valley)) to the Summit of the highest point in the lower 48 (Mt. Whitney))
- Ran numerous 50 mile, 75 mile, and 85 mile ultramarathons
- Ran several 100 mile ultra marathons and a 200 mile ultramarathon
- Hiked on several occasions rim-to-rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon in a single day
- Backpacked 90 miles in the Wind Rivers
- Completed 21 triathlons in 21 days, including two half Ironman’s and a full Ironman
- Completed the 50 mile Zion Traverse in a single day
- Completed 100 mile bike race (Tour of St. George) just a week after completing a 100 mile ultramarathon race (Pony Express).
- Completed the ‘run the year’ challenge for the past five years (i.e. ran 2,021 miles in 2021, ran 2,022 miles in 2022, etc.)
Janae Kirby
Janae is married to Eric and is an outdoor enthusiast who loves getting out on the trails as much as time allows with their six beautiful children. Janae and Eric have always taken their kids outside to enjoy nature from the time their first child was born.
Janae enjoys learning and works hard to manage home and family life as well as make time for things she loves to do. She loves creating with art, food, and décor, and brings her own flavor and expertise on leadership and management. Janae stays active by playing sports, being outdoors, and exploring new places. She also enjoys pushing herself and getting out of her comfort zone. Below are a few of her more recent accomplishments:
- Volleyball medalist in the Utah Summer Games
- Ran a 55k ultramarathon
- Ran a 50 mile ultramarathon in Arizona
- Hiked rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon several times
- Finished a duathlon (bike and run)
- Summited Half Dome in Yosemite
- Pickleball medalist in the Utah Summer Games
- Pickleball medalist in many national pickleball tournaments
- Ran the Arizona Ragnar
- Ran multiple half-marathons and a full marathon
