Leading Change: A Book Talk and discussion with Susan Elrod, Ph.D.

Susan Elrod is the Chancellor at the University of Indiana South Bend. She is an experienced biology professor, university administrator, and national leader in STEM higher education and systemic change leadership. In addition to her current administrative position, she has served in leadership positions at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California State University, Fresno and California State University, Chico. She also served as the executive director of Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) at the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. In this position, she launched multi-campus national initiatives focused on improving undergraduate STEM education and enhanced PKAL’s networking and leadership programs.

She is also a co-founder of CRUSE, the Coalition for Reform in Undergraduate STEM Education, which is a consortium of national associations focused on fostering national collaborations for student success in STEM. She has over 20 publications on topics ranging from undergraduate research and to systemic change and leadership, as well as several scientific publications and patents, including her recent book with colleagues on shared leadership in higher education. She has consulted with campuses, national organizations and state systems of higher education, and serves on the HERS Board of Directors and the editorial board of Change Magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California, Davis and an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from California State University, Chico. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Novozymes, Inc. in Davis, California and was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in January 2020 for her work in STEM higher education.