Senior Consultant

Susan Elrod, Ph.D.

Specialties

Systemic change leadership; Strategic plan implementation; Executive team development; Leadership retreats; Community engagement and partnership development

OVERVIEW

Dr. Susan Elrod is the former chancellor of Indiana University South Bend and professor emeritus (2019-2024) and a national leader in STEM and higher education leadership. Her higher education leadership experience spans over two decades in three university systems in the United States — the California State University (CSU) system, the University of Wisconsin (UW) system, and Indiana University (IU) – and roles including dean, provost and chancellor. As chancellor, she successfully completed a $32 million bicentennial campaign as Chancellor of IU South Bend and has raised other funds to support building projects and educational initiatives. She led the campus into a post-pandemic growth position with a financial sustainability model and significant campus reorganization, academic master planning and community engagement. She brought together higher education, healthcare, K-12 and economic development leaders to form a Healthcare Talent Alliance with the aim of addressing the healthcare talent crisis in northcentral Indiana.

Her national experience began when she served as the executive director of Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) at the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC and continued as a founding member of the Coalition for Reform of Undergraduate STEM Education (CRUSE), a consortium of higher education associations and scientific organizations. She also serves on numerous national advisory boards as well as committees of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM). Her scholarship has resulted in over 30 publications on topics ranging from undergraduate research to systemic change and leadership, as well as several scientific publications and patents. She is co-author of the Change Leadership Toolkit (2023) and Shared Leadership in Higher Education (2022).

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Novozymes, Inc., Davis, CA
  • PhD Genetics, University of California, Davis
  • BS Biological Sciences, California State University, Chico
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow
  • American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, Colorado College
  • Harvard Management Development Program (MDP)