Dr. Elrod most recently has served for five years as the chancellor of Indiana University South Bend.
SOUTH BEND, IN, September 13, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dr. Susan Elrod has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
A seasoned educational administrator with years of expertise in research, education and leadership, Dr. Elrod most recently has served for five years as the chancellor of Indiana University South Bend. Since starting in the role in 2019, she has raised millions of dollars for the University, led the development of South Bend's IU 2030 strategic plan, created a new enrollment management team and strategies resulting in consistent enrollment gains, built a sustainable budget model, and orchestrated the purchase of a heritage site building in the community for the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center. Additionally, Dr. Elrod has leveraged her shared leadership approach to establish the Campus Budget and Space Advisory Councils and lead significant campus systemic change efforts. She has also revitalized the campus diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, led significant building renovations to create a state-of-the-art healthcare simulation center and a new innovation and entrepreneurship center, and strengthened coaching and scholarship support for core athletic programs. Her engagement in the community has led to improved campus visibility locally as well as nationally by bringing the University Economic Development Association national conference to South Bend. Her leadership has also fostered the launch of an education-industry-economic development collaborative to address the healthcare talent shortage in northcentral Indiana.
Before joining Indiana University South Bend, Dr. Elrod honed her expertise as a provost at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, and as interim provost at California State University, Chico, through which she led strategic planning efforts, hired and developed strong leadership teams, oversaw millions in research funding, led campus-based equity programs, and led campus participation in national projects focused on student success. During the early stages of her career, she gained valuable expertise as the dean of Fresno State University's College of Science and Mathematics, executive director of Project Kaleidoscope at the American Association of Colleges and Universities and associate dean and director of California Polytechnic State University's Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education. Over the years, she has also taught biology, microbiology and biotechnology at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and mentored students in research. She also served as a postdoctoral fellow at Novozymes, Inc., and as a research associate with UC Davis Medical Center and IDEC Pharmaceutical Corporation, now known as Biogen. Her work in industry resulted in several scientific publications and patents. She has also used her experiences as a leader in higher education to co-author such publications as "Change Leadership Toolkit: A Guide for Advancing Systemic Change in Higher Education," and "Shared Leadership in Higher Education: A Framework and Models for Responding to a Changing World." She has raised millions in research funding resulting on other higher education publications on topics ranging from undergraduate research, leadership, interdisciplinary learning in science, and student success.
An expert in her field, Dr. Elrod holds a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences from California State University, Chico, and a PhD in genetics from the University of California, Davis. She also served as leadership fellow for the American Council on Education. In conjunction with her professional and educational endeavors, Dr. Elrod has served on the national boards of Campus Compact, HERS, and on the Change Magazine editorial board. She also serves on the boards of the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce and the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership economic development organization.
Given her professional achievements, Dr. Elrod was named Woman of the Year through the YWCA North Central Indiana in 2022. For her accomplishments in undergraduate science education research, she was elected as a fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. While her career has been filled with highlights, she takes the most pride in her leadership journey, which began with serving as president of her junior high school class and continued as student body president at Chico State then into her professional life as a leader with the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the universities where she has served. Though hard work and dedication have brought her far in her career, she credits her success to the resilient work ethic instilled in her by her parents and her action-oriented nature. Within the coming years, Dr. Elrod aims to retire from formal leadership roles and focus on developing consulting and coaching services based on her research in change leadership.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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