Susan Rundell Singer is an experienced national and institutional leader in higher education, uplifting the value of a liberal arts education. Currently, she serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Rollins College. Previously, she led the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of Biology at Carleton College, where she directed the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching.
Recruited to NSF by the White House, she was charged with implementing holistic, evidence-informed approaches to increase persistence and success of all undergraduates. She led 14 federal agencies in achieving the undergraduate goals of the first Federal STEM Education 5-year Strategic Plan, including producing one million more STEM graduates by 2018.
She pursues a career integrating higher education and science aimed at improving undergraduate education at scale. Her scholarship focuses on partnerships and networks of organizations collaboratively advancing undergraduate STEM education, with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Equitable and excellent undergraduate education is a signature element of her successes at Carleton, NSF, national organizations, and Rollins, enhanced by a strong track record with partnerships and fundraising.
Susan is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, and recipient of the American Society of Plant Biology teaching award and Botanical Society of America Charles Bessey award. She is a past-chair of AAAS’ Education Section. Currently, Susan is an Association of American Universities Senior Scholar, chairs the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Board on Science Education, and serves on the Board on Life Sciences and the Roundtable on Systematic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education. She chaired several NASEM studies, including Discipline-based Education Research. Her Ph.D. is in Biology, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.