Sue Roberts

Sue Roberts is the Associate Provost for Internationalization and Professor of Geography at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on economic and political geography, with emphases on development policy, global governance, neoliberalism, inequality, and offshore financial systems. She explores how geopolitical and economic structures perpetuate global disparities, particularly through analyses of foreign aid, trade flows, and the strategies of the super-rich.

Her work bridges disciplinary boundaries, addressing intersections between political economy, gender studies, and spatial inequality. Notable contributions include studies on USAID's development contracting industry, the geographies of offshore finance, and the impact of elite wealth on rural landscapes. She has co-authored influential textbooks such as Economic Geography: Places, Networks, and Flows (2010) and co-edited the Sage Handbook of Human Geography (2014).

Recent research projects include collaborative studies on thoroughbred breeding industries and the political economy of geographical intelligence. Though currently in an administrative role, her academic legacy includes over three decades of groundbreaking scholarship. Affiliations include the National Councillor Association of American Geographers (AAG) and interdisciplinary programs like Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies.

Her publications consistently interrogate the spatial dimensions of power, offering critical perspectives on how global systems produce and reproduce inequality. Key themes include the paradoxes of development, the role of financial networks in state destabilization, and the gendered dimensions of globalization.