Suzanne M. Rivera

Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera serves as the 17th President of Macalester College and holds the academic position of Professor of Public Affairs. She is a nationally recognized academic leader and advocate for equitable access to higher education, frequently speaking and writing about the public purpose of colleges and universities, the importance of liberal arts for democracy, and contributions made by pluralistic academic institutions.

Her educational background includes:

• BA from Brown University
• MSW from the University of California–Berkeley
• PhD in public affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas

As a scholar of bioethics and public policy, Dr. Rivera's research focuses on the moral dimensions of science. Her work addresses topics at the intersection of ethics, policy, and social justice. She has co-edited the book Specimen Science (MIT Press, 2017) and authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and public scholarship pieces. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity, and the Cleveland Foundation.

Dr. Rivera serves on several important boards:

• American Association of Colleges & Universities
• Council of Independent Colleges
• Associated Colleges of the Midwest

She chairs the Presidents' Council of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and serves on the NCAA Presidents Advisory Committee. Her civic leadership includes serving as a trustee of the Science Museum of Minnesota and College Possible.

She is married to Dr. Michael Householder, an American literature scholar, and they have two adult children, Antonio (married to Eliza) and Elena.