Suzanne Rivera
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Suzanne M. Rivera (born 1969) is an American bioethicist who is the president of
Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...
. She is the first female and first Latina president in the college's history. Rivera's presidential Inauguration ceremony was held at Macalester on October 9, 2021. Minnesota Gov.
Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...
proclaimed it as "Suzanne M. Rivera Day" in the state. Previously, she was the Vice President for Research and Technology Management at
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
, the Vice President for Research Administration at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...
, and the Director of Research Protections in the Office of Research Administration at
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...
.


Early life and education

Rivera was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, in 1969. She moved to Massachusetts in 1980, and attended high school at
The Cambridge School of Weston ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
, and was the commencement orator for the class of 1991. Immediately following her undergraduate studies, Rivera earned a Master of Social Welfare degree at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
, in 1993.


Career

Rivera competed for and was awarded a Presidential Management Internship in 1993 and used it to rotate through the Region IX offices of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...
. She then took a job in the Head Start Branch of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families in San Francisco, California. She moved to Irvine, California, in 1996, where she began her career in research administration and research ethics, first as a review officer in
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...
's Office of Research Administration and eventually became director of that office. In 2003, Rivera moved to Dallas, Texas. While working at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...
for Provost
Alfred G. Gilman Alfred Goodman Gilman (July 1, 1941 – December 23, 2015) was an American pharmacology, pharmacologist and biochemist. He and Martin Rodbell shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of G protein, G-proteins an ...
, she pursued a doctorate at the
University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost institution of the University of Texas System. It was initially founded in 1961 as a private res ...
, earning her Ph.D. in Public Affairs (health policy) in 2008. From 2011–2020, Rivera worked at
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
(CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio. While serving as Vice President for Research and Technology Management, she also served on the CWRU faculty in the Departments of
Bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...
and
Pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...
. She is the Chair of the Board of Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research ( PRIM&R), and is an elected member-at-large of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
's (AAAS) Social, Economic, and Political Sciences section. Previously, she was a board member for the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) and served as an appointed member of the EPA's Human Studies Review Board and the DHHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections. She has done field research in Costa Rica, and has been an invited lecturer on bioethics for the Ministry of Higher Education in Havana, Cuba, and at
Mbarara University Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST), commonly known as Mbarara University, is a public university in Uganda. Mbarara University commenced student intake and instruction in 1989. It is one of the ten public universities and degre ...
of Science and Technology in Mbarara, Uganda.


Civic activities

Rivera was a member of the
American Association of Universities American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...
' (AAU) Task Force on Strategies for Reducing Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination. She served as First Vice President on the Board of Esperanza, Inc., a non-governmental organization devoted to improving educational outcomes for Cleveland's Hispanic students, and on the governance committees for Cleveland's Fund for Our Economic Future (FFEF) and the Cleveland Water Alliance. She currently serves on the board of the
Science Museum of Minnesota The Science Museum of Minnesota is a museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science, and mathematics education. Founded in 1907, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution has 38 ...
; the national board of directors of College Possible, a national college access and success nonprofit; and the National Advisory Board of TeenSharp, an organization that prepares students from historically excluded groups for success at selective colleges and universities. She is a co-founder and member of the executive council of the Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Appliance (LACRELA). Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan named Rivera to the Executive Council for the Young Women's Initiative of Minnesota (YWI) in January 2021. In November 2020, Rivera offered to help cover the costs of bail if any Macalester College student was arrested during protests related to the 2020 presidential general election. In January 2021, Rivera announced a partnership between Macalester College and the
Posse Foundation The Posse Foundation is a nonprofit organization that partners with colleges and universities in the United States to provide student scholarships and leadership training. Posse has partnered with 64 U.S. colleges and universities. The organizat ...
to increase the numbers of Black, Indigenous and other students of color at the college.


Personal life

Rivera's husband, Michael Householder, is a scholar of Early American Literature and author of the book Inventing Americans in the Age of Discovery: Narratives of Encounter (Ashgate, 2011). They met at Brown University and have two children together.


Awards and honors

* Distinguished Educator,
National Council of University Research Administrators NCURA, founded in 1959, is an organization of individuals with professional interests in the administration of sponsored programs (research, education and training), primarily at colleges and universities. The formation of NCURA (1958–1960) The ...
(NCURA), 2020 *
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined in U.S. federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE ...
' (HACU) Academia de Liderazgo, 2019 * Julia Jacobsen Distinguished Service Award,
National Council of University Research Administrators NCURA, founded in 1959, is an organization of individuals with professional interests in the administration of sponsored programs (research, education and training), primarily at colleges and universities. The formation of NCURA (1958–1960) The ...
(NCURA), 2018 * Diversity Leadership Award,
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
, 2012 * Pi Alpha Alpha (public affairs honor society), 2007 * Alumni Distinguished Service Award,
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
, 2001


Selected publications

* * * * * * * * *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Suzanne 1960 births Living people American people of Cuban descent Brown University people American academic administrators Women heads of universities and colleges UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare alumni Presidents of Macalester College