Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D.is professor of public administration and policy at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University and fellow of the congressionally chartered National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). She is past-president of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). Her books include: Why Research Methods Matter(2018, Melvin and Leigh), Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government(2014, Routledge), and Cultural Competency for Public Administrators(2012, Routledge). Her research has been published in several journals including Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, American Review of Public Administration, Administrative Theory and Praxis, State and Local Government Review, Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Poverty, Review of Public Personnel Administration. Her research has been funded by several organizations including the Russell Sage Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, MDRC, and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Her previous academic appointments include the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech where she received early promotion and tenure, and she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is a faculty affiliate at Duke University’s Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality. She received a Fulbright Specialist Award to Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (2014).
Gooden has received several awards and honors including the VCU University Distinguished Faculty Service Award (2016); Best Academic Paper Award, Northeast Conference on Public Administration (2016); Jewel Prestage Pioneer Award, (2015); the Messick Scholar, University of Delaware (2015); Service Award, VCU College of Humanities and Sciences (2011-12); co-recipient, Best Article of the Year Award, Journal of Public Affairs Education(2007).
She was appointed to the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation, the accrediting arm of the Network of Associated Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). She has previously served as an elected member to the national policy council of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM). In 2016, she was appointed to the Virginia Community College System board by Governor Terence McAuliffe.
She formerly served as the Executive Director of the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University (2007-2015), and she was the founding director of the Race and Social Policy Research Center at Virginia Tech (2001-2004).
A native of the United States, she received an A.S. in Natural Science from Patrick Henry Community College, a B.A. in English from Virginia Tech, and an M.A. from Political Science from Virginia Tech. She received her Ph.D. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.