Rosser appointed provost
April 13, 2009 -- Sue V. Rosser, a scholar who has focused on attracting and retaining women in science, has been appointed provost of SF State. Currently dean of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Rosser will begin her new responsibilities Aug. 15.
Sue V. Rosser, dean of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, has been appointed Provost, effective Aug. 15.
"Dr. Rosser was the top choice of every group with whom she met formally during her campus visit, a judgment I heartily share," President Robert A. Corrigan said. "Above all, she offers the personal qualities that make her the right choice for us. Pragmatic yet visionary, seasoned yet open to new ideas, she will provide strong, harmonious leadership at a time of exceptional challenge."
As provost, Rosser will assume the second ranking leadership position at SF State, responsible for all aspects of the curriculum and academic programs. Her portfolio will include the eight academic colleges, which offer 115 bachelor's degrees, 95 master's degrees, a doctoral program in education and joint doctorates with the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Francisco. Rosser will replace John Gemello, who will retire at the end of the 2009 academic year.
"I am deeply honored to be asked to join the SF State community, which is uniquely positioned to forward the state and local research agenda and teach the leaders of the next generation of Californians," Rosser said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues to take full advantage of SF State's remarkable strengths."
At Georgia Tech, where she became the institution's first female academic dean, Rosser holds the additional titles of professor of history, technology and society; professor of public policy; and adjunct professor of biology, reflecting a broad range of academic interests and achievements. She holds an endowed chair, the Ivan Allen Dean's Chair of Liberal Arts and Technology. Prior to Georgia Tech, she led women's studies programs at the University of Florida, the nine-campus University of South Carolina system and Mary Baldwin College. Rosser received her doctorate in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973.
Rosser was attracted to SF State because of the University's strong focus on values, particularly the emphasis on equity and social justice. "I was also very impressed with the quality of the faculty, the strong sense of shared governance and the leadership of the colleges and President's cabinet," she said, "notably the wise choices and wise hires of Provost Gemello."
A prolific writer and editor, Rosser serves on the editorial boards of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) Journal; Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering; and the journal Transformations. She has edited collections and written approximately 120 journal articles on the theoretical and applied problems of science and technology, as well as women's health, and is the author of 11 books. She has held been awarded a number of National Science Foundation grants, including the current $900,000 INTEL: Interactive Toolkit for Engineering Learning grant, for which she serves as principal investigator.
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