Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D.

Wilder School Dean and Professor
Public Administration, Public Policy and Administration

EXPERTISE

• Social equity
• Program evaluation
• Research methods

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University

M.A., Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University

M.A., Political Science, Virginia Tech

B.A., English, Virginia Tech

A.A.S., Natural Science, Patrick Henry Community College

TEACHING

Public policy and administration, social equity and public policy analysis, research methods, social welfare policy

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Gooden has conducted several research studies for MDRC, as well as for other national research organizations

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D., is dean and professor of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an internationally recognized expert on social equity. Gooden is an elected fellow of the congressionally chartered National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and is past president of both the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).

Her books include “Teaching Social Equity in Public Administration” (2024); “Racial Equity, COVID-19, and Public Policy: The Triple Pandemic” (2023); “Global Equity in Administration” (2020); “Why Research Methods Matter” (2018); “Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government” (2014); and “Cultural Competency for Public Administrators” (2012). She has authored or co-authored more than 100 academic journal articles and professional reports published in leading public administration journals. 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. She is also a founder of the “Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration,” the field’s first journal dedicated to social equity research.

Gooden has received numerous awards and honors, including the Dwight Waldo Award from ASPA, which recognizes more than 25 years of preeminent contributions to public administration research; the Charles Levine Memorial Award for Excellence in Public Administration; the Herbert Simon Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association; the Philip J. Rutledge Award from the Standing Panel of Social Equity in Governance of NAPA; the VCU University Distinguished Faculty Service Award; the Best Academic Paper Award from the Northeast Conference on Public Administration; the Jewel Prestage Pioneer Award from the Conference of Minority Public Administrators; and the Joan Fiss Bishop Leadership Award from the Section of Women in Public Administration. She also received a Fulbright Specialist Award to Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Gooden was appointed to the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation, the accrediting arm of NASPAA. She has previously served as an elected member of the national policy council of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. She was appointed to the Virginia Community College System Board and served as board chair. She currently serves on the boards of the Virginia Retirement System, MDRC, the Virginia Home, and MDC.

A native of Martinsville and Henry County, Virginia, Gooden earned an A.S. in natural science from Patrick Henry Community College, a B.A. in English and an M.A. in political science from Virginia Tech, and earned a doctorate from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.