Elevating Graduate Student Success: Summiting Peaks of Excellence

Suzanne Ortega became the sixth President of the Council of Graduate Schools on July 1, 2014. Prior to assuming her current position, she served as the University of North Carolina (UNC) Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (2011–14). Previous appointments include the Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of New Mexico (UNM),Vice Provost and Graduate Dean at the University of Washington (UW), and the University of Missouri (MU). Dr. Ortega's masters and doctoral degrees in sociology were completed at Vanderbilt University.

With primary research interests in mental health epidemiology, health services, race and ethnic relations, and graduate education, Dr. Ortega is the author or co-author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and an introductory sociology text, now in its 9th edition. An award-winning teacher, Dr.Ortega has also served on review panels for National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health and has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on grants totaling more than $11 million in private foundation and federal funds. Dr. Ortega serves, or has served, on a number of professional association boards and committees,including the boards of the Councilof Graduate Schools, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), the National Academies Committees on the Assessment of the Research Doctorate and Revitalizing Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century, the NSF Human Resources Expert Panel and Education and Human Resources Advisory Committee, the North Carolina E-learning Commission, and the UNC, UNM, and UW Presses. She currently is a member of the Board of Trustees of American University in the Emirates