Rate My Professor Susan Madsen

Susan R. Madsen served as the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University, aligning with the Business & Economics faculty. She earned an Ed.D. from the University of Minnesota in Work, Community, and Family Education with a specialization in human resource development, a master’s degree from Portland State University in exercise science/wellness and speech communication education, and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. Beginning her professional career as a middle school speech and debate teacher, she joined Utah Valley University for an 18-year tenure, progressing from associate professor of management to her endowed professorship. During this period, she received the Woodbury School of Business Scholar of the Year Award in 2006 and 2015, Utah Valley University’s Civic Engaged Scholar of the Year award, and the Outstanding Civic Engagement Award from Utah Campus Compact.

Recognized as one of the top global scholars and thought leaders on women and leadership, Dr. Madsen has authored or edited six books, including On Becoming a Woman Leader: Learning from the Experiences of University Presidents (2008), Women and Leadership in Higher Education (2014), Women as Global Leaders (2015), Women and Leadership around the World (2015), and The Handbook of Research on Gender and Leadership (2017). She has published hundreds of articles, chapters, and reports, and edited special journal issues on work-life integration and women’s leadership in higher education. Her research focuses on the lifetime development of prominent women leaders, based on interviews with university presidents, U.S. governors, and international leaders. As founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, she led research initiatives, policy briefs, and annual events to strengthen women’s leadership impact in Utah. Dr. Madsen founded the International Leadership Association’s Women and Leadership Affinity Group, chaired global conferences in 2013 and 2015 resulting in the Asilomar Declaration & Call to Action on Women and Leadership, and organized the 2014 colloquium “Advancing Theories of Women and Leadership.” A sought-after international speaker, she has presented at the United Nations NGO sessions, The New York Times, U.S. State Department, USAID, Argentina Parliament Palace, House of Commons in England, Lithuanian President’s Palace, and in over 20 countries including Argentina, South Africa, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates.