Presenter Bio - Susan Parker

Susan Parker is Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.  She is also responsible for the strategic leadership and administrative oversight for the Office of International Education.

Parker has also served on R-MC’s Emergency Response Team and Behavioral Assessment/Intervention Team.

As a faculty member, Parker led an undergraduate study travel course to Romania and multiple student research trips to Japan.  Additionally, as Director of Summer Session, she established a summer study abroad program.  These experiences, as well as her work in student support and crisis management, have informed her approach to international education, specifically the importance of policies and training.

Her scholarly work includes articles and presentations on the impact of early deprivation on brain and behavioral development, the evaluation of mental health resources in Japan following the Great East earthquake and tsunami of 2011, and the development and assessment of STEM curricula for elementary school-aged children.

Parker is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Richmond, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.  She attended the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, earning a PhD in Child Psychology with supporting program in Affective Neuroscience.  She joined the faculty of Randolph-Macon College in 2004 and served as the Director of Summer Session from 2011 to 2016 and as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 2016 to 2022, before being appointed as Associate Provost in February 2022.