Staff

Dr. Susan Rankin is a Senior Research Associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education and Associate Professor of Education in the College Student Affairs Program at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Rankin earned her B.S. from Montclair State University in 1978, a M.S. in Exercise Physiology from The Pennsylvania State University (1981), and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration in 1994, also from Penn State. Before moving into her current position, Dr. Rankin served for 17 years as the Head Coach for Women’s Softball and Lecturer in Kinesiology at Penn State. She has presented and published widely on the impact of sexism, racism and heterosexism in the academy and in intercollegiate athletics. Dr. Rankin’s current research focuses on the assessment of institutional climate and providing program planners and policy makers with recommended strategies to improve the campus climate for under-served communities.

Dr. Rankin has collaborated with over 70 institutions/organizations in implementing assessments and developing strategic plans regarding social justice issues. In her advocacy work, Dr. Rankin is a founding member of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, a network of professionals doing advocacy work for LGBT people on college campuses and the Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition, a network of individuals and organizations across the Commonwealth committed to securing and defending full civil rights for LGBT individuals.

Dr. Rankin is the recipient of the ACPA 2008 Voice of Inclusion Medallion. The award recognizes individuals who embody the student affairs values of social justice.

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Selected Publications

• Rankin, S., Blumenfeld, W. J., Weber, G. N., & Frazer S. J. (2010). State of Higher Education for LGBT People: Campus Pride 2010 National College Climate Survey. Charlotte: Campus Pride. download executive summary
• Rankin, S., & Reason, R. (2009). Campus climate assessment and planning. Washington, D.C.: ACPA Books and Media.
• Rankin, S., & Beemyn, B. (2008). The lives of transgender people. New York, N.Y.: Columbia Press.
• Rankin, S. (2007). Experiences of gay men in fraternities: From 1960 to 2007. Charlotte: NC: Lambda 10 Project.
• Rankin, S. (2003). Campus climate for sexual minorities: A national perspective. New York: N.Y.: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.
• Sanlo, R., Rankin, S., & Shoenberg, R. (2002). Our place on campus: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender services and programs in higher education. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Company.