Suzanne C. Kennedy

Associate Provost for Special Projects & Emerging Priorities

Suzanne (Sue) Kennedy was appointed Associate Provost for Special Projects & Emerging Priorities in September 2021.  In this role, Sue works directly with the University Provost and other members of the academic leadership on a wide range of efforts, helping both to implement initiatives of strategic importance to the BU community and to identify and champion new opportunities – within and beyond BU’s Strategic Plan – to further strengthen the University’s reach, impact, and effectiveness as an academic enterprise.

Sue has been a member of academic leadership at BU since 1992, first serving as Director of Graduate Programs and then Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, before becoming Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs in 2000. As Assistant Provost – and later Senior Assistant Provost – Sue worked closely with the Associate Provosts for Undergraduate and Graduate Affairs on issues including the formulation and review of academic policies, review of curricula, and development of University-wide practices and procedures. This included the creation of BU’s eCAP and eDAAP processes for approving new academic programs and administrative policies and the successful completion of BU’s accreditation process in 2019 by the New England Commission of Higher Education. She has also overseen BU’s Fellowships & Scholarships program and remains an active member on a host of University-wide committees focused on education, advising, athletics, security, and religious life.

From December 2019 to August 2021, Sue served as Associate Provost ad interim for Undergraduate Affairs, providing leadership on a host of core academic efforts – from innovative curriculum development to creative uses of educational technology and honors programming – working closely with Boston University’s 17 schools and colleges to promote collaboration and strengthen the undergraduate experience. During this  period, as BU and other institutions navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on their ability to deliver education, Sue led a host of major University-wide responses, chairing the Undergraduate Programs Working Group and overseeing the rapid shift from in-person to remote learning through the development of the Learn from Anywhere model.

Sue earned her AB in Government from Smith College and her MA in History from Boston University.