Episode 73: Suzanne Rivera on a President's Role in Student Success
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How does an unconventional path to the presidency offer new perspectives? How can colleges and universities equip students to lead lives of meaning and purpose? How can leaders balance tradition and innovation to create living learning communities? How can students own their experiences and belong? We dive into these questions with Suzanne Rivera, President of Macalester College
In the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, the definition of "student success" is undergoing a profound transformation. It is no longer enough to simply track graduation rates or post-college employment statistics. Today’s leaders are being called to create environments where students don’t just survive the curriculum but flourish as whole human beings.
In a recent episode of the Connected College Podcast, host Elliot Felix sat down with Dr. Suzanne Rivera, the President of Macalester College. Dr. Rivera shared her unconventional path to the presidency and offered a masterclass on how empathy, presence, and a "student-first" resource strategy can dismantle the silos that often hinder the academic experience.
Redefining Student Success: From Flourishing to Purpose
For many institutions, success is a metric. For Dr. Rivera, it’s a mission. She defines student success as fostering the ability of every student to maximize their potential so they can pursue a life of meaning and purpose. This definition acknowledges that the "finish line" looks different for everyone based on their unique talents, obstacles, and goals.
Achieving this requires more than just academic support; it requires a shift in how we view inclusion. Dr. Rivera moves past the "old-fashioned" idea of inclusion—simply inviting marginalized groups to an existing table—and instead advocates for a deep sense of belonging. In her view, the institution should belong to the students. When students feel a sense of ownership, they transform the college by their very presence.
The Power of Presence: Leading with Love and Empathy
One of the most striking aspects of Dr. Rivera’s leadership philosophy is her commitment to "leading with love." While the term might seem "corny" in a corporate or traditional academic setting, she argues it is the most effective way to build a connected community.
For a college president, this love is expressed through presence. Whether it’s attending a basketball game, showing up at a poetry slam, or handing out donuts in the library during finals week, these actions signal to students that they are seen and valued. Dr. Rivera notes that while leading with kindness can sometimes be misinterpreted as a lack of authority—especially for women in leadership—it is actually a sign of strength and capability.
Questioning Tradition to Prioritize the Student Experience
Higher education is an industry built on centuries of tradition, but Dr. Rivera isn't afraid to ask: "Does this still serve our students?" She describes academic departments as "vestigial medieval guilds" that often prioritize faculty convenience or historical habits over the modern student experience.
To truly drive student success, leaders must look at their resource deployment. Where the budget goes tells the real story of an institution's values. By refocusing financial and administrative attention on the living-learning environment rather than just maintaining status quo operations, colleges can better prepare themselves to be "student-ready" rather than demanding students be "college-ready."
Navigating the Polarized Landscape of Modern Presidency
The role of the college president has changed significantly since 2020. Dr. Rivera, who took office in the midst of a global pandemic and a national civil rights crisis, highlights how social media and political polarization have made the job more dangerous and complex.
Today's presidents are expected to be diplomats, navigating a world where a single statement can trigger threats of violence or national scrutiny. Despite this, she rejects the idea that free expression and inclusive environments are at odds. Instead, she believes leaders must model "courageous civility"—the ability to disagree with love and respect—to equip students with the tools they need to navigate a divided world.
A Ladder of Opportunity for the Future
Despite the challenges, Dr. Rivera remains inspired by the "ladder of opportunity" that higher education provides, particularly for first-generation and low-income students. With only about 37% of Americans holding a four-year degree, she views the college years as a rare and sacred privilege.
Her advice to fellow leaders is simple yet profound: meet students where they are. By creating conditions that allow for every kind of expression—from activism to athletics—colleges can ensure that every student leaves with the tools to make the world a better place.
Episode 73 Transcript
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Elliot Felix: Welcome to the Connected College Podcast. I’m your host, Elliot Felix. I’ve helped more than a hundred colleges and universities change what they offer, how they operate, and how they’re organized to enable student success. We’re here to learn and work together to bust silos, question tradition, and forge partnerships so that students feel connected to their college, their community, their coursework, and their careers. I am delighted to have Dr. Suzanne Rivera here, who’s the president of Macalester College.
Suzanne Rivera: Student success has to do with fostering the ability of every student to flourish and to maximize their potential so that they can leave the institution to pursue a life of meaning and purpose.
Elliot Felix: Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in higher ed?
Suzanne Rivera: I took a crooked path to get here. I grew up in an immigrant family and immigrant community in New York City. My family had very little means and there was a lot of chaos when I was growing up. Even the idea of going to college was not a given. I ended up being able to go on scholarship to a preparatory private high school and then onto an elite college with a Pell grant. I thought I wanted to go into social work, got a master's, and worked in the Head Start program. It was quite by accident that after I married, my spouse decided to go back for his PhD and I just needed a job to support the family. I got a job at the university and discovered I loved it. I loved being part of a community of learners and thinkers.
Suzanne Rivera: My boss, a Nobel laureate, told me I couldn't go any farther unless I got a PhD. I took that as a challenge. I enrolled in a night program at 35 while working full-time with two kids. I didn't become an assistant professor until age 40, and I was a college president by age 50. Because of this path, I’ve been a member of every constituency: student, alum, staff, faculty, administration, and parent. It gives me a perspective to put myself in the shoes of everyone when making decisions.
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Elliot Felix: How do you define student success?
Suzanne Rivera: The short answer is fostering the ability of every student to flourish and maximize their potential. Every student’s idea of a meaningful life varies. To be a place where everyone can flourish, a university needs to create an environment that is not just inclusive in the old-fashioned sense.
Suzanne Rivera: I’ve been thinking about the word belonging. We often say "you belong to Macalester," but I prefer "Macalester belongs to you." You have an ownership stake. You transform it by your presence. Instead of asking if students are ready for college, we need to ask: are we ready for students? Are we ready to support each student in their own journey?
Elliot Felix: I love the idea of flipping belonging and emphasizing ownership. It’s constantly shaped and reshaped by who is there and what they are striving for.
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Elliot Felix: What do you see your role as a president in terms of making that flourishing happen?
Suzanne Rivera: This is going to sound corny, but I talk a lot about love. I deeply love our students. I think first we have to love the students. I try to show up for them. If I’m not on the road raising money, I am here showing that love by being present.
Suzanne Rivera: Leaders show their love by being there—going to the basketball game, the poetry slam, the worship service, or walking through the library giving out donuts. My presence demonstrates that we genuinely care.
Suzanne Rivera: It’s a little fraught because I’m the first woman president here. I’ve noticed that if you lead with love, people sometimes don’t take you as seriously. They question your authority. But I push back on that. It is possible to be really capable and kind at the same time.
Elliot Felix: There’s a great quote: "You have to love your students more than you love your traditions."
Suzanne Rivera: Yes, exactly.
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Suzanne Rivera: Another role I play is deciding where to put resources. Your budget and the choices you make about what to invest in say a lot about whether you put student success at the center. If decisions are mostly for the convenience of faculty and staff, we aren’t centering the student experience.
Suzanne Rivera: So much of the academy is bound up in habits and traditions. We think of ourselves as centers of innovation, yet we are very tradition-bound. Academic departments are often just medieval guilds that have maintained identities over time. There isn't really a reason we have to be organized this way other than habit.
Suzanne Rivera: My job is to gently and with respect question our habits and traditions. Should we still be doing this? What else should we be doing? We also have to create conditions for every kind of expression. At Macalester, we have students from over a hundred countries. If you create a diverse community, you won't always agree. You have to create conditions where people can coexist with unity and shared purpose. I have to model that by disagreeing courteously.
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Elliot Felix: What do you see as the big changes facing college presidents in the future?
Suzanne Rivera: I started June 1st, 2020. It was the most challenging condition imaginable—high Covid, no vaccine, and the Twin Cities were the center of a civil rights crisis. Since then, it’s gotten more challenging. Social media is used to express displeasure in ways that inhibit free speech because leaders feel vulnerable to threats of violence. In the past, there was a veneer of respect; now, you have trolls from all over the country sending death threats.
Suzanne Rivera: The milieu has gotten really fraught. I reject the idea that free expression is incompatible with making people feel included. We are capable of both. But it requires more diplomacy than it used to. You can't just stay in an ivory tower.
Suzanne Rivera: Our country is also getting more polarized. People feel most comfortable in echo chambers. Because expectations of colleges have changed—people now expect mental health support, identity affirmation, and help making friends—the role of the president must change too. We are being asked to comment on everything happening in the world.
Elliot Felix: What is your final advice for your peers?
Suzanne Rivera: Lead with love. Meet students where they are. There has to be room for students to bring their full selves and be loved for who they are. Higher education is a life-changing ladder of opportunity. We need to help students make the most of it so they can contribute to making the world better.
Elliot Felix: Thank you, Suzanne, for a great conversation. Let’s create connected colleges where students will succeed.