Suzanne Lang has been appointed associate provost and associate vice president for academic human resources, with retirement at the end of a two-year term of service in this role. During the second year of her term, a national search will be initiated, with Dr. Lang serving until a new associate provost is seated.
"Over the past year as interim associate provost and associate vice president for academic human resources, Dr. Lang has demonstrated impressive acumen across all areas of her portfolio of responsibilities, leading a number of crucial policy changes and initiatives,” said MSU Provost Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. “Her commitment to advancing the integrity of academic human resources and Michigan State University has been evident with each action.”
Prior to serving as interim associate provost, Lang served as the associate dean for faculty and administrative affairs and the director of faculty development in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at MSU. In those roles, she oversaw the academic human resources portfolio of the college, which included support for new faculty orientation; faculty mentoring; the reappointment, promotion and tenure process for the college; grievances/administrative reviews; academic program reviews; faculty awards; and support for faculty across the spectrum of their careers, via professional development programing. She also served as the dean’s liaison to the College Advisory Council, provided AHR support to unit leaders, and oversaw the allocation of space for all units within the college, while also providing administrative oversight for ANR Technology Services.
Professor Lang’s academic home is in the Department of Horticulture, where she is a scholar of whole plant physiology who widened her focus to include teaching and learning within the classroom, faculty mentoring, and evaluation of excellence in teaching. She earned her B.S. in horticulture from MSU, her M.S. in horticulture from Clemson University, and her Ph.D. in horticulture at North Carolina State University. Before joining the faculty at MSU in 2000, she served on the faculty of Washington State University and Louisiana State University.