Susan T. Gooden, a leader in public administration and social equity, was awarded the prestigious 2025 Dwight Waldo Award from the American Society for Public Administration, this month. The award, given for sustained and impactful scholarship, recognizes Gooden’s decades of work advancing equity in government.

She is the first Black recipient in the award’s 45-year history, joining previous honorees such as Nobel laureate Herbert Simon and former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker.

“When you consider that a Black woman from Martinsville, Virginia, received this award, the first Black person in its 45-year span, it is recognition of what historical change is all about,” said L. Douglas Wilder, a professor at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Gooden, a dean and professor at the school, has spent over 30 years in the field of public administration. She has authored six books and nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles. Her 2014 book, “Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government,” won the Herbert A. Simon Best Book Award.

Her recent works include “Teaching Social Equity in Public Administration” and “Racial Equity, COVID, and Public Policy.”

In addition, Gooden has secured more than $2.4 million in research funding, covering topics like racial disparities, welfare reform, and vaccine equity. She has also worked internationally, earning a Fulbright Specialist Award in 2014.

“As a proud alum of the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, where I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Waldo, this recognition holds special meaning for me,” Gooden said. “I am grateful to the many institutions that have shaped my career and to the colleagues and co-authors whose collaboration and support have been essential to my scholarship.”