Dr. Susan (Sue) Rankin (she, her) retired from the Pennsylvania State University in 2013 where she most recently served as an Associate Professor of Education and Associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education.

Dr. Rankin has presented and published widely on the intersections of identities and the impact of sexism, genderism, racism, and heterosexism in the academy and in intercollegiate athletics. Dr. Rankin has collaborated with over 200 higher education institutions in implementing campus climate 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. Dr. Rankin was also awarded the 2018 James R. Douglass and Gerald B. Roemer from the U.S. Department of Justice for her work in the United States Transgender Project. 

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. Dr. Rankin also served for 17 years as the Head Coach for Women’s Softball and Lecturer in Kinesiology at Penn State. 

Rankin Selected Articles 

Beemyn, G. and S. Rankin (2011). Lives of Transgender People. New York, Columbia University Press. 

Beemyn, G., & Rankin, S. R. (2016). Creating a gender-inclusive campus. Trans studies: The challenge to hetero/homo normativities, 21-32. 

Blumenfeld, W. J., Weber, G. N., & Rankin, S. (2016). In Our Own Voice: Campus Climate as a Mediating Factor in the Persistence of LGBT People in Higher Education. Queering Classrooms: Personal Narratives and Educational Practices to Support LGBTQ Youth in Schools, 1-20. 

Brown, K. R., Peña, E. V., & Rankin, S. R. (2015). Academic success and unfriendly turf: The campus climate for students with autism spectrum disorder. In meeting of the Association of the Study of Higher Education, Denver, CO. 

Coulter, R. W., & Rankin, S. R. (2017). College Sexual Assault and Campus Climate for Sexual-and Gender-Minority Undergraduate Students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 0886260517696870.

Fernandez, F., D. Merson, D., Ro, H.K., Rankin, S. (2017). “Do Classroom Interactions Relate to Considerations of Institutional Departure Among Student Veterans and Service Members?” Innovative Higher Education. 

Garvey, J. C., Squire, D. D., Stachler, B., & Rankin, S. R. (2018). The impact of campus climate on queer-spectrum student academic success. Journal of LGBT Youth, 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/19361653.2018.1429978. 

Garvey, J. C., & Rankin, S. R. (2018). The influence of campus climate and urbanization on queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum faculty intent to leave. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 11(1), 67-81. 

Garvey, J. C., Taylor, J. L., & Rankin, S. (2015). An examination of campus climate for LGBTQ community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(6), 527-541. 

Garvey, J. C., & Rankin, S. R. (2015). The influence of campus experiences on the level of outness among trans-spectrum and queer-spectrum students. Journal of homosexuality, 62(3), 374-393. 

Hoffman, J. L., Rankin, S. R., & Loya, K. I. (2016). Climate as a mediating influence on the perceived academic success of women student-athletes. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 10(3), 164-184. 

James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality. 

Oseguera, L., Merson, D., Harrison, C. K., & Rankin, S. (2017). Beyond the Black/White Binary: A Multi-institutional Study of Campus Climate and the Academic Success of College Athletes of Different Racial Backgrounds. Sociology of Sport Journal, 1-43. 

Patridge, E. V., Barthelemy, R. S., & Rankin, S. R. (2014). Factors impacting the academic climate for LGBQ STEM faculty. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 20(1). 

Rankin, S. (2003). Campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender people: A legal perspective. Focus on Law Studies, XIX(1). 

Rankin, S. (2003). Campus Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered People: A National Perspective. New York, NY, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. 

Rankin, S. R. (2005). Campus climates for sexual minorities. New Directions for Student Services,111, 17-23.

 Rankin, S. (2006). LGBTQA students on campus: Is higher education making the grade? Journal of Gay and Lesbian Issues in Education, 3(2/3): 111-117. 

Rankin, S. (2007). Campus climate for sexual minority students: Challenges and best practices. In J. Jackson & M. Terrell (Eds.), Toward administrative reawakening: 

Rankin, S., et al. (2013). Experiences and Perceptions of Gay and Bisexual Fraternity Members from 1960 to 2007: A Cohort Analysis. Journal of College Student Development 14(5): 12-27. 

Rankin, S., et al. (2014). From Invisibility to Visibility: Queer Spectrum and TransSpectrum College Students. Today’s College Student: A Reader. P. Sasso and D. Joseph (eds.). New York, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. 

Rankin, S. & Beemyn, G. (2012). Beyond a Binary: The lives of gender-nonconforming youth. About Campus, 17: 2-10. 

Rankin, S., & Garvey, J. C. (2015). Identifying, quantifying, and operationalizing queer‐ spectrum and trans‐spectrum students: Assessment and research in student affairs. New directions for student services, 2015(152), 73-84. 

Rankin, S. R., Hesp, G. A., & Weber, G. N. (2013). Experiences and perceptions of gay and bisexual fraternity members from 1960 to 2007: A cohort analysis. Journal of College Student Development, 54(6), 570-590. 

Rankin, S., Merson, D., Garvey, J. C., Sorgen, C. H., Menon, I., Loya, K., & Oseguera, L. (2016). The influence of climate on the academic and athletic success of studentathletes: Results from a multi-institutional national study. The Journal of Higher Education, 87(5), 701-730

Rankin, S. R., Millar, E. A., & Matheis, C. (2007). Safe campuses for students: Systemic transformation through re (a) wakend senior leaders. In J. F. Jackson & M.C. Terrell (Eds). Creating and maintaining safe college campuses: A sourcebook for evaluating and enhancing safety programs, 75-98. Herndon, VA: Stylus Publications 

Rankin, S. & Reason, R. (2005). Differing perceptions: How students of color and White students perceive campus climate for underrepresented groups. Journal of College Student Development, 46(1), 43-61

Rankin, S. & Reason, R. (2008). Transformational Tapestry Model: A Comprehensive Approach to Transforming Campus Climate. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 1(4), 262–274. Rankin, S., & Russell, S. (2005). Secondary school climate for sexual minority students. In J. Sears (Ed.), Encyclopedia of sexualities, youth and education. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Company. 

Rankin, S., G. Weber (2013). Experiences and Perceptions of Gay and Bisexual Fraternity Members from 1960 to 2007: A Cohort Analysis. Journal of College Student Development 14(5): 12-27. 

Rankin, S., Weber, G., Blumenfeld, W., and Frazer, M.S. (2010). 2010 state of higher education for LGBT People. Charlotte, NC: Campus Pride. 

Rankin, S., G. Weber (2010). 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People. Charlotte, NC, Campus Pride. Rankin Creating and maintaining safe college campuses. Herndon, VA: Stylus Publications. 

Reason, R., & Rankin, S. (2006). College student’s experiences and perceptions of harassment on campus: An exploration of gender differences. College Student Affairs Journal, 26(1): 7-29.

Sánchez, N. F., Rankin, S., Callahan, E., Ng, H., Holaday, L., McIntosh, K., & Sánchez, J. P. (2015). LGBT trainee and health professional perspectives on academic careers— Facilitators and challenges. LGBT health, 2(4), 346-356. 

Testa, R. J., Jimenez, C. L., & Rankin, S. (2014). Risk and resilience during transgender identity development: The effects of awareness and engagement with other transgender people on affect. Journal of gay & lesbian mental health, 18(1), 31-46. 

York, T. T., Gibson, C., & Rankin, S. (2015). Defining and measuring academic success. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 20(1), 5. 

Rankin Books 

Beemyn, B. & Rankin, S. (2011). The lives of transgender people. New York, N.Y.: Columbia Press. 

Rankin, S. R., & Sanlo, R. L. (2005). New Directions for Student Services: No. 111. Gender identity and sexual orientation: Research, policy, and personal. 

Rankin, S., & Beemyn, B. (Eds) (2010). Journal of Homosexuality Special Issue: Campus Update on LGBTQQ Issues. 

Rankin, S., et al. (2011). Student-Athlete Climate Study (SACS) Final Report. University Park, PA, The Pennsylvania State University. 

Sanlo, R. L., Rankin, S., & Schoenberg, R. (Eds.). (2002). Our place on campus: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender services and programs in higher education. Greenwood Publishing Group