Susan Henking

Susan, a seasoned higher education professional with decades of academic and executive leadership experience, began her tenure at Wells in July 2022. She is a teacher–scholar in religious studies whose work has focused on cultural understandings of American religion as well as the theoretical and conceptual relation of religion to gender and sexuality. For over 25 years, she taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and was named professor emerita of religious studies in 2015. More recently, she served as president and CEO of Shimer College in Chicago, and as interim vice president of academic affairs and student affairs—and later president—at Salem Academy and College, one of the oldest women's colleges in the U.S. Susan earned a B.A. in religion and sociology from Duke University; she later earned her M.A. at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she also obtained her Ph.D. in religion and psychological studies.