Our panel of four distinguished leaders in the field of higher education will discuss current issues, trends and priorities in higher education, and their career paths to inspire and inform other women.

Laurie Austin has been Director of Admissions and Recruitment at Lehman College for over 15 years. Prior to coming to Lehman, Ms. Austin was Director of Recruitment at CUNY’s Office of Admission Services and  Director of Admissions at City College. She has held other senior positions at both private and public colleges. Ms. Austin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Manhattanville College, and a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has served on many committees for professional organizations, Lehman College, and CUNY. 

Dr. Susan R. Burns is the 6th president of the Univ. of Mount Saint Vincent. An extraordinarily effective and collaborative leader, Dr. Burns came to the University of Mount Saint Vincent from Clarke University in  Iowa, where she served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. Dr. Burns also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Morningside College. At Morningside, she taught psychology and statistics. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in experimental psychology from Emporia State University and her Ph.D. in social/personality psychology from Kansas State University.  

Dr. Susan Parish is the 13th president of Mercy University. President Parish previously served as Dean of the College of Health Professions and Sentara Professor of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to joining VCU, President Parish served as Dean of Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern. She was also the inaugural Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Disability Policy and directed the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University. She began her academic career as an assistant professor of social work at Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.  President Parish has been a prolific researcher primarily investigating the health and well-being of children and adults with disabilities and their caregiving families. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and her M.S.W. from Rutgers University and earned her Ph.D. in Public Health from the Univ. of Illinois at Chicago.  

Dr. Rene S. Parmar joined Lehman College in 2021 as the Dean of the School of Education after serving as Professor of Measurement and Evaluation and department chairperson at St. John’s University. She also held the position of Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Parmar began her career as a special education teacher. She has published and presented widely in the areas of educational assessment,  mathematics for students with learning disabilities, and educational leadership for inclusive environments. Dr. Parmar received her B.A. from the University of Jabalpur (India), M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University and Ph.D. from the University of North Texas.