Susan Hunter began her career at the University of Maine in 1991 and is currently the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, a position she has held since May 2008.

She has also served as Associate Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education, Assistant Director in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture and as a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.

Over the years, Provost Hunter taught basic biology, cell biology and anatomy and physiology and had grant support from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.  She is the principal investigator on a five-year $3.3 million NSF ADVANCE grant helping to fund UMaine’s Rising Tide Center, an initiative that aims to transform the university through enhanced opportunities for women faculty members in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and social-behavioral sciences.

Provost Hunter is a cell biologist whose research focused on structural and functional aspects of bone cell biology. She received a B.S. degree in biology from James Madison University and fulfilled the practicum requirements in medical technology at Duke University Medical Center. She earned a Ph.D. in physiology from  Pennsylvania State University and did post-doctoral work at Case Western Reserve University and Pennsylvania State University.