Susan Lynn Carlson was born in 1952 in Des Moines, Iowa. Carlson received her B.A. (1975) in English from the University of Iowa and her M.A. (1976) and Ph.D. (1980) both in English from the University of Oregon. Her primary academic interests were comedy, women in drama, contemporary British theatre, women playwrights, and Shakespeare. She authored two books on comedy in the British theatre.

Carlson was appointed Assistant Professor (1980-1985) of English at Iowa State University where she taught courses in drama, literature, and women’s studies. She was promoted to Associate Professor (1985-1990) and Professor (1990-2010). Carlson was appointed to Associate Provost (2001-2010) and served one year as Interim Provost (2006). She left Iowa State to serve as Vice Provost of Academic Personnel in the University of California System.

At Iowa State, Carlson served as Assistant Chair for faculty development in the Department of English and was Chair of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences promotion and tenure committee. As Associate Provost, Carlson directed promotion and tenure policy, faculty recruitment and retention incentives, faculty career planning, and data collection. Working with the Faculty Senate, Carlson also developed policies for part-time appointments, non-tenure eligible faculty, and faculty advancement.

Carlson was a champion of women and minority faculty on campus. She played an active role in ISU ADVANCE, a program designed to promote full participation of women and minority faculty in the University. She served as a member of the steering committee, the council, and the Internal Advisory Board of ISU ADVANCE. Carlson also served on advisory boards for ADVANCE programs at North Dakota State University and the University of New Hampshire. Carlson was an active supporter of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs on campus.

This collection (1980-2010) contains biographical information, administrative files, correspondence, speeches, and reports primarily from Carlson's tenure as Associate Provost. These files document Carlson's role in the development of family leave policy, her participation in the Women's Leadership Consortium, her support of the Iowa State University ADVANCE program and its efforts to promote the advancement of women in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

This collection is organized alphabetically.