Breaking Barriers: Susan Gooden Becomes the Inaugural Black Recipient of the Prestigious Waldo Award from the American Society for Public Administration

Susan Gooden, esteemed dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been honored with the 2025 Dwight Waldo Award by the American Society for Public Administration. This prestigious accolade acknowledges exceptional contributions to public administration scholarship. Notably, Dr. Gooden is the inaugural Black recipient in the award’s 45-year legacy. Her impactful research spans welfare reform, healthcare disparities, vaccine access, and census involvement, culminating in nearly 100 scholarly articles and six significant publications, including the award-winning *Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government* (Routledge, 2014).