Susanna Duecker
Ph.D. in Management Science Program"I am passionate about empowering people to gain access to prosperity and education," says Susanna Duecker, who has been interested in this pursuit for as long as she can remember. Even as an architecture undergraduate at IIT, Duecker was drawn toward large-scale urban planning and socioeconomic issues.
"Environmental, economic, and social sustainability play an important role in architecture on the scale of one house or building, but probably even more so at the level of communities," she explains. "How can we create neighborhoods that are diverse and safe, and that provide fair access to education, amenities, and resources?"
The IIT Stuart School of Business Environmental Management and Sustainability Program seemed a natural fit for Duecker, who is working toward a doctorate in management science operations.
She is obtaining greater experience in economic development and helping to alleviate social and economic inequality through the Stuart SEED (Sustainable Entrepreneurial Economic Development) Project. SEED helps small towns across the United States retain their distinctive characteristics while increasing their economic attractiveness and vitality through entrepreneurial development, information technology, and sustainability.
"I am expanding my perspective and world view by looking at environmental and sustainability issues from different angles," says Duecker, of the academic path she has taken.
