About Dr. Sue Mattison:

Dr. Sue Mattison is serving as Interim Director of Wellness & Nutrition and Senior Research Fellow at the Harkin Institute. Working with colleagues at the Harkin Institute, the Iowa Environmental Council, Drake University, and other organizations, this collaborative work is focused on examining the impact of environmental exposures on Iowa’s high cancer rate, as well as proposing practical policy solutions.

Dr. Mattison earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in cardiac rehabilitation/exercise science from the University of Northern Iowa, and her PhD in Epidemiology from The University of Iowa. Her scholarship focuses on the epidemiology of cancer, having produced an extensive record of peer-reviewed research articles examining cancer outcomes, treatment, survival, risk factors, molecular markers, and economic aspects. Her research is cited as seminal in understanding racial disparities in cancer, and in 2000, her work was featured in the New York Times.

In June 2026, Dr. Mattison completed ten years of service as Provost at Drake University and was honored to step down with the title of Provost Emerita. In that role, she reported directly to the University President, and provided leadership for Drake’s seven academic colleges and schools and two libraries, as well as leading the offices of Equity and Inclusion, Institutional Research and Assessment, Online and Continuing Education, Grants and Compliance, the Registrar’s Office, Academic Quality, and Student Success.

As the first in her family to attend college, Dr. Mattison recognizes the truly transformative impact of higher education – not only on students, but also for their families and communities. As a faculty member, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in epidemiology, statistics, and human diseases, and has received multiple awards for her scholarship, teaching, and service. In the fall of 2020, while serving as provost, she wasn’t about to let a world-wide pandemic pass by without making educational use of it and taught a first-year seminar at Drake on pandemics. She continues to provide guest lectures in classes at Drake.

Dr. Mattison volunteers for local, state-side, and international organizations advocating for water quality and environmental issues, supporting women released from prison, assisting immigrants and refugees, and building homes. With her husband, Todd, their daughters and loved ones, she enjoys travel and outdoor activities, as well as reading fiction, attending visual and performing arts, and creating several forms of needle arts with special interest towards learning their historic and current use in resistance movements.