Daily News

Posted on Nov. 4: Susan Elliott plays a new tune

When Susan Elliott turned 40, she wanted to try something new. Then, a year later, sitting on a piano bench and looking at her hands on the keys in front of her, she thought, "to make your left hand do one thing and your right hand do another and your foot do something completely different, that's a huge challenge." Now, at 43, she's up for a similar challenge as the new dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. She will need a lot of hand-eye co-ordination, and she'll be using a different part of her brain. It will also be one of the biggest challenges of her life. She didn't take the decision lightly. She deliberated on it for more than a month. But it was obvious she was right for the job. At least, that's what others thought. "This was the third time I had been asked to consider a position of administration. The other times I had always said no because I thought it was premature. I'm pretty young to be a dean and I wasn't sure it was something I wanted to do at this stage." Elliott doesn't regret her decision and feels privileged and excited about her new road ahead. She officially took office Sept. 1.