Susan Chen was appointed to University Council in 2012. Currently, Mrs Chen is Principal of Marist Regional College in Burnie and leads an educational community of 850 secondary and senior secondary students and over 100 staff.
Mrs Chen was born and raised in Hobart as the second eldest child of Swiss migrants. She completed secondary school at Mt Carmel College before going on to gain a BA, Graduate Certificate of Librarianship and M Ed from the University of Tasmania, and a Graduate Diploma of Religious Education from the Australian Catholic University..
Mrs Chen taught with the Tasmanian Education Department at Warrane High School before travelling extensively overseas and returning to Tasmania to rear a family and work in Catholic education in Smithton and Burnie. At Marist, she held a number of management positions before becoming College Principal. In 2003.
She is currently a member of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL), Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA), Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA) and Catholic Principals Association of Tasmania (CPAT
Mrs Chen is married to Kim and they have three adult children – Christopher, Patrick and Nicola.