Susie Penman
Assistant Director
Susie Penman joined the Center for Presidential History as Assistant Director in the summer of 2024 after receiving her PhD in American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her area of research is southern studies, with her doctoral work specifically focused on law and politics in New Orleans in the late 20th century. Her current manuscript project, Natural Law: Politics, Race, and Legal Culture in 20th Century New Orleans, studies the office of Orleans Parish District Attorney Harry Connick, Sr., exploring how local ideas about crime and punishment shifted during the three decades that he served as DA.
Dr. Penman, who received an MA in Southern Studies and an MFA in Documentary Expression (both from the University of Mississippi), is an experienced oral historian who has contributed to a variety of projects, primarily for UNC’s Southern Oral History Program. At the Center for Presidential History, she oversees all of CPH’s oral history projects.
