bio
Dr. Suzette Grillot serves as a professor of international studies at The University of Oklahoma by day (and some nights and weekends). She has been living, learning and lecturing on and around college and university campuses for more than 30 years – and on most days she can’t imagine having done anything else with her life.
Dr. Grillot served as the Dean of OU’s David L. Boren College of International Studies from July 2012 until January 2019. She was integral to creating the College during her tenure as the CIS Associate Dean from 2008 to 2012. Dr. Grillot also provided oversight for the College’s academic programs in the Department of International and Area Studies, as well as for the Office of Education Abroad and International Student Services. In addition, she served as OU’s Vice Provost for International Programs and was the William J. Crowe, Jr. Chair in Geopolitics.
Dr. Grillot spearheads several projects outside of the ivory tower. She co-owns and operates a number of educational and social justice enterprises, including The Third Space, a shared, supportive and empowering co-working space in Norman, Oklahoma; The Third Space Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering marginalized groups; AMPLIFY, formerly proFmagazine, an online publication that amplifies and magnifies the voice of feminists and other marginalized communities; and Equity Brewing Company, the only all women-owned and operated micro-brewery (coming soon) in Oklahoma.
A passionate advocate for international education, Dr. Grillot has burned through a number of passports while living and working abroad. As an administrator and academic leader, Dr. Grillot developed and maintained study abroad programs around the world, including creating three international studies centers in Italy, Brazil and Mexico. She has served and supported thousands of international students at the University of Oklahoma through her various roles, including living in the international student community as the Faculty-in-Residence at Kraettli apartments from 2005 to 2009.
During her time abroad, Dr. Grillot has conducted research and taught courses in dozens of countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. In 2003, Dr. Grillot received a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach international relations in the Republic of Macedonia. She spent a semester as a teaching and research fellow at Beijing University in China in 2007. During the 2011-2012 academic year, Dr. Grillot served as the Faculty-in-Residence at OU in Arezzo.
Dr. Grillot teaches a range of courses, including Global Perspectives on Humanity, Challenging Global Inequality, International Activism, Illicit Trafficking, Global Security, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Dr. Grillot has been recognized with the Gary B. Cohen Distinguished Faculty Award, the Educator’s Leadership Academy Outstanding Professor Award, and the President’s Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award.
A respected scholar, Dr. Grillot has published articles in academic journals such as The British Journal of Political Science, International Politics, Global Governance, and Contemporary Security Policy, among many others. She co-authored the books Protecting Our Ports (2010) and The International Arms Trade (2009), and co-edited Virtuous Journeys Abroad (2017), Buon Giorno Arezzo (2016), Understanding the Global Community (2013), Arms and the Environment (2001) and Arms on the Market (1998).
Dr. Grillot’s current academic research focuses on the role of “third places” in enhancing the health and wellbeing of marginalized communities; the work of activist organizations in Brazil; the illicit production, packaging and trafficking of counterfeit goods; and corruption and accountability in public higher education.
When not on campus, traveling the world, or working on one of her side-hustle projects, Dr. Grillot loves to engage in friendly but fierce debates with her daughter, read books and journals of all kinds, play the ukulele, power-walk long distances with her dog, cook dinner and consume beverages with friends, bake anything involving chocolate, and occasionally practice yoga.
Dr. Grillot received BS (1990) and MA (1992) degrees in Political Science from Oklahoma State University and earned her PhD (1997) in Political Science from the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs!