Arthur M. Sussman
Vice President

Email: asussman at macfound dot org

Arthur M. Sussman is Vice President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In this senior management position, Sussman facilitates the work of the Foundation's Board of Directors, represents the Foundation in a range of settings and partnerships, and undertakes a changing array of special projects at the request of the President.

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2001, Sussman had been the chief legal officer for the University of Chicago since 1979. In that position he managed the university's government relations program and advised the university president on issues of governance, organization, research, and technology transfer. Sussman was responsible for programs at the University of Chicago designed to improve the quality of student life as well as operations of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. He was responsible for development and administration of university policies regarding labor, personnel, and benefits, and for oversight of the Argonne National Laboratory, a federal energy research facility with 4000 employees.

Earlier in his career (1977-79) he was University Legal Counsel for Southern Illinois University, and for seven years (1970-77) was an associate and partner at the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block. During three years as a Captain in the U.S. Army, Sussman served as a special assistant in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, where he was responsible for programs on race relations and social action.

Arthur Sussman is a member of the Board of Directors of Chapin Hall Center for Children, and Chair of the Illinois Humanities Council. He has written a number of articles and is a frequent speaker on topics relating to higher education. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Deepa Gupta
Program Officer

Email: dgupta at macfound dot org

Deepa Gupta is a Program Officer in the General Program. She has responsibilities for the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, the Large Institutional grants program, New Ideas, and arts and culture grantmaking in Chicago.

Previous to her arrival at MacArthur, Deepa worked on a range of issues for the last ten years that have included public policy, communications, and arts and culture. Most recently, she has been a senior associate at McKinsey and Co. Earlier in her career, Deepa worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development and as the business and marketing director for a start-up theater company. Deepa earned an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and (jointly) a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She has an AB in Public Policy and Biology from the University of Chicago.