Susan E. Cahan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art History and the Des Lee Professor in Contemporary Art at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Prior to joining UMSL she was a faculty member at the Center for Curatorial Studies and Contemporary Culture at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (1994 to 2003) and a visiting professor in the Department of Art at the University of California, Los Angeles (2000 to 2002). As an art historian she specializes in contemporary art and the history of museums.

In addition, she has had over twenty years experience as a curator and museum professional. From 1996 to 2001 Cahan served as senior curator for the private collection of Eileen and Peter Norton, one of the world's largest collections of contemporary art, and director of arts programs for the Peter Norton Family Foundation. From 1987 to 1996 she worked at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York as Deputy Director (1993 to 1996) and Curator of Education (1987 to 1993). She also served at The Museum of Modern Art in New York as School Programs Coordinator (1983 to 1987) and School Programs Assistant (1982 to 1983).

Cahan has published widely on museums and culture and is a recipient of a 2007 Arts Writer's Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Her publications include Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education (Routledge, 1996); "Arts Philanthropy and Rethinking the Problem of Conflict of Interest" (Banff International Curatorial Institute, 2004); "Carrie Mae Weems: Reflecting Louisiana" in Carrie Mae Weems: The Louisiana Project (Tulane University, 2004); and I Remember Heaven: Jim Hodges and Andy Warhol (Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, 2007). She received her M.A. in Art History at Hunter College and her Ph.D. at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.