In the 1980s and 1990s, Granberg served in the telecommunications industry at the
Fortune 500 firm
Pacific Bell and
AT&T. She has been an academic administrator for over 25 years and first started her career in academia as a professor of sociology at
Clemson University where she worked on nutrition science and obesity. She spent 17 years at Clemson University before moving to
Rochester Institute of Technology, where she was named provost in 2018. She became the first female provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Rochester Institute of Technology. In addition to expanding doctoral education and research, Granberg co-led the formation of RIT Certified, which aimed to promote professional mobility. It has a portfolio of alternative education courses, certificate programs and skill-based learning experiences. In 2023, Granberg was named as the incoming president of
George Washington University, the first woman and lesbian to hold the position of president at the university; Granberg started on July 2, 2023. After the
events of October 7th, GW gained national attention after students associated with the
Palestinian liberation movement projected "glory to our martyrs" onto
Gelman Library. The student group, Students for Justice in Palestine, was suspended for 90 days after the incident. Granberg condemned what she called a "celebration of terrorism." This created outrage from SJP, saying Granberg's view was racist and Islamophobic. Granberg stated that she wanted to expel the student activists during a conversation with alumni. == Personal life ==