Program Overview

Our Vision for the 21st Century Educational Leader

The Educational Leadership faculty are dedicated to offering a rigorous course of study that will provide students with an opportunity to develop into successful practitioners. This will happen when students become immersed in the literature and research of leadership and education. Our expectation is that students will achieve this by actively participating in a learning community that continually assesses scholarly research and its relationship to transforming educational institutions through the practice of leadership.

Our mission is to offer a doctoral program that prepares leaders at all levels, and in various educational settings. We seek to develop a network of leaders who will facilitate significant and deep change in those settings. The program therefore focuses on a clearly articulated study of leadership, organizations, policy, change, and research.

The Educational Leadership faculty are dedicated to offering a rigorous course of study that will provide students with opportunities to acquire and construct knowledge that enhances their ability to transform educational institutions to meet the challenging needs of an ever-changing society. This is achieved by coaching students to become reflective practitioners who comprehend and evaluate professional literature and research, and who understand leadership and change. In addition, students will learn to translate the research and theory into practice. 

Goals for Acquiring Future Leadership Success  

In light of the aforementioned vision, the goals of the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership are as follows:

• To provide doctoral candidates with opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills in leadership, organizations, change, and research necessary to be effective educational leaders in educational settings; 

• To provide doctoral candidates with opportunities to demonstrate their ability as educational leaders to evaluate data and determine the needs of educational organizations, formulate solutions, implement plans to bring about needed changes, and evaluate resulting processes and solutions leading to a cycle of continuous improvement; and, 

• To establish a network of doctoral graduates who exercise a meaningful force on the improvement of education throughout a variety of communities in the region, including but not limited to, public and private school systems, higher education institutions, community colleges, government agencies, private sector educational organizations, and education within business and industry.