Christopher (Chris) Benedetti
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
Professional Experience
I currently serve as Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), which includes teaching courses and supervising dissertations in our Masters and Doctor of Education leadership programs. I am also assisting the school principal certification program coordinator with converting the program to be fully online. I am finishing my first year at TAMU-CC.
Prior to arriving at TAMU-CC in 2021, I served as Assistant/Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Learning, and Curriculum at Plymouth State University (PSU) for four years, starting in 2017. My primary responsibility at PSU was the coordination of the school principal certification program, which included building program partnerships with local school districts, developing a fully online version of the program, and working closely with the New Hampshire Department of Education, including being elected to their Professional State Board, to ensure program alignment with state regulations. I also supervised dissertations on K-12 school and district leadership.
I began my higher education career in 2013 as Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Western Colorado University (WCU). At WCU, I served as the school principal certification program coordinator, while also developing a new district superintendent certification program. I also worked closely with the Colorado Departments of Education and Higher Education, which included forming and chairing a statewide committee of licensure providers to discuss challenges and opportunities with principal preparation and supporting rural districts through developing teacher pipelines in Eastern Colorado as part of an ESEA grant.
Before becoming a full-time professor, I served as a middle school teacher and school administrator in Florida for 15 years. My school administrator experience, which included roles as assistant principal and principal, were primarily at urban elementary and middle schools serving high-poverty, diverse communities. I also served on several district leadership committees, including those focused on student accountability, systems thinking, and aspiring principal mentoring.
Current Research Interests
Role congruity and its presence in school and district leadership has emerged as a strong research interest, which has included recent presentations at ICPEL and UCEA, with research focused on gender-based role congruity related to aspiring principals. Findings from this work showed that female aspiring principals were perceived more critically than their male counterparts, which revealed the presence of role congruity before one assumes a leadership position. I am interested in expanding this research at the superintendent level given the historical trend of mostly males occupying this role. I am also interested in examining race-based role congruity in the recruitment practices in predominantly non-diverse, homogenous parts of the US and have developed a framework to challenge this homogeneity as part of a theoretical article that is currently under review for publication.
A recent research interest in virtual simulations, stemming from the rapidly evolving potential of augmented reality, began with my presentation and publication associated with Papa and Moran Jackson’s recently published book, Artificial intelligence (AI) and the duty of Educational Leaders Without Borders. Specifically, I examined the opportunities, and caution needed, with virtual learning simulations that are gaining traction in educator preparation programs. This work prompted a connection with SchoolSims, leading to a grant proposal currently under review to fund a study to assess the physiological effects of virtual, interactive simulations on the stress levels of principals.
Throughout my higher education career, I have been heavily involved with the research methodology programming at each university, including teaching courses, mentoring student researchers, and serving on the university IRB. This extended and ongoing experience has created a research interest to explore innovative and accessible ways to consider research methods to better serve students who are otherwise intimidated by research. I have presented related papers for the Center for Scholastic Inquiry (CSI) and the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) and am currently editing a book of collected chapters that focuses on applied research and critical inquiry to show alternatives to traditional approaches commonly used in graduate programs.
Experience with ICPEL and Other Professional Organizations
I presented at the 2020 ICPEL Conference after learning about the organization through an internet search, which began my involvement with ICPEL. Through ICPEL, I learned about, and connected with, Educational Leaders Without Boarders (ELWB), which lead to a presentation at their 2021 conference. In 2021, I began serving on the ICPEL Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee upon its formation and have been regularly involved since joining the committee. I have worked closely with Dr. Kelly Brown, the JEDI Committee Chair, serving as her co-chair for the JEDI-related ICPEL conference presentation proposal review process. With the encouragement of Dr. Brown, I have also agreed to serve as the chair-elect of JEDI for the upcoming year. Given my positive experiences with ICPEL, I was able to successfully advocate for my current university, TAMU-CC, to become institutional members of ICPEL, which was made official in Fall 2021.
Outside, of ICPEL, I have been actively involved with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), including serving as an institutional delegate during my time at PSU. In this role, I was the point of contact between CPED and PSU to collect data and compile reports on behalf our program and university. I also served on the Delegate’s Council, which included attending regular meetings to discuss CPED initiatives and provide feedback.
Brief Statement for Serving on the ICPEL Executive Board
ICPEL is a compelling professional organization for educational leadership given its more intimate, yet diverse, scale. I have appreciated its strong commitment to issues of social justice though the JEDI committee, as well as internationalization through ELWB. I also see ICPEL as more practitioner-friendly than other similar higher-education focused organizations, which is attractive to those, such as myself, who had previous educational careers outside of higher education. Serving on the Executive Board would allow me to further support ICPEL’s efforts with the above commitments, as well as actively participate in the development of new initiatives to advance the organization’s work.
As a member of the ICPEL Board, I would like to support ways to increase visibility of the organization to further access smaller or remote educational leadership programs. As compelling as ICPEL is for its current membership, I only learned about ICPEL within the last few years despite having been in in higher education, and in the field of educational leadership, for several years prior. Having worked at smaller and remote educational leadership programs, I have experienced the limited institutional knowledge and access to larger professional networks that would be valuable in advancing scholarship and practice. Based on my experience, I believe faculty in these programs would greatly benefit from engagement with ICPEL given its friendly, open, and diverse membership and would be eager to join given the opportunities and support provided through ICPEL.
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
Professional Experience
I currently serve as Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), which includes teaching courses and supervising dissertations in our Masters and Doctor of Education leadership programs. I am also assisting the school principal certification program coordinator with converting the program to be fully online. I am finishing my first year at TAMU-CC.
Prior to arriving at TAMU-CC in 2021, I served as Assistant/Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Learning, and Curriculum at Plymouth State University (PSU) for four years, starting in 2017. My primary responsibility at PSU was the coordination of the school principal certification program, which included building program partnerships with local school districts, developing a fully online version of the program, and working closely with the New Hampshire Department of Education, including being elected to their Professional State Board, to ensure program alignment with state regulations. I also supervised dissertations on K-12 school and district leadership.
I began my higher education career in 2013 as Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Western Colorado University (WCU). At WCU, I served as the school principal certification program coordinator, while also developing a new district superintendent certification program. I also worked closely with the Colorado Departments of Education and Higher Education, which included forming and chairing a statewide committee of licensure providers to discuss challenges and opportunities with principal preparation and supporting rural districts through developing teacher pipelines in Eastern Colorado as part of an ESEA grant.
Before becoming a full-time professor, I served as a middle school teacher and school administrator in Florida for 15 years. My school administrator experience, which included roles as assistant principal and principal, were primarily at urban elementary and middle schools serving high-poverty, diverse communities. I also served on several district leadership committees, including those focused on student accountability, systems thinking, and aspiring principal mentoring.
Current Research Interests
Role congruity and its presence in school and district leadership has emerged as a strong research interest, which has included recent presentations at ICPEL and UCEA, with research focused on gender-based role congruity related to aspiring principals. Findings from this work showed that female aspiring principals were perceived more critically than their male counterparts, which revealed the presence of role congruity before one assumes a leadership position. I am interested in expanding this research at the superintendent level given the historical trend of mostly males occupying this role. I am also interested in examining race-based role congruity in the recruitment practices in predominantly non-diverse, homogenous parts of the US and have developed a framework to challenge this homogeneity as part of a theoretical article that is currently under review for publication.
A recent research interest in virtual simulations, stemming from the rapidly evolving potential of augmented reality, began with my presentation and publication associated with Papa and Moran Jackson’s recently published book, Artificial intelligence (AI) and the duty of Educational Leaders Without Borders. Specifically, I examined the opportunities, and caution needed, with virtual learning simulations that are gaining traction in educator preparation programs. This work prompted a connection with SchoolSims, leading to a grant proposal currently under review to fund a study to assess the physiological effects of virtual, interactive simulations on the stress levels of principals.
Throughout my higher education career, I have been heavily involved with the research methodology programming at each university, including teaching courses, mentoring student researchers, and serving on the university IRB. This extended and ongoing experience has created a research interest to explore innovative and accessible ways to consider research methods to better serve students who are otherwise intimidated by research. I have presented related papers for the Center for Scholastic Inquiry (CSI) and the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) and am currently editing a book of collected chapters that focuses on applied research and critical inquiry to show alternatives to traditional approaches commonly used in graduate programs.
Experience with ICPEL and Other Professional Organizations
I presented at the 2020 ICPEL Conference after learning about the organization through an internet search, which began my involvement with ICPEL. Through ICPEL, I learned about, and connected with, Educational Leaders Without Boarders (ELWB), which lead to a presentation at their 2021 conference. In 2021, I began serving on the ICPEL Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee upon its formation and have been regularly involved since joining the committee. I have worked closely with Dr. Kelly Brown, the JEDI Committee Chair, serving as her co-chair for the JEDI-related ICPEL conference presentation proposal review process. With the encouragement of Dr. Brown, I have also agreed to serve as the chair-elect of JEDI for the upcoming year. Given my positive experiences with ICPEL, I was able to successfully advocate for my current university, TAMU-CC, to become institutional members of ICPEL, which was made official in Fall 2021.
Outside, of ICPEL, I have been actively involved with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), including serving as an institutional delegate during my time at PSU. In this role, I was the point of contact between CPED and PSU to collect data and compile reports on behalf our program and university. I also served on the Delegate’s Council, which included attending regular meetings to discuss CPED initiatives and provide feedback.
Brief Statement for Serving on the ICPEL Executive Board
ICPEL is a compelling professional organization for educational leadership given its more intimate, yet diverse, scale. I have appreciated its strong commitment to issues of social justice though the JEDI committee, as well as internationalization through ELWB. I also see ICPEL as more practitioner-friendly than other similar higher-education focused organizations, which is attractive to those, such as myself, who had previous educational careers outside of higher education. Serving on the Executive Board would allow me to further support ICPEL’s efforts with the above commitments, as well as actively participate in the development of new initiatives to advance the organization’s work.
As a member of the ICPEL Board, I would like to support ways to increase visibility of the organization to further access smaller or remote educational leadership programs. As compelling as ICPEL is for its current membership, I only learned about ICPEL within the last few years despite having been in in higher education, and in the field of educational leadership, for several years prior. Having worked at smaller and remote educational leadership programs, I have experienced the limited institutional knowledge and access to larger professional networks that would be valuable in advancing scholarship and practice. Based on my experience, I believe faculty in these programs would greatly benefit from engagement with ICPEL given its friendly, open, and diverse membership and would be eager to join given the opportunities and support provided through ICPEL.
Marjorie Ceballos
ICPEL Board Application 2022-2025
I am currently an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Central Florida. I am entering my fifth year as an assistant professor. In my capacity as an assistant professor, I prepare future educational leaders through my work with doctoral and master’s level students. I am active in mentoring and chairing dissertations in our practitioner-focused Ed.D. program. I work actively with my doctoral graduates to support their scholarship as they seek to publish and/or present their research studies. Thus far, I have mentored doctoral graduates through a publication and presentations at scholarly conferences. In addition to working with doctoral students, I also support the leadership development of master’s students. I teach courses related to teacher supervision and community engagement practices. Lastly, I am a co-principal investigator on the Dual Language Support Through Technology Enhanced Programs and Strategies, a federally funded grant. In my co-principal investigator role, I support dual language principals across Central Florida through the facilitation of a dual language principal professional learning community and through the provision of professional learning for both principals and teachers.
Prior to becoming an assistant professor, I worked in K-12 public schools for 17 years as a school district-level administrator, instructional coach, teacher leader, and teacher. As a school district-level administrator in a large urban school district, I was responsible for district-wide support for advanced academic programs (e.g., Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge), summer student acceleration programs, professional learning for K-10 writing, health and physical education, and world languages. Additionally, I provided on-site instructional support to schools. As an instructional coach, teacher leader, and teacher for English Language Arts, I supported the implementation of various literacy initiatives at the middle school and high school levels. The professional experience gained over 17 years as a practitioner inform my research foci.
My research areas include instructional leadership, educational leadership preparation, student access to advanced courses, and the effect of school policies and practices on English learners’ achievement. I have had articles published in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, Journal of Research in Leadership Education, and Research in Post-Compulsory Education, among others. Recent and notable journal publications include: (a) Educational leadership preparation and professional roles: Are we serving the needs of leadership roles along the leadership continuum [2022], (b) Educational leadership preparation and Covid-19: Self-perceptions of preparedness for remote continuity of learning [2021], (c) Educational leaders and the professional doctorate dissertation: An analysis of leaders’ interests within the educational leadership corpus [2021], and Educational leadership students and mixed reality experiences: Building student confidence to communicate with parents and teachers [2020]. Also, I have presented my research at academic and practitioner conferences including, the American Educational Research Association, International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership Conference, University Council for Educational Administration Annual Convention, the 7th International Conference on Professional and Practice-based Doctorates, TESOL International Conference and English Language Expo, and La Cosecha Dual Language Conference. Recent and notable presentations include: (a) Dual language digital resources for educators and parents [TESOL, 2022], (b) Leadership practices for dual language implementation: An exploration of educator perceptions [AERA, 2021], (c) Dual language digital badges: The future in teacher preparation programs [TESOL, 2021], and Mixed reality experiences and leadership development [ICPEL, 2020].
Since the start of my career in higher education in 2018, I have participated in the ICPEL conferences as a presenter and conference proposal reviewer. My current experience with the larger educational leadership profession has been mainly through being active in attending professional educational leadership conferences such as ICPEL and UCEA. Further, I have also served as a reviewer for various academic journals including, ICPEL publications, Journal of Advanced Academics, and Journal of Research in Leadership Education as well as for other academic journals.
I am seeking a role as a member of the ICPEL executive board because I would like to take on a more active role in an organization that seeks to enhance educational leadership practices and to present relevant and timely research to the educational leadership community at large. These are important organizational activities which help to bolster the work of practicing educational leaders and inform the preparation of future educational leaders. As the organization creates and implements initiatives, I would like to further support ICPEL in this role. Thank you for your consideration.
ICPEL Board Application 2022-2025
I am currently an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Central Florida. I am entering my fifth year as an assistant professor. In my capacity as an assistant professor, I prepare future educational leaders through my work with doctoral and master’s level students. I am active in mentoring and chairing dissertations in our practitioner-focused Ed.D. program. I work actively with my doctoral graduates to support their scholarship as they seek to publish and/or present their research studies. Thus far, I have mentored doctoral graduates through a publication and presentations at scholarly conferences. In addition to working with doctoral students, I also support the leadership development of master’s students. I teach courses related to teacher supervision and community engagement practices. Lastly, I am a co-principal investigator on the Dual Language Support Through Technology Enhanced Programs and Strategies, a federally funded grant. In my co-principal investigator role, I support dual language principals across Central Florida through the facilitation of a dual language principal professional learning community and through the provision of professional learning for both principals and teachers.
Prior to becoming an assistant professor, I worked in K-12 public schools for 17 years as a school district-level administrator, instructional coach, teacher leader, and teacher. As a school district-level administrator in a large urban school district, I was responsible for district-wide support for advanced academic programs (e.g., Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge), summer student acceleration programs, professional learning for K-10 writing, health and physical education, and world languages. Additionally, I provided on-site instructional support to schools. As an instructional coach, teacher leader, and teacher for English Language Arts, I supported the implementation of various literacy initiatives at the middle school and high school levels. The professional experience gained over 17 years as a practitioner inform my research foci.
My research areas include instructional leadership, educational leadership preparation, student access to advanced courses, and the effect of school policies and practices on English learners’ achievement. I have had articles published in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, Journal of Research in Leadership Education, and Research in Post-Compulsory Education, among others. Recent and notable journal publications include: (a) Educational leadership preparation and professional roles: Are we serving the needs of leadership roles along the leadership continuum [2022], (b) Educational leadership preparation and Covid-19: Self-perceptions of preparedness for remote continuity of learning [2021], (c) Educational leaders and the professional doctorate dissertation: An analysis of leaders’ interests within the educational leadership corpus [2021], and Educational leadership students and mixed reality experiences: Building student confidence to communicate with parents and teachers [2020]. Also, I have presented my research at academic and practitioner conferences including, the American Educational Research Association, International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership Conference, University Council for Educational Administration Annual Convention, the 7th International Conference on Professional and Practice-based Doctorates, TESOL International Conference and English Language Expo, and La Cosecha Dual Language Conference. Recent and notable presentations include: (a) Dual language digital resources for educators and parents [TESOL, 2022], (b) Leadership practices for dual language implementation: An exploration of educator perceptions [AERA, 2021], (c) Dual language digital badges: The future in teacher preparation programs [TESOL, 2021], and Mixed reality experiences and leadership development [ICPEL, 2020].
Since the start of my career in higher education in 2018, I have participated in the ICPEL conferences as a presenter and conference proposal reviewer. My current experience with the larger educational leadership profession has been mainly through being active in attending professional educational leadership conferences such as ICPEL and UCEA. Further, I have also served as a reviewer for various academic journals including, ICPEL publications, Journal of Advanced Academics, and Journal of Research in Leadership Education as well as for other academic journals.
I am seeking a role as a member of the ICPEL executive board because I would like to take on a more active role in an organization that seeks to enhance educational leadership practices and to present relevant and timely research to the educational leadership community at large. These are important organizational activities which help to bolster the work of practicing educational leaders and inform the preparation of future educational leaders. As the organization creates and implements initiatives, I would like to further support ICPEL in this role. Thank you for your consideration.
Trent Grundmeyer, PhD
I currently serve as an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Drake University. I’ve been in this role for the last year teaching classes on school law, teacher evaluation, technology and leadership and overseeing students’ clinical experiences. The last two years I also served the university through the Graduate Fellow role. In this role, I help align and promote graduate programs. This included updating policies, promoting best practices across units and marketing programs.
Prior to my tenure at Drake University, I served as a high school principal at Hampton-Dumont and Indianola High School in Iowa. I was recognized as 2013 Secondary Principal of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa organization. I also had a nice honor in 2009 being named Character Counts! Administrator of the Year in Iowa. I earned my doctorate degree in educational leadership at Iowa State University in 2013 and focuses most of my research around technology integration and leadership.
Summarize yourmost important and/or recent publications and presentations and indicate your current research interests or focus.
Briefly indicate your experience with NCPEA/ICPEL and the larger profession and any organizational roles you have held in the past in professional associations.
My interest in serving on the ICPEL Executive Board is to give back to the field, provide ideas for future conferences, and have a more national impact on education leadership preparation programs. I feel like I have done quite a bit locally and in my state of Iowa to support and give back to the field of school leaders. I have not done as much in the Midwest nor nationally. I am now at a point in my tenure that I have the time, interest and passion to give back to others more widely.
I have presented at the ICPEL Conference multiple times. I have some ideas that I think could have a positive impact on future ICPEL conferences regarding presentation topics, invited speakers and conference delivery that I think could be appealing to participants. Serving on the ICPEL Executive Board would allow me to share my thoughts and help develop the conference.
Lastly, I feel like school leadership is at a crossroads. I feel like it is the right time to promote the profession as a whole. I see lots of educators getting out of the profession. I want to do what I can to keep good educators in the profession and promote quality leadership. Serving ICPEL in a leadership capacity will give me the opportunity to serve a larger audience and field of education.
Thanks for your consideration,
Trent
I currently serve as an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Drake University. I’ve been in this role for the last year teaching classes on school law, teacher evaluation, technology and leadership and overseeing students’ clinical experiences. The last two years I also served the university through the Graduate Fellow role. In this role, I help align and promote graduate programs. This included updating policies, promoting best practices across units and marketing programs.
Prior to my tenure at Drake University, I served as a high school principal at Hampton-Dumont and Indianola High School in Iowa. I was recognized as 2013 Secondary Principal of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa organization. I also had a nice honor in 2009 being named Character Counts! Administrator of the Year in Iowa. I earned my doctorate degree in educational leadership at Iowa State University in 2013 and focuses most of my research around technology integration and leadership.
Summarize yourmost important and/or recent publications and presentations and indicate your current research interests or focus.
- G S Prakasha1, Joseph Varghese Kureethara2,*, Peter M V3, Anthony Kenneth4, Trent Grundmeyer5 (April 2020). Robotics in Teacher Education. Contemporary Education Technology.
- Grundmeyer, T., Olson, J. & Urich, J. (2020). Evaluating student self-direction, role-awareness and self-belief after engaging in a project-based learning experience. Journal of Education. (resubmit)
- Grundmeyer, T. (2020). Lessons learned in developing and leveraging a 360 evaluation for a first-year superintendent. Journal of Education and Human Development.
- David, D., & Grundmeyer, T. (2018). Educational leadership simulations: Learning lessons from behind the curtain of educational leadership. International Council of Educational Leadership Preparation, 13(1).
- David, D., Grundmeyer, T., & Anderson, C. (2018). Comparative study of elementary and secondary teacher perceptions of mobile technology in classrooms. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 10(1).
- David, D., Grundmeyer, T. & Yankey, J. (2017). Identifying and addressing themes of job dissatisfaction for secondary principals. School Leadership and Management Journal, 37(4), 354-
- 371. DOI: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13632434.2017.1338253
- Gough, E, DeJong, D., & Grundmeyer, T. (2017). K-12 teacher perceptions regarding the flipped classroom model for teaching and learning. Journal of Education Technology Systems, 45(3), 390-423. DOI: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0047239516658444
- Grundmeyer, T. & Peters, R. (2016). Learning from the learners: Preparing future teachers to leverage the benefits of laptop computers. Computers in the Schools Journal, 33(4), 253-273.
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2017.1249757
- Peters, R., Grundmeyer, T. & Buckmiller, T. (2016). An education leadership program’s continuous improvement journey toward a standards-based system. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 15(8), 79-96.
Briefly indicate your experience with NCPEA/ICPEL and the larger profession and any organizational roles you have held in the past in professional associations.
- Iowa Consortium of Professors of Education Administration (ICPEA) – Chair 2021
- AdvancED Accreditation State Committee Member – 2015-present
- Iowa Superintendents Finance and Leadership Consortium (ISFLC) Advisory Board Member
- School Administrators of Iowa Representative on Pursuing Victory With Honor Committee
- The School Superintendents Association (AASA) – 2013-present
- Iowa Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (IASCD) - 2013-present
My interest in serving on the ICPEL Executive Board is to give back to the field, provide ideas for future conferences, and have a more national impact on education leadership preparation programs. I feel like I have done quite a bit locally and in my state of Iowa to support and give back to the field of school leaders. I have not done as much in the Midwest nor nationally. I am now at a point in my tenure that I have the time, interest and passion to give back to others more widely.
I have presented at the ICPEL Conference multiple times. I have some ideas that I think could have a positive impact on future ICPEL conferences regarding presentation topics, invited speakers and conference delivery that I think could be appealing to participants. Serving on the ICPEL Executive Board would allow me to share my thoughts and help develop the conference.
Lastly, I feel like school leadership is at a crossroads. I feel like it is the right time to promote the profession as a whole. I see lots of educators getting out of the profession. I want to do what I can to keep good educators in the profession and promote quality leadership. Serving ICPEL in a leadership capacity will give me the opportunity to serve a larger audience and field of education.
Thanks for your consideration,
Trent
Dr. Larry J. Walker
Currently I serve as an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education at the University of Central Florida (UCF). I teach a variety of masters and doctoral courses focused on school law, fiscal responsibility (e.g., budget development etc.), community engagement, technology among others. In addition, I am a dissertation committee cochair and have worked with several graduate students to publish journal articles and book chapters. Presently, I am a member of the UCF faculty Senate and Chairman of The Cheyney Foundation.
Additionally, I held a variety of leadership positions in urban, rural, and suburban school districts including department chair. Previously, I was the Legislative Director for former Congressman Major R. Owens. My policy background is connected to my research agenda.
2. Summarize your most important and/or recent publications and presentations and
indicate your current research interests or focus.
My research agenda focuses on leadership, policy among other important topics. Since arriving at UCF in 2019, I have authored/coauthored 19 journal articles and books chapters (published or in press). For example:
My presentations include:
Board.
I have had the opportunity to work with members of ICPEL. This includes my UCF colleague Dr. Daniel Eadens and Dr. Ken Young. The experience has taught me that ICPEL provides important resources to Educational Leadership professors. I believe my background and commitment to serving others aligns with ICPEL. I am a servant leader and would welcome the opportunity to be elected as a member of the Executive Board.
- Briefly summarize your professional educational experience as (a) a practitioner (if applicable) and your professorial experience. Use the reverse order as the most recent first, etc.
Currently I serve as an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education at the University of Central Florida (UCF). I teach a variety of masters and doctoral courses focused on school law, fiscal responsibility (e.g., budget development etc.), community engagement, technology among others. In addition, I am a dissertation committee cochair and have worked with several graduate students to publish journal articles and book chapters. Presently, I am a member of the UCF faculty Senate and Chairman of The Cheyney Foundation.
Additionally, I held a variety of leadership positions in urban, rural, and suburban school districts including department chair. Previously, I was the Legislative Director for former Congressman Major R. Owens. My policy background is connected to my research agenda.
2. Summarize your most important and/or recent publications and presentations and
indicate your current research interests or focus.
My research agenda focuses on leadership, policy among other important topics. Since arriving at UCF in 2019, I have authored/coauthored 19 journal articles and books chapters (published or in press). For example:
- Walker, L.J., Sullivan, M., & Stewart-Walker, N. (2022). Leadership matters: Supporting the mental health needs of Black and Latina/o students in a post covid-19 world. Journal of Educational Leadership in Action.
- Moore, S. & Walker, L. J. (2021). School principals supporting working conditions domains in rural schools for student success. Southeast Journal on Educational Administration, 20(2), 84-105.
- Eadens, D., Walker, L. J., & Yurin, V. (2021). Making rural schools safer. In N. Templeton (Ed.) Voices from the Field: Building capacity for leadership and social change in rural schools. Ypsilanti, MI: ICPEL Press.
- Walker, L.J. (2021) Why don’t you see me?: Meeting the mental health needs of Black male students. The New Educator. doi: 10.1080/1547688X.2021.1909788
- Walker, L. J., Morton, B. C., & Goings, R. B. (2021). Creating a new paradigm:
- Utilizing podcasts to train aspiring and current school leaders. Educational Planning Journal, 28(1), 23-33.
- Goings, R. B., & Walker, L. J., & Wade, K. (2020). The influence of intuition on human resource officers’ perspectives on hiring teachers of color. Journal of School Leadership, 1-20.
- Goings, R. B., & Hotchkins, B., & Walker, L. J. (2019). Examining the preparation of school human resource officers on developing a racially diverse educator workforce post brown. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 14(4), 267-280.
- Walker, L. J., Goings, R. B., & Wilkerson, R. (2019). The role school administrators play in creating a healthy ecosystems for Black male preservice teachers. The Journal of Educational Foundations, 32(1-4), 114-141.
My presentations include:
- Walker, L.J (2022, March). Why don’t you see me?: Meeting the mental health of Black male students. American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Paper presentation. New Orleans, LA.
- Walker, L.J. & Hazel, R. (2022, March). Using an anti-deficit approach to close the opportunity gap. World Education Summit. Pre-recorded conference submission (virtual because of COVID).
- Eadens, D., Walker, L., & Yurin, V. (2022, March). School safety in rural settings. International Council of Educational Professionals. Paper Presentation. Fort Myers, Florida.
- Walker, L.J., Sullivan, M., & Stewart-Walker, N. (2021, August). Leadership matters: Supporting the mental health needs of Black and Latina/o students in a covid-19 world. Paper presented at the International Council of Professors in Educational Leadership. Synchronous (Live).
- Walker, L.J., Goings, R.B., & Wilkerson, R. (2020, November). How administrators can support the needs of Black male preservice teachers. Paper presented at the University Council for Educational Administration. Synchronous (Live).
- Goings, R.B., & Walker, L.J. (2019, November). The influence of intuition on human resource officers’ perspectives on hiring teachers of color. Paper presented at the University Council for Educational Administration. New Orleans, LA.
Board.
I have had the opportunity to work with members of ICPEL. This includes my UCF colleague Dr. Daniel Eadens and Dr. Ken Young. The experience has taught me that ICPEL provides important resources to Educational Leadership professors. I believe my background and commitment to serving others aligns with ICPEL. I am a servant leader and would welcome the opportunity to be elected as a member of the Executive Board.