This episode of In the Lead with UCEA kicks off Season 2 and the new UCEA Issues series. UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez talks with Dr. Martha McCarthy, Presidential Professor Emeritus at Loyola Marymount University and Chancellor's Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, about her insights on the evolution of educational leadership and UCEA's role in shaping it. Martha discusses pivotal moments in leadership, the impact of funding on research and practice, and the importance of UCEA conventions in fostering community and advancing the field. The conversation also touches on equity and social justice, the changing demographics of educational leadership faculty, and the personal impact of UCEA on Martha's career. Listen in!

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Broadening UCEA’s reach through conventions

06:20: Annual conventions are very important, as far as the development of our field. Really, Mónica, prior to the '80s, UCEA’s reach was not that broad. It didn't impact those that weren't at UCEA programs. And even those programs, the PSR was involved, but maybe some of the faculty didn't know much about what UCEA was doing.

And it's interesting now, I know Gerardo said, the lore is… Jay Scribner and I were sitting in a room, and I said, “Hey, let's start UCEA conferences.” I don't have any recollection of that particular conversation. Well, I do remember talking with Pat Forsythe and the executive committee and saying, “Let's think about how we can broaden the reach and conferences will be one way we could do that.”

The interrelationship between the development of the field and the development of UCEA

10:33 UCEA has really been important at every stage of the development of the field itself. And if you look at the national commission that I mentioned, UCEA was very much involved in that. And Dan Griffiths was completely committed to UCEA, and he was the chair of that group.

But in subsequent things, the shift, and some of these shifts have been more gradual, but the shift to focusing on equity and social justice, UCEA has played a critical role there. The Jackson Scholars, I know in the studies we did of the professoriate, and I'd be glad to talk more about them, we saw an increase in the minority representation. But my guess is that last study we did was in 2008, that it's much higher now.

How Female Representation in Faculty Has Shifted

12:55 One of the major differences are female representation. And there was 2% of the faculty, literally, I was just saying we can meet in a phone booth when I entered the deal, and that was true. But we had four female faculty members already. We truly could meet in a phone booth. But 2% of the faculty were women in ‘72. And then by ‘08, almost at parity. And my guess is now probably more of the faculty are women than men. So, that was huge. And in some of those studies, women were more oriented towards social justice and equity, issues that, by the ‘08 study, the differences in attitudes was not nearly as significant as it had been in the earlier studies

Show Links:

• Martha McCarthy LMU Profile

Welcome to Season 2 of In the Lead with UCEA. I'm your host, Monica Byrne-Jimenez, Executive Director of the University Council for Educational Administration.

In this podcast, UCEA presents pivotal conversations with people making an impact on educational leadership, preparation, practice, and policy. Learn about the latest happenings and cutting-edge research from UCEA community of scholars.

Check out our previous season on the University Principal Preparation Initiative and stay tuned for new episodes and interviews every other week celebrating UCEA's 70th anniversary and exploring insights with some of UCEA's past presidents. 

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

How has a culture of openness among academia has led to a fertile ground of collaboration? How did the pandemic change everything from methods of education to the percentages of principals staying on or leaving the job?

On this episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez talks with Susan Gates, a senior economist at RAND who applies economic theory and methods to help policymakers identify effective practices and make better decisions on a wide range of topics.

In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

The importance of understanding the principal preparation

09:54: Another surprise was to see the development of models for universities to collaborate with districts other than the state's large urban school districts. One of the challenges we've observed through our earlier research in this space of principal preparation is that everybody understands that principal preparation relies on access to authentic learning environments in schools and districts. And that these principals are being prepared to work in school districts. Therefore, universities need to partner with school districts to stay up-to-date on what's going on in the school districts and what it means to be a principal today to provide those hands-on learning opportunities.

On changing the traditional principal selection criteria

13:36: The UPPI programs all shifted their selection criteria to rely more heavily on district input and focused explicitly on whether, based on a person's work in the district, they were a good candidate for a principal preparation program at this time. So, it was less academic and based on things like test scores and grades and more oriented toward the authentic work of a principal and a person's ability to succeed not only in an academic program but also on the job as a principal.

On navigating trust and roles 

04:09: One challenge from a research perspective was just building that trust: What would we be documenting? What would we be saying? Another challenge that I hadn't really run up against in prior research studies, which in the education field had typically focused on efforts within school districts because this initiative was bringing representatives from universities and specifically university faculty to the table; they are researchers. And so they wanted to be involved in the research. I was sort of like, "Well, wait a minute, we're the researchers here." So, I would say that was one of the biggest unexpected challenges that we had to navigate as we went along.

Show Links:

• Professional Profile at RAND
• Susan Gates Publications
• LinkedIn Profile
• ResearchGate Page 

How can inquiry questions and illustrations serve as catalysts for inspiring fresh perspectives and encouraging further thought? What if you had the power not only to identify but also to rectify problems within a program?

On this episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez talks with Dr. Shelby Cosner, Professor of Educational Organization and Leadership in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and the Director of the UIC Center for Urban Education Leadership (CUEL).  

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Chapter Timestamps:

• UIC’s History of Program Improvement | 1:11
• Developing a Cycle of Inquiry | 4:42
• Attitudes and Relationships Evolving Over Time | 12:22
• Guiding Other Programs Through Redesigns | 18:12
• Navigating the Bigger Picture | 26:15
• Mentor Programs and Mentor Coaches | 29:06
• Summary & Closing | 32:12

Episode Quotes:

On mentoring for growth through data use

10:44: As the process went along, my mentoring role, in particular, leaned heavily into teaching about impact logics, teaching about the kinds of data that you would need to collect, and helping them to actually design data collection instruments and collect those data, teaching them about a cycle of inquiry and guiding them through the cycle.

On leveraging cycles of inquiry

When I can start to see something that's an opportunity, oftentimes, it allows me to step back for a moment, and even a day or two or three, to really think about, what would be the really powerful inquiry questions that will allow somebody to ponder this in a way that I'm pondering it on my own right now?

Show Links:

• UIC Homepage
• Center for Urban Education Leadership Homepage
• Faculty Profile at UIC
• Profile at the Center for Urban Education Leadership  
• LinkedIn Profile

Ever wondered how institutions can tangibly incorporate diversity and equity into their educational programs? How is NC State striding towards equity in the education sector through initiatives like public conversations on race? 

On this episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI), UCEA Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez talks with Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Professor of Educational Leadership and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis at NC State University and Director of NC State’s Leadership Academies.  

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Chapter Timestamps:

• How did NC State decide to pursue this initiative? | 1:13
• NC State’s process of defining Equity and Diversity | 2:02
• Diversity, Equity, and NC State’s Legacy | 6:34
• Making Partners True Equals | 7:48
• The Impact of this Equity work | 10:46
• Creating Safe Spaces to Grow Together | 15:06
• Changes in District Partners | 17:34
• How Have the Conversations Evolved? | 19:19
• Summary & Closing | 22:03

Episode Quotes:

Reflecting on district partners' changes from the integrated learning approach in the redesign

07:08: We saw a lot of our district partners start to have more courage to engage in those conversations publicly. One of our proudest examples is Edgecombe County, where they did an entire process where they brought together the community about what do we want for our kids. Let's talk about how racism and all the other isms have impacted their ability to learn at high quality. And they've just done some amazing work to build community and practice.

Humility helped develop a shared definition of equity and diversity

15:19: We all have bias, but it's about seeing how our bias impacts other people and hurts other people and how can we tap that down and exchange that for ways that we're building up people. And I think really the main way we've done that is really focusing on humility. And so, we are open to the idea that we're all flawed people. And so by focusing on that instead of perfection, that really helps us to recruit the right kind of students.

Building a culture of teamwork in education

20:09: We work together. Our team was willing to say, "I'm not just teaching my course. I'm a part of this program." And you heard me call them team because we don't refer to our faculty, or I don't think my friends do either, that I work with. We don't go, "Oh, we're the faculty." We say we're the team with educational leadership. And I think by viewing that as teamwork, we really have been able to take it from coursework to program.

Show Links:

• Bonnie Fusarelli Faculty Profile at NC State
• Bonnie Fusarelli Profile on LinkedIn

Welcome back to In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). Join UCEA Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez as she talks with Dr. Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda, Assistant Professor at San Diego State University (SDSU) in the Department of Educational Leadership.  

How did SDSU iterate their programs to create effective and sustainable school leaders? How did the five types of thinking mindsets and leadership dispositions play a vital role in building a sustainable framework and capacity?

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Chapter Timestamps:

• How did SDSU decide to pursue this initiative? | 1:15
• Sustaining momentum in redesign work | 5:45
• The importance of shared vision in the process | 9:42
• Making redesign part of the culture of the program | 12:39
• The challenges around sustainability | 14:24
• Effective practices to help leaders be responsive | 19:13
• Creating an adaptable program for a changing world | 22:15
• Summary & Closing | 25:30

Episode Quotes:

On the importance of preparing leaders for the redesigning process

18:10: We need to prepare our leaders for that perseverance. It's not easy. It's not easy being a teacher. We don't do this job just for ourselves. We do it because we believe that there's much we can offer our communities. And,so, I think that's key in helping not to change the narrative but to be a part of the narrative.

The value of shared vision

10:21: When we talked about equity, we came to our partners and said, What is your equity statement? What is your district's equity statement? And how does our program reflect that? And in our definition of equity, we were able to create a more holistic and comprehensive definition around five types of thinking that a leader needs to have: data-driven, school climate, achievement, systems, thinking, and learnership. So, we are able to identify thinking mindsets that we want to incorporate in our courses to highlight the type of thinking that leaders should be able to practice.

Sustainability is critical, and enrollment numbers are key

08:57: When thinking about sustainability, enrollment numbers are critical in order to sustain the program. And so we're able to leverage that high need or area of interest to say, okay, we're not only preparing leaders within our realm, but we're also preparing leaders serving very similar demographics across the state or leaders who are very much in tune with what we believe is required to prepare an effective leader, an equity-driven leader, essentially.

Show Links:

• Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda Faculty Profile at SDSU
• Alejandro Gonzalez Ojeda Profile on LinkedIn

Welcome back to In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). Join UCEA Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez as she talks with Dr. Daniel Reyes-Guerra, Associate Professor at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) School Leadership Program within the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology of the College of Education.  

How did FAU coordinate and evolve partnerships with some of Florida’s largest school districts? And how are they revolutionizing their curriculum and internship programs?

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Chapter Timestamps:

• How did FAU pursue this initiative? | 0:55
• Relationships with other school districts | 2:03
• How did the faculty make power sharing easier? | 9:33
• Evolving the partnerships with other districts | 13:17
• The lasting impacts of this process | 16:45
• Summary & Closing | 22:13

Episode Quotes:

On creating deep institutional approach to partnerships

07:08: This idea of being equal partners and working together towards that common goal is something that's extremely difficult to do, but it's also something very rewarding, and I say difficult because these are two organizations that are very different. The culture within each of these organizations is very different. And so you have to create some really strong personal relationships across the university, the district, and back to really make the partnership work.

How did the partnership and relationships between districts evolve over the course of the redesign effort?

15:19: Bringing the three districts to the table was really insightful. For the leadership development across all three districts, they started communicating and learning from each other. They're in the same state, and in our state, they all run off the same standards. They all run off the same evaluation platforms, and they basically have the same instructional leadership needs. These districts are very similar in terms of their demographics as well. So, all of a sudden, they were talking to each other, and we were the medium by which they were actually communicating and getting the research scholarship, perhaps even calling it an outside observation of what it was that they were doing. And so this really helped, in terms of strengthening those other partnerships and connecting them much more to the work of each other and to the work of the university.

An important fact that we need to take into account when entering into partnerships

17:04: Universities are a huge font of not only knowledge but applicable professional learning that they can use not only for a partnership program but that they can use for other professional learning that they do with ed leaders in their district.

Show Links:

• Daniel Reyes-Guerra Faculty Profile at FAU
• Daniel Reyes-Guerra Profile on LinkedIn

Welcome to the first episode of In the Lead with UCEA’s podcast series on the University Principal Preparation Initiative (UPPI). Join UCEA Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jimenez as she talks with Dr. Richard Gonzales, Director of Educational Leadership Preparation Programs at the University of Connecticut.  

How did faculty at UConn decide that it was time to redesign their program? And how did faculty work together to grow trust and strengthen their relationships in order to create an innovative program?

In the Lead with UCEA is a production of University FM via a grant from The Wallace Foundation.

Chapter Timestamps:

• Introductions | 0:00
• How did UCONN pursue this initiative? | 0:49
• How does the faculty work to overcome challenges? | 5:32
• Faculty taking leadership during a redesign effort | 10:51
• Shaping an emphasis on equity | 17:26
• The lasting impacts of this process | 21:26
• Summary & Closing | 24:42

Episode Quotes:

How students are playing active role in shared governance

22:50: With the assistance of our students, who now play an active role in shared governance, which was not true prior to UPPI, we realized that they were missing a voice that we wanted to include going forward. With their assistance, and with the assistance and support of the faculty, we are going to change our program of study again and prioritize things like self-care and work-life balance, not just topics, but also make sure that they have tools for time management.

On working with Wallace Foundation for UPPI

07:10: How did we overcome the challenges? UPPI was a bit structured by the Wallace Foundation in terms of giving us tasks to think about the work to prepare the work—what I think the Institute for Learning out of Pittsburgh calls organizing for effort. So we did a self-study. That was one of the very first things that all participants in UPPI had to do. So we used the quality measures tool for leader preparation programs, and that gave us data that helped us understand where our strengths were, where the areas of potential improvement were going to be.

How students are playing active role in shared governance

21:54: UCAPP 3.0, the third generation of our program, is completely different. The courses are different. We switched from a traditional supervision model in clinical experience to leadership coaching. And that's not just a change in terms. It is a change in role and function. We have core assessments that are independent projects that had never been done before. Most importantly, with the support of the faculty, we've redesigned again. We've completely changed two of the instructional leadership courses because while they were a good start, they weren't what we thought was right, and we could do better.

Show Links:

• Richard Gonzales Faculty Profile at UCONN
• Richard Gonzales Profile on LinkedIn