Leadership. Education. Equity.
Welcome to the Department of Educational Administration!
In 1913, Woodrow Wilson served as President of the United States, the women’s suffrage movement was gaining momentum, and 15,000 licensed vehicles were registered in Nebraska. The first commercial airline flight was a year away and the events triggering The Great War were becoming visible on the horizon. It was also the year the Department of School Administration began preparing administrators for elementary and secondary schools at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In the hundred-plus years that have followed, we’ve expanded from our roots in PK-12 to include masters and doctoral programs higher education. Today, the Department of Educational Administration (EDAD) serves over 300 graduate students in both P-12 and higher education in Nebraska, across the USA, and globally. Our alums serve as principals, superintendents, student affairs professionals, admissions counselors, residence life coordinators, academic advisors, directors, and more. They’re faculty members and leaders in community colleges and on college and university campuses. They serve as researchers, professors, presidents, deans, vice-chancellors, and commissioners. They’re movers, shakers, scholars, and leaders. Huskers.
Our faculty conduct ground breaking research and outreach into the most significant and complicated challenges in P-20 education. Below is a list of some of their recent accomplishments. See the faculty biographies page for further details.
American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Faculty Fellow, 2018
The Diversity Scholars Network Member, 2022
Arthur M. Cohen & Florence B. Brawer Distinguished Service Award, Council for the Study of Community Colleges, 2019
Emerging Scholars Designee Award, ACPA, 2021
Donna Elder Inspired Leader Award, 2017
UNL Office of Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Selected participant in the Faculty Leadership in Academia, 2021
College of Public Affairs and Community Service Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Service, University of Nebraska-Omaha , 2021
East Asia SIG Best Paper Award Comparative International Education Society East Asia SIG, 2022
Excellence in International Research Award, ACPA Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development, 2017
Big Ten Academic Leadership Program Fellow, 2020
LGBTQ Advocate Award, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2016
"Yeah, but what about this kid? Tier 3 behavior interventions that work," written by Grace Dearborn & Scott Sturgeon, 2019
Finalist in Pearson’s Online Learning Excellence Award, 2016
INSPIRE Institute Fellow, University Council for Educational Administration/Utah Education Policy Center, 2018
Nebraska Academy of Early Childhood Research Fellow, 2019
The Nebraska Difference
Harry Pelcha (UNL Class of 1924) penned the now-famous line “There is no place like Nebraska” in writing the words and music to Dear Old Nebraska U. Nearly a hundred years later, EDAD offers serious and passionate students remarkable learning opportunities at the masters and doctoral levels in a learning environment like no other.
Our Husker Scholars experience a unique and vibrant learning community with a focus on connecting theory and practice. We do this with an award-winning team of scholars, researchers, and teachers with a longstanding commitment to excellence and common interests in class, race, gender, access, and equity in education. The latest and most innovative distance education technology, including the Canvas Learning Management System and Zoom videoconferencing connect our faculty and students across zip codes, time zones, and continents. Each EDAD student is also invited to our award-winning online Student Success Center, which houses dozens of resources for navigating successful study as a graduate student.
Our students aren’t sitting passively, watching from the sidelines. They’re active members of a learning community, building relationships with classmates across Nebraska, the USA, and beyond. They’re exploring and applying theory, conducting research, and collaborating with peers and faculty to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities at the PK-12, community college, and higher education levels.
Our faculty members have studied at some of the most prestigious institutions in America and beyond. Many conduct leading research into the most pressing and complex challenges in education, sharing it with students in the classroom and other higher education scholars across the country and globe. They work alongside other professors with decades of combined expertise as practitioners in the field. Called “professors of practice,” these faculty members have lived and breathed the work of leadership in PK-12 schools and higher education. This unique combination of faculty with research, theoretical, and practical expertise makes for a dynamic and rigorous learning environment. Connecting theory, research, and real-world practice are what we do.
Our award-winning faculty members serve on the editorial boards of more than two dozen peer-reviewed journals and are frequently sought as keynote speakers, special guests, and expert presenters. They’re highly-sought consultants, certified Gallup Strengths Coaches, best-selling authors, and internationally known for their teaching, research, engagement, and service.
For more than three decades, EDAD has hosted the Women in Educational Leadership Conference, which brings scholars and practitioners from PK-12 through higher education together each October. Our Critical Issues Forum convenes researchers and practitioners to explore promising practices related to some of the most vexing educational challenges. We also host the Sybouts Student Research Symposium, which brings EDAD students from across the country together to sharpen their research and inquiry skills.
EDAD also houses the National Council of Instructional Administrators, a national organization of community college instructional administrators, which works collaboratively with our Community College Leadership Certificate. EDAD and The University of Nebraska-Lincoln also host the online peer-reviewed journals, Contemporary Issues in Educational Leadership and the Journal of Women in Educational Leadership.
The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) offers EDAD students dozens of additional, no-cost mini-courses to sharpen their skills. Love Library offers EDAD students research assistance and consultation through a designated liaison. In addition to the 1.5 million books and 3.5 million other resources housed in Love Library, our students have access to 20 million more through the Big Ten Academic Alliance. EDAD students also utilize the Nebraska Evaluation and Research Center (NEAR) for expert consultation on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research and hands-on training.
We appreciate your interest in our programs and invite you to explore our space to learn more. Check out the diverse experiences and expertise of our faculty. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Examine our research, publications, and engagement locally, nationally, and globally. Take a look at our state capital and home of Lincoln, Nebraska, a quintessential Midwestern college town and growing city of 290,000. Get to know our remarkable students, faculty, staff, and alums. We think you’ll agree that Harry Pelcha was right. There is no place like Nebraska!