The Fordham Graduate School of Education is proud to announce that its Educational Administration program has been ranked #29 among all similar programs offered across the country. Housed in the Division of Educational Administration, Leadership and Policy (ELAP), the information to set the ranking was collected during fall 2022 and early 2023 for the U.S. News annual statistical survey of graduate programs.
According to division chair Margaret Terry Orr, Ph.D., “The ranking is based on a program’s reputation in the field of educational leadership. This reflects our faculty’s active involvement in the educational leadership field, in training the students we prepare, as well as the broader research and other work we do. It’s reflective of a long arc of achievement that is continuously being built upon.”
Key to the program’s success, and ultimately the educational leaders it sets forth, is the focus on practical application of the principles of improvement science while using a social justice perspective. This unique approach, which grew out of the division’s collaboration with the Improvement Leadership Education and Development (iLEAD) network funded by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, helps educational leaders better investigate and find solutions for persistent problems of practice in their schools and districts.
ELAP also co-sponsors the New York Education Policy Leadership Program (NYEPLP). This program provides a unique yearlong professional development experience for educators who have a strong interest in overall strategic education policy; fellows represent urban, suburban, rural, private, parochial and public schools.
The educational leadership program is lauded for its scholarship focusing on leadership, development, practice, and the impact and recognition of its graduates. “We are recognized for developing educational thought leaders and innovators, as reflected in the educational leadership roles our graduates hold,” stated Orr.
The division stresses the importance of remaining actively engaged in continuous improvement in terms of its programs and research, and looks to contribute to these ongoing efforts to strengthen its focus and commitment to equity and improvement.
The success of the educational administrational program is also reflected in the accolades the faculty, students and graduates receive. Examples include faculty member Elizabeth Leisy Stosich, Ed.D. receiving the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Division A Emerging Scholar Award; alumnus Ainsley Rudolfo, Ed.D. receiving the AERA 2023 Kottkamp Dissertation of the Year Award; alumna Rosalyn Barnes, Ed.D. being awarded the national 2021 Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award; and faculty member Elizabeth Gil’s involvement with the UCEA Barbara L. Jackson Scholars Network to mentor graduate students of color who intend to become professors of educational leadership. Regarding students, John Sullivan and Damian Pacheco secured a $500,000 grant to create an innovative remote academy for older high school students; Celeste Coleman completed a Fulbright-Hays group research project; and Osei Owusu-Afriyie and Seung Yu were named to the 2022 Cahn Fellows Programs.
Orr herself has been heavily engaged in policy setting and leadership roles both as past president of the Metropolitan Council for Education Administration, where she worked regionally and statewide on improving leadership preparation and changing state and local policy around supporting leadership preparation, and as a leader in the development and redesign of the National Leadership Standards.
To learn more about the Fordham Graduate School of Education Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy program click here.
