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Department of Educational Leadership

Bayh College of Education

Welcome to the Department of Educational Leadership

Our faculty and staff hold the development and success of our students as the essential reason for the work we are called to do at Indiana State University.  Teaching is the fundamental tool of our rapport and work with students. Practical orientation and engaged learning provide the creative opportunity to apply theory to practice, to understand the conceptual foundation for our work, and to create new learning. We recognize that many of our students, who have come to serve as school administrators, college administrators, and leaders in both the public and private sectors, speak more to our success and ability than any one résumé that we proclaim for ourselves.

Each of our administrative programs is unique and are consistently updating and changing with the times, whether it is due to current laws, standards or even technology, the department’s faculty and staff are continuously working with new research and service activities that will benefit our program and our current and future students. 

Though the first two candidates awarded our Ph.D. in Education Administration was awarded in 1970, and Indiana State University and the College of Education established Education Administration as an area of graduate study as far back as 1971, the Department of Educational Administration was not officially established until 1982. 

Since that time, we have offered courses using a variety of delivery methods such as on-campus, distance education, Internet, hybrid, and we will continue to offer modified course settings to best fit today’s practitioners and students.

OUR MISSION

Our singular mission is to prepare today's practicing and promising educator to be tomorrow's complete administrative professional.

OUR VISION

We aspire to be the premier program in the preparation of working professionals for administrative leadership in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education.

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES

  • A scholar-practitioner orientation
  • Program access for the working professional
  • Varied course delivery (i.e., interactive television, Internet, and face-to-face)
  • Cohort approach to learning
  • Curriculum built around problems and opportunities for field-based experience and future practice
  • Anchored by the disciplines of educational foundations
  • Faculty engaged in a range of scholarly and service activities at the state, regional, national, and international levels
  • Collaboration with practicing professionals

CORE VALUES

A commitment to:

  • Quality programs and standards of excellence
  • Diverse PK-16 administrative ranks by providing access for underrepresented groups
  • Curriculum immersed in diverse perspectives
  • Inquiry-based learning
  • Collaboration in teaching, scholarship, and service among faculty and students
  • Continuous programmatic and curricular improvement 

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

Much has been written and discussed about the importance of diversity, especially for educational institutions such as schools and colleges have played their role in addressing societal inequities and providing social mobility. Yet, like many organizations, their staffing and leadership do not always reflect the diversity of the larger society. For example, in relation to societal demographics, school and college leadership may be disproportionally white and male despite considerable research that affirms the benefits of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity for both majority and historically underrepresented persons within organizations and for those for whom the organization serves. Given our departmental responsibilities for preparing persons for school or collegiate level administrative leadership, then, it is important that these kinds of diversity at a minimum be reflected in our faculty, staff, and students. To this end, the Department of Educational Leadership affirms the following value statements around the issue of diversity:

  • The recruitment and retention of underrepresented students, faculty, and department advisory board members within our administrative and academic fields are important.
  • Curriculum, course content and instructional pedagogy that is inclusive of diversity benefits historically represented and underrepresented students as well as the faculty member that initiates such efforts.
  • Intentional and purposeful efforts at including diverse issues and topics in our curriculum, course content, and instructional pedagogy are necessary irrespective of how diverse our students are.
  • Faculty hiring searches should be intentional and purposeful at diversifying the candidate pool but also should be intentional and purposeful at planning and executing a search and screen process to maximize the chances of making a historically underrepresented faculty hire.
  • Intentional and purposeful faculty recruitment efforts that lead to an historically underrepresented faculty hire should be matched with careful planning, discussion, and initiation of the kind of environment that supports their retention.
  • Developing multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skill competence among our faculty, staff, departmental affiliates (e.g., adjuncts, advisory board) and students is important and must be purposeful and ongoing.
  • Tenure, promotion, pay for performance, and annual review evaluations should include consideration of an individual’s efforts at developing multicultural competence in their teaching, scholarship, and/or service with documented evidence represented in their portfolio.
  • Departmental office and commons physical spaces should present a message of inclusivity.
  • Departmental assessment efforts in diversity should align with the expectations of our accrediting agents.
  • The effort at diversifying our faculty, staff, and students and developing multicultural competency is an ongoing improvement process rather than an “end state” that is achieved.

Dr. Mary F. Howard-Hamilton is the Bayh College of Education Dr. Lotus Delta Coffman Distinguished Research Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at Indiana State University. She received the George D. Kuh Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in 2021, the Presidential Medal from the Association for the Study of Higher Education in November 2018 and was a recipient of the Contribution to Knowledge Award from the American College Personnel Association in 2017. Indiana State University awarded her with the Presidential Medal for Exemplary Teaching and Scholarship and the Theodore Dreiser Distinguished Research and Creativity Award in 2015. She also received the Bayh College of Education, Holmstedt Distinguished Professorship Award for 2012-2013. Dr. Howard-Hamilton received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from The University of Iowa and a Doctor of Education, Ed.D., from North Carolina State University. Dr. Howard-Hamilton has served as a higher education student affairs administrator for 15 years and a full-time faculty member for 24 years. She has spent her entire professional career in 

As a researcher, Dr. Howard-Hamilton has published over 90 articles and book chapters. The most recent co-authored books are, “ Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Student Affairs Practice: A Professional Competency-Based Approach”, “Diverse Millennial Students in College”, “Multiculturalism on Campus: Theories, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion”, “Unleashing Suppressed Voices on College Campuses: Diversity Issues in Higher Education” and “Standing on the Outside Looking In: Underrepresented Students’ Experiences in Advanced Degree Programs”. Dr. Howard-Hamilton was a presenter at the Oxford Roundtable in Oxford, England. She has also served as a consultant and instructor for the Student Housing Training Institute in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Currently, Dr. Howard-Hamilton is a member of the Editorial Boards for the Journal of College Student Development, The Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, as well as The Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education.

Dr. Howard-Hamilton is a member of three boards, The United Campus Ministry in Terre Haute, The Dr. Melvin C. Terrell Educational Foundation, Inc., and the Equity Conscious Community College Pathways Advisory Board. Previously Dr. Howard-Hamilton has served on the Executive Board for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) as the Member-at-Large from 2014-2016. She also served on the Board for the Association of College and University Housing Officer International (ACUHOI) as the Knowledge Enhancement Director from 2011-2014. Her other honors include being selected by the American College Student Personnel Association to serve as a Senior Scholar from 2013-2018, the Diverse Issues in Higher Education Top 25 Women in Higher Education and Beyond in 2018, the Champion of Diversity Award from the Indiana Minority Business Magazine in January 2013, The Terre Haute Human Rights Commission Diversity Award in October 2013, The Garcia Exemplary Scholarship Award from the Council on Ethic Participation – Association for the Study of Higher Education, in 2011, “Robert S. Shaffer Award” for Academic Excellence as a Graduate Faculty Member and the University of Iowa, Albert Hood Distinguished Alumni Award. She also received The Monroe County (Indiana) Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor of the Year Award for 2006.

Dr. Howard-Hamilton is a Diamond Life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., the Immediate Past President of the Bloomington Alumnae Chapter and has served as the Secondary Advisor for Zeta Nu Chapter at Indiana State University. She serves on the Delta Sigma Theta National Institutional Research Committee as well as the Sister Scholars Research Task Force. Serving the Terre Haute community, she is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was a clarinetist for the inaugural New Horizons Community Band at Indiana State University, and former member of 100+ Women Who Care Vigo County.

Her primary avocation is gardening in which she is a Bronze Certified Master Gardener and member of the Wabash Valley Master Gardener’s Association. Dr. Howard-Hamilton has a passion for reading Afrocentric literature and going to the movies. She has a beautiful furry child, Nala, an 8-year-old rescued German Shepheard.

Frequently Asked Questions

ISU charges by credit hour. The tuition rates can be found on their website: https://indianastate.edu/costs-aid/graduate-tuition-rates. Out of state students may be eligible for tuition discounts or the in-state tuition rate depending on where they live and/or the nature of their programs.

Program completion depends on whether a student enrolls full or part-time with many, but not all, of the programs eligible for part-time enrollment. Depending on the degree, a full-time student can generally complete their coursework in two years, although some programs can be completed in as little as one year. Please see the program descriptions on specifics about typical time to degree.

For Ed. S. and Ph. D. programs, we do have a mechanism for some or most of your previous coursework to count toward your degree (e.g., master’s coursework that can be applied toward an Ed.S. or Ph.D. degree). For master's programs, the School of Graduate Studies allows the transfer of up to 30% of your required credits. All courses must be approved for transfer by the program coordinator. You should discuss your specific situation with the coordinator of your degree program.

You should contact the coordinator of your particular program. They are:

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is NOT required for all degree programs.

Schedules of classes are available online through the ISU Portal on this website: https://isuportal.indstate.edu. You can look at the schedule of classes and the ISU academic calendar without having to log-in by clicking "Click here to View Resources which do not require a login." in the middle of the page. Or click here

The most important deadline dates are:

  • Deadlines that may exist for program applications (see the program links within our website for that information).
  • Deadlines for registering for classes (see the Important Dates for the Registration link in the ISU Portal: https://isuportal.indstate.edu or click here
  • Application deadlines for graduation (YES, you must apply to graduate) are found under Critical Dates under the Current Students link at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies website: http://www.indstate.edu/gradexpress/. Applications to graduate can be found under the forms link at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies website
  • For doctoral students, deadlines for final dissertation defenses can be found at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies website (be aware that the department has deadlines that precede the College of Graduate and Professional Studies deadlines by 3 weeks). Deadline information can be found under Critical Dates under the Current Students link at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies website: http://www.indstate.edu/gradexpress/
  • Other deadlines may be listed through the Department, the College of Education, or the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. You are ultimately responsible for knowing and meeting these deadline expectations.

Log in to your “MYISU” Portal at https://isuportal.indstate.edu/. ….on the bottom of the page that loads, make sure to click on “MyISUApps” first. Then…Click on the “Student self-service” box. On the left, under “Class Schedule” please click “Register (Add/Drop Classes). You will then come to the “Select Term” page. Under the drop-down box, choose the term you wish to enroll for. If you experience any difficulties, contact the Department of Educational Leadership at 812-237-2900 or 812-237-2895.

The help desk can assist you with your connectivity and troubleshooting needs at 812-237-2910 or it-helpdesk@mail.indstate.edu.
For issues involving Canvas, please call 812-237-7000. If you have questions about the course content, contact your professor.

You can check yourself via the MyISU Portal after logging in with your username and password: https://isuportal.indstate.edu. If you need help on how to access your personal portal information, you can call the Help Desk at the Office of Information Technology: 812-237-2910 (toll-free 888-818-5465), IT-Help@indstate.edu