Center for Leadership in Education

The University of Richmond Center for Leadership in Education is a partnership between the University’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies and School of Professional and Continuing Studies.

The Center seeks to engage stakeholders in educational leadership — including thought leaders, practitioners, trainers, researchers and educators — in collaborative partnerships that apply the Jepson model of leadership studies in K-12 education settings.

The Center is able to draw on current thought leaders in education and leadership, including the leadership theory of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the pedagogical resources of the Education program in the School of Professional & Continuing Studies, local school divisions, and the research capabilities of the two universities’ faculty and graduate students.

Mission

The Center for Leadership in Education is a collaboration between the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies and School of Professional and Continuing Studies. The Center infuses leadership studies across the K-12 curriculum.

The Center’s mission is based on the principle that the study of leadership creates citizens prepared to exercise their responsibilities in a democratic society. Higher education has a duty to provide elementary and secondary education institutions with the capacity to sustain our democratic heritage. The Center complements the purpose of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, to educate people for and about leadership, and the mission of the School of Professional & Continuing Studies, to transform lives through lifelong learning. Educating for leadership mandates development of critical and analytical skills. Educating about leadership requires a base of knowledge about the concepts required to be an active and engaged leader.

The Center provides both thought leadership and research tools to assist elementary and secondary institutions in three main areas:

• Providing instruction to elementary and secondary students in the area of leadership studies;
• Assisting elementary and secondary teachers with pedagogy and knowledge to infuse a rigorous standard of leadership studies into their subjects;
• Facilitating a dialogue with elementary and secondary administrators to strengthen their leadership knowledge.

The Center also conducts and offers a resource for research on the effectiveness of a non-traditional approach to leadership studies for educators.

Vision

The Center will transform how leadership studies is taught and administered in the K-12 setting by preparing students, teachers, and administrators in elementary and secondary schools to be active leaders in their schools and in their communities. The Center will become a national model in the study, teaching, and practice of leadership in the K-12 arena.

Programs & Research