Educational Leadership Program Coordinators

Partnership Creators Through Social Connectedness

Edited by:
Ellen H. Reames, Auburn University
Noelle A. Paufler, Clemson University

A volume in the series: Dimensions of Leadership and Institutional Success: Exploring Connections and Partnerships. Editor(s): Ellen H. Reames, Auburn University.

Published 2025

Educational Leadership Program Coordinators: Partnership Creators Through Social Connectedness is an edited volume of chapters which focus on the social bonds and connections formed as program coordinators develop partnerships with K-12 school districts, other higher education institutions, and agencies which support learning in schools and universities. The book is a recent addition to the book series: Dimensions of Leadership and Institutional Success: Exploring Connections and Partnerships, edited by Ellen H. Reames. Ellen and co-editor Noelle A. Paufler created this book to examine the theme of social connectedness and the creative nature of program coordinators. The theme of social connectedness is a key factor in fostering healthy and positive relationships for educational leadership programs and their faculty as they venture into the community at large. The chapters in this volume are laden with the presence of networks established with the community, access to the networks, and a sense of membership and belongingness. These partnerships from a social connectedness lens help assure program stability, resilience, and creativity. This volume examines how program coordinators creatively connect with the larger external and internal environments in what is known as learning partnerships. The editors have included national as well as international treatments of the topic.

The primary audience is higher education faculty and administrators. The term program coordinator spans across all disciplines and is used in most higher education institutions across the United States. Higher education institutions are also interested in sustaining partnerships within the university and the communities beyond. This book can assist with nuances of partnership development for any higher education field of study.

ENDORSEMENTS
"Dr. Reames and Dr. Paufler have emerged as leaders in the field of research of the program coordinator, a quasi-administrative role within institutions of higher learning that has slowly started to receive the attention it deserves. Prior research on program coordinators has focused largely on their roles and responsibilities as well as the time consumption and costs associated with these roles and responsibilities. In this edited volume, Dr. Reames, Dr. Paufler, and their contributors focus on one of the most important role that program coordinators play in educational leadership programs—that of intermediary between educational leadership programs and external partners within their communities, states, and beyond. It is through these partnerships that program coordinator seek to ensure educational leadership program improvements, relevance, viability, and utility. Program coordinators serve as vital interfaces with their program faculty, administrators at the department-, college, and universities-levels as well as external stakeholders at the school-, district-, state-, and federal-levels. Through this edited volume, Drs. Reames and Paufler have helped to bring this under-studied role out of the shadows." — W. Kyle Ingle, University of Louisville

"The Educational Leadership Program Coordinator holds a unique position in the university. The individual who serves in this role is a vital link between research and practice and between the university and the constituents and schools it serves. Although the effectiveness of the person in this role is a primary factor in program and student success, there is a serious void in the literature about this topic. Reames and Paufler have successfully filled that void. This book presents a comprehensive view of the roles and functions of the program coordinator and elements that foster and hinder success as well as providing a framework for future study. It should be of value to deans, department heads, program coordinators, and legislators responsible for funding issues and regulatory practices, and those interested in assuring educational leadership program success. I recommend this book with enthusiasm and with the highest of praise. It is breaking new ground in the research field and holds promise for enhancing and improving the administration, quality, and outcomes of Educational Leadership Preparation Programs everywhere." — Frances Kochan, Auburn University

CONTENTS
Educational Leadership Program Coordinators: Using Social Connectedness as a Lens for Partnership Development, Ellen H. Reames, and Noelle A. Paufler. Role of Program Coordinators in Incentivizing and Developing K–12 Partnerships, Suzy Hardie, and Peter Moyi. The Role of the Educational Leadership Program Coordinator in Partnership Development: Building Partnerships With State, National, and International Professional Organizations, Karen C. Bryant, Jami Royal Berry, Kourtney Clark, and Sarah McCollum. Multiple Leaders in a Program Coordinators’ Community (PCC): Developing a New Educational Leadership Program, Lizette Navarrete-Burks, Abdelnasser Hussein, Laura J. Link, and Diane M. Miller. Rowing Through Churning Water: A Reflective Case Study of Institutional Complexity, Partnerships, and Program Coordination, William R. Black, Brianne L. Reck, and Zorka Karanxha. “We Are Rising Up”: Dreaming and Living Indigenous Futures Through the Educational Leadership Role, Anthony B. Craig, and Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn. LEAP as a Powerful Partnership to Build School Leadership Capacity, Warren Marks, and Suzanne Lazenby. Collaborative Program Administration to Leverage Leaders’ Strengths and Connections: Distributive Leadership in Action, Yanira Oliveras, and Wesley D. Hickey. Educational Leadership Program Coordinators and Strategic Utilization of Adjunct Faculty, Karen L. Sanzo, Jay Paredes Scribner, and Leona McGowan. Partnerships in Tuscaloosa, Brenda Mendiola, Ben White, Yvette Bynum, Bill Bergeron, Mike Daria, and Deron Cameron. The Australian Educational Leadership Experience: Partnerships in a Sunburned Country, Ellen H. Reames, and Noelle A. Paufler. About the Authors.