Navigating the Ubiquitous, Misunderstood, and Evolving Role of the Educational Leadership Program Coordinator in Higher Education

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

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

Published 2023

Navigating the Ubiquitous, Misunderstood, and Evolving Role of the Educational Leadership Program Coordinator in Higher Education is an edited volume of chapters focused on the role of the program coordinator (PC) in educational leadership. 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. Noelle A. Paufler and Ellen H. Reames (editors) created this book to examine various aspects of the PC role because it has been largely ignored in the educational leadership preparation literature. The book examines various aspects of the PC role to include responsibilities, navigating the politics and policies of higher education and educational agencies, internal and external problems and barriers related to the role, and recommendations and possibilities for enhancing the PC role. The book is divided into 3 sections: Section 1 centers on the roles of the PC and also includes a model that can be used to structure PC responsibilities within programs. Section 2 focuses the readers’ attention to present misunderstanding of the PC as a quasiadministrative role which appears to be gaining in clarity through present research. Section 3 gives a glimpse to future trends which includes the growing use of clinical faculty as PCs.

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.

The audience also includes faculty in higher educational leadership program development and school/university partnership development and enhancement across public and private enterprises who are educating future leaders. Other interested groups are university and school-based professionals who are seeking to improve relationships, partnerships, and collaborations between educational leadership preparation programs and K-12 districts and related agencies. The book would also be of value to those who conduct research in the areas of partnership creation and implementation and to those who conduct research which improves educational leadership preparation and development. The role of the PC in educational leadership is critical to the success of higher education leadership preparation programs and is often very different than PCs in other higher education disciplines.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION. Ubiquitous, Misunderstood, and Evolving: Characterizing the Role of the Educational Leadership Program Coordinator, Noelle A. Paufler and Ellen H. Reames. SECTION I. Connecting the Dots: Program Coordinator as School-District-University Partnership Facilitator, Karen D. Jones and Travis Lewis. Bridging the Gap Between Higher Education and K–12: The Role of Program Coordinators in Educational Leadership Programs, Isela Peña and Rebecca Schlosser. The Educational Leadership Program Coordinator: Partnerships and Recruiting, Ellen H. Reames, Angela C. Adair, and Alfred Parham. SECTION II. Two Lenses—One Focus: Examining Educational Leadership Program Coordinator Roles, Barbara Qualls and Stacy Hendricks. Program Coordination at UCEA-Affiliated Universities in the Wake of COVID-19, William Kyle Ingle and Joanne M. Marshall. Successes, Challenges, and Hopes of an Educational Leadership Program Coordinator: Balancing the Self and Others, Barbara L. Pazey. SECTION III. “We’re Lucky To Have Each Other”: Solo Leadership Faculty as Program Coordinators, Wesley Henry, Ann E. Blankenship Knox, Sarah M. Jouganatos, and Lori Rhodes. The Role of the Clinical Professor: Program Coordination and Partnership Development, William A. Bergeron, Yvette Bynum, and Brenda Mendiola. Recruiting and Partnership Experiences of the Graduate Assistant to the Program Coordinator, Angela C. Adair. About the Authors.