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The Millersville University/Shippensburg University Joint Doctorate in Educational Leadership with Superintendent Licensure will be lauded in November with events on both campuses – a dinner at Shippensburg on Nov. 14 and the annual Education and Poverty Conference at Millersville on Nov. 15, where current students will present their research.
The joint doctorate is led by Millersville professor Dr. Ann Gaudino and Shippensburg associate professor Dr. Wendy Kubasko. The two co-directors work closely together to ensure students in the program enjoy the opportunities both institutions have to offer.
“This is a true joint program from a faculty perspective,” says Kubasko. “It was built such that all of the major checkpoints for students include both sides – interviews, orientation, candidacy exams and dissertation committees. We meet as a faculty twice a year to work through any issues, and Ann and I meet weekly during the year, because the program logistics can be challenging.”
That focus on collaboration has been in place since the program was created in 2015, according to Dr. Tiffany Wright ‘02M, professor of education and chair of the Department of Educational Foundations at Millersville, who helped create it. “Shippensburg and Millersville have relational approaches to leadership education and value that aspect of the program,” she says. “We’ve been very intentional about advertising and demonstrating a jointness between the institutions that’s unmatched. That’s on the faculty. They’ve been tried and true; both sides were present and integral parts of developing the courses.”
Ten Years Ago – 2015
Wright, who was a second-year faculty member at the time, recalls being approached by the dean of the education school, Dr. Jane Bray, about working with Shippensburg University on a joint practitioner-oriented doctoral program. “She was a force,” Wright says. “ ‘You’re coming with me to talk about this program,’ she said, ‘because you are the right person to start this.’ At the time, I was coordinating the master’s leadership program and was also a graduate of the program.”
The joint Doctorate in Education program was a dream of Dr. Gerald Fowler at Shippensburg, according to Wright. Fowler is an emeritus professor of educational leadership who served as a teacher, principal, reading supervisor, superintendent and associate professor in a public education career that spanned more than four decades. “Jerry and I spent many, many hours working on this,” she says, “alongside Dr. Victor DeSantis, who was at the time dean of graduate studies at Millersville, and people from all levels – deans, provosts, presidents, faculty. There was a lot of buy-in.”
A needs assessment conducted by Fowler determined that the program should be a professional doctorate with courses offered through a hybrid structure (in-person and online).
The program proposal was submitted to PASSHE in January of 2015 and was approved quickly. Wright and her colleagues then needed to write the curriculum in time for the first cohort to start in mid-May of that same year. “Shippensburg had the superintendent’s letter of eligibility program that they were bringing into
the program, and we created the doctoral courses,” Wright says.
There was such a demand for the program that four cohorts were held in the first two years. “I was the only educational leadership faculty member at the time,” says Wright, “So that was not sustainable. We moved back to one cohort per year, which is the current schedule.”
Ten Years Later – 2025
When the current cohort (#13), which started the program in August, completes their work, the joint doctorate will have produced more than 100 graduates, according to Kubasko. “That is amazing, in itself. We have also produced a number of current sitting superintendents and folks sitting at cabinet-level and state-level positions,” she says.
Wright adds that a number of Millersville’s adjunct faculty are alumni of the program. It has continued to thrive, she says, for several reasons: it draws from two geographic areas, alumni sell it through word-of-mouth marketing, and it’s a great combination of “high rigor and high support.”
Both Gaudino and Kubasko agree.
“Faculty give a lot of wrap-around care to each student, because they want students to succeed,” Gaudino says. She adds that the cohort format also increases the likelihood of graduating from the program “because they make ties and encourage one another in moments
of struggle.”
Kubasko concurs, saying “Students become close to other cohort members, who help them push through and fight to the end. This program is intentionally a blended cohort model where we meet with students monthly. They are never alone on this journey. What makes it special is that we are right alongside them.”
Most students are school leaders who are looking for a doctorate, according to Gaudino. “They are principals, special education leaders, or others who want to gain a superintendent licensure for a leadership role or for teaching at the university level.”
They travel from locations up to four hours away; most are within two hours. They are ages 30 to 50, juggling full-time jobs and kids, and take about three to five years, on average, to complete the 52-credit program. The cohort meets in person at Central Penn College in Enola, Pennsylvania, once a month, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Saturday. This is a central location between Millersville and Shippensburg and has been key to attracting students.
The majority of those who enroll in the program – 93% – earn the degree, according to Gaudino. “Most doctoral programs have 50% completion rates,” she says. “They know we’re not giving up on them,” adds Kubasko. “They get the support throughout the program, and they get enough to cross the finish line.”
Graduates are often invited back as panelists and guest speakers. “Any time we reach out to them, they are happy to help,” Kubasko says. They also have the opportunity to offer their thoughts on the doctorate through a student/alumni advisory board. “Any feedback from students and former students we take seriously and talk about as a faculty,” Wright says. Kubasko adds that “we have used feedback to make modifications to the program, to ensure we are serving them the way they need to be served. Their voices are valued, and they feel that.”
Dr. George Ioannidis ’19D, chief executive officer of the Capital Area School for the Arts Charter School in Harrisburg, is a graduate of the program. He was enrolled in Shippensburg University’s superintendent certificate program while the doctoral program was being developed.
“I very much wanted to be on the ground floor of the program and lead the way for future education leaders to continue their own journey,” he says.
Completing the doctorate allowed Ioannidis, who at the time was the business manager at Spring Grove School District in York County, to apply to be superintendent. “I believe that the doctoral degree gave me the credentials that enabled me to attain the position and have the privilege to lead the organization on the heels of my predecessors and their successes,” he says.
“More personally, I developed a greater appreciation for the leadership role of the superintendent through the instruction of scholarly professors and accomplished practitioners. I believe that these academic classes, dissertation work and collegial interactions helped shape my professional persona and prepared me for the challenges I faced during my tenure.”
To learn more about the program, visit
millersville.edu/edfoundations/doctorate-of-education-in-educational-leadership.php.
