An Eye on the Ivy: Moving from the Superintendency to a Professorship.

The grass always looks greener.

More superintendents than ever appear to be considering a career change from school system leader to university professor. We are finding an increasing number of superintendent applicants as we search for new faculty in educational administration.

Recent state laws providing early-retirement incentives for public school educators undoubtedly contribute to this growing interest in higher education positions and other career alternatives. So, too, is the confrontational working relationship that exists between superintendents and their school boards in some communities.

We view positively the inclusion of successful school superintendents as candidates for educational administration professorships. The University Council on Educational Administration and the National Policy Board on Educational Administration, the leading professional groups in the preparation of school administrators, value practice and experience as important craft knowledge.

Involving practitioners in redesigning university programs in school leadership adds realism, orients us toward results, and offers a richness of experience as we prepare the next generation of administrators. Many school superintendents hold the Ed.D. or Ph.D., the basic academic credential necessary for higher education employment in our field.

After reviewing many applications and observing numerous interviews, we have concluded that school superintendents who seek careers as professors in educational administration could improve their candidacies by better understanding the academic search process.

A superintendent can do and say certain things to present the best possible profile when applying and interviewing for a faculty position that may differ from his or her present experiences. The major difference relates to understanding what is valued in academe and positioning oneself to capitalize on those values.

* Identifying available positions.

The major source of job listings is the Chronicle of Higher Education, not Education Week or AASA publications. Head hunters rarely are involved.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, printed weekly, may be found in any university library and through the Internet. Position announcements are categorized by area so vacancies in educational administration may be found under that title. Although positions can be announced at any time, educational administration departments generally advertise positions in the fall and screen applications and interview candidates in the early spring for positions opening the following fall.

The UCEA headquarters at Pennsylvania State University also maintains a registry of positions in educational administration.

* Understanding the search process.

Once the chair of the educational administration department receives approval to conduct a search, a faculty search committee is formed to write the job description, screen applications, and interview candidates. Most public institutions are required to advertise the position nationally to obtain a diverse pool of candidates.

Once applications are screened against criteria, some candidates are selected in the first cut. At this point, personal and professional references or persons who know the candidate may be called. Some candidates may be selected for telephone interviews. One to two days of interviewing may be scheduled for the finalists, and usually more than one candidate is brought to campus.

Faculty members recognize the importance of the candidate fitting into the particular culture of the department and institution, so the search committee may allot considerable time for the candidate to meet diverse campus groups. This includes graduate students, given the orientation to graduate study represented in educational administration. Faculty and student evaluations of the candidate are critical to the selection process.

LaRuth H. Gray, an affiliate professor of educational administration at New York University, was a superintendent in Abbott Union Free School District, Irvington, N.Y.

The Superintendency's Loss is the University's Gain

Colleges of education are benefitting from a steady stream of experienced school superintendents leaving for university professorships.

Among the recent shifters are William Attea, former superintendent in Glenview, Ill.; Drue Shropshire Guy, former superintendent in East Orange, N.J.; PaulJung, former superintendent in Des Plaines, Ill.; Nancy Sullivan, former superintendent in two Massachusetts districts; and Charles Thomas, former superintendent in two Chicago-area districts.

Attea, Jung, and Thomas have joined the faculty at National-Louis University in Wheeling, Ill. Guy is an assistant professor at Bowie State University. Sullivan joined Rhode Island College in Providence.

Because of the search committee's desire to ensure a good fit, an applicant's cover letter should list the names of 3-5 references who can support the candidate's academic and administrative credentials. Universities generally want letters of recommendation sent directly to the search committee, not attached to the cover letter. References from educational administration professors can help.

* Conducting pre-interview research.

No candidate should come to campus without knowing something about the university or department. Applicants should ask the department secretary in advance to send them the mission statement, department brochure, university catalog, departmentjournals, a list of faculty, historic information on the university or community, and a fact sheet on the university or department.

The candidate should know the department's professional associations and affiliations, be able to articulate his or her teaching fields, research agenda, and possible service (external and internal) commitments, and identify preferred courses to teach.

The successful candidate will understand what the department has done and where he or she can contribute. By reading a college catalog for the graduate program and conducting an ERIC search of the articles written by faculty, the candidate can ascertain the interests and research productivity of potential colleagues. This information may suggest a good fit between the candidate's expertise and interests.

* Preparing the letter and resume.

The cover letter should specify the position for which the candidate is applying, how he or she found out about the position, qualifications for the position, scope of contributions, courses of interest, or research agenda. The applicant also should describe any special service orientation to a particular group, e.g., business roundtable, other practicing administrators, the state department of education, or a professional association.

The resume should be formatted to emphasize academic qualifications, presentations, and publications rather than solely listing school district accomplishments as a superintendent. The resume also should note computer technology skills, expertise with instructional software, and workshops taken in technology.

* Emphasizing the right qualifications for the setting.

The qualifications for a professorship differ far more from those of the superintendent than many superintendents may realize.

Many UCEA-associated programs in educational administration prefer to see a research and publication record in the candidate's vitae. Minimally, an article from the doctoral thesis should have been published. The applicant should have presented at state and national professional meetings and should have visibility with state and national administrative groups. A record of achievement as a superintendent is important, of course, but the vitae should list professional associations rather than strictly business or community memberships.

The candidate should not assume his or her credentials match departmental needs. Indeed preliminary research by the candidate might minimize false steps. For instance, when one candidate referred to one of our popular state journals as a "little newsletter," his condescending judgment diminished his chances for employment.

Time spent preparing for the campus interview increases a candidate's understanding of the position and reduces the inclination to take a counterproductive step.

In describing one's employment history, the candidate should account for all time periods, including positions that may have been controversial. Faculty in educational administration programs recognize the turnover of administrators as an occupational hazard. They understand that superintendents who do a fine job may not have their contracts renewed because the board that hired them has changed.

One school administrator had a year left on his contract when the board decided not to renew his contract because of differences in philosophy. The superintendent immediately revised his resume and hand delivered it to one of our chairs in the department of educational administration. His resume, in addition to noting the doctorate, showed he had published in school law and kept current with state legal issues. Our law professor had just resigned a week before classes were to begin. He was hired to teach the classes and assured his opportunity to be considered for future employment.

* Do's and don'ts for interviews.

Candidates who made favorable impressions communicated a shared sense of values with university faculty--intellectual curiosity, collaborative research, and respect for teachers.

The following suggestions may enhance one's candidacy.

Provide reasons for making a career change in sync with university values.

Candidates will be asked why they wish to make a change from school leader to professor. Positive responses include: "I've always valued teaching and it will be challenging and exciting to use what I've learned as case study material for effective problem solving exercises in my classes." "After I finished my dissertation, I enjoyed conducting research and using research for data-based decision making." "This position affords me the opportunity to connect practice with theory to prepare more thoughtful and reflective practitioners for the field."

Responses like these communicate that the candidate values teaching (the primary mission for the university) and using a knowledge base to prepare school administrators.

Responses likely to turn off the search committee include: "The job of school superintendent has become too stressful. I want an easier life. I would really like more leisure time!" These statements imply that the life of a professor is stress-free. Professors know this to be untrue. The stresses are just different.

Another message that gets a negative reaction is: "My pension plan now permits me to take a lower-paying position." This statement suggests that monetary motivation is driving the interest in the position rather than a commitment to the field. Depending on the institution, a professor may be compensated well and have significant opportunities for paid consultancies, interesting travel, and other quality-of-life factors.

Value reading.

The successful candidate will demonstrate an awareness of the current literature in certain specialty areas. Don't say, "I haven't had time to read a book in several years." To professors, reading is work.

Whether reading for enjoyment, information, or understanding, one expects an educated person to continue reading as an intellectual experience. The candidate next will want to read recent issues of publications in educational administration, such as the Educational Administration Quarterly, The School Administrator, Planning and Changing; and Phi Delta Kappan for education in general, to become reoriented to the world of ideas instead of the world of action.

The successful candidate will be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and analysis of national cutting-edge issues. Craft knowledge is critical for case-study analysis and enriching one's teaching with real examples. Knowing the literature in depth is an expectation for veteran faculty. See below for description of resource and publications.)

Emphasize collaboration, not control.

Avoid statements like these: "As someone from the trenches, I can bring a very practical perspective that students cannot get in books" or "I have a lot of war stories I can share that will make the teaching more real."

Military metaphors suggest a leadership style based on confrontation and aggression rather than cooperation and collaboration. A successful candidate is more likely to express collegiality and the importance of working together. The university gives lip service at least (and often more) to democratic values and shared decision making. Faculty members value people who will work together even when they disagree.

Avoid control-laden statements like: "I let my teachers and principals do ...," "I let my team make the decisions except where I think they might fail," "We make sure that parents know their place," or "We only want kids in our school who are eager to learn."

Demonstrate a capacity to understand both sides of important educational issues.

Successful candidates will be able to argue an issue from pro and con positions and recognize their own particular biases. Candidates should take the high road--insist that school children come first over administrative convenience. One superintendent candidate lost the position when he told a joke about teacher unions and in so doing showed contempt for teachers, the very people who would be students in his classes.

Further, since programs of educational administration enroll mature graduate students, some full-time, a student may serve as a voting member on a search committee. A candidate's interview on campus also may include sessions with graduate students alone or with faculty. Their evaluation of the candidate's potential to the department can be a deciding factor.

Ask about job benefits outside of the interview situation.

The candidate should call the university benefits office (get a name and number from the department secretary) to compare his or her present benefit plan with the university plan.

* Avoiding sexual harassing behaviors.

Most universities have some type of policy against sexual harassment. Flirting with secretarial staff or making sexist references to faculty members will not win any points. This behavior is now more identifiable and considered more deplorable.

One superintendent candidate expressed suggestive non-verbal behavior toward a secretary and won her loud-spoken objection during his post-interview review. Just the appearance of unwanted sexual attention raised warning flags.

* Negotiating the conditions of employment.

At the conclusion of a faculty search, the recommendation to hire a candidate likely will be sent sequentially to the following administrators for review and approval: the department chair, dean, and provost or vice president for academic affairs. The university affirmative action officer has a review role as well to ensure that university search procedures were handled appropriately.

The chair or dean will receive approval to contact the candidate of choice and offer the position formally to him or her. The length between the interview and final notification can be two months or more.

The candidate of choice will be offered the position at a given salary rate and academic rank generally by phone with a letter to follow. In deciding whether to accept the position, the candidate should use this time to negotiate what other resources might be provided to him or her to provide incentives or assistance. These factors may include asking for additional salary, moving expenses (the university may have a maximum it will pay but the college or department may be able to supplement that amount if asked by the candidate), computer technology (IBM, Macintosh, printer, etc.), access to travel monies for professional conferences, assignments to provide specific leadership service to schools, membership fees for professional associations, etc. The candidate may have a say at this time in identifying his or her faculty load, the assignment of classes (how many each term and whether they are on campus or at extension sites), and other expectations and financial support for research.

These factors are often negotiable at the beginning of employment. Cues received during he interview and formal offer can assist the candidate in knowing whether the parameters of these factors, including salary, are tightly defined or have wide bands for negotiation.

While attempting to negotiate the best arrangement for oneself, the candidate should recognize that these conditions will become public among one's peers. If the conditions of employment for the new professor vary too widely from the typical employment conditions of one's colleagues, resentment can result and make future working relationships tenuous.

Upon final administrative approval and formal acceptance from the candidate, authorization and approval from the university's governance board will be sought. A letter of acceptance from the department chair or dean will seal the deal once an oral acceptance is given from the candidate. A contract from the board then is issued, sometimes after the candidate already has been employed.

* Preparing early for career opportunities.

Most importantly, superintendents should plan early to make the eventual career change. They can publish or co-publish articles--both opinion and research-based, including research emanating from the doctoral dissertation or applied research activities in school districts. They should attend conferences where other school superintendents and university administrators attend. (See page 14 for resource organizations.)

Maintaining connections with university programs and offering to teach when needed at the adjunct level are helpful. Superintendents will learn and contribute a great deal. The superintendent's school can be offered as a research site, intern site, or professional development school that demonstrates partnerships between schools and universities.

With careful planning and a greater understanding of the university value system, the superintendent can be a Super Prof. The career path from one arena to the other can be a natural progression of interests and professional challenges that revitalize the preparation of future school leaders.

Sally Pancrazio is dean of the College of Education at Illinois State University in Normal, Ill. and earlier served as assistant superintendent and acting executive deputy superintendent with the Illinois State Department of Education. Patricia First is dean of the College of Education at the University of Dayton and previously chaired the Department of Educational Leadership at Western Michigan University.

How to Improve Your Odds

The following publications and resources would be useful for school leaders applying for professorships in educational administration:

The Chronicle of Higher Education, (1255 23rd St., NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20037, 202-466-1000) publishes weekly news and announcements for available positions in higher education in its "Bulletin Board" section. See announcements under "Educational Administration."

University Council of Educational Administration, (c/o Pennsylvania State University, 212 Rackley Building, University Park, Pa. 16802, 814-863-7916) maintains a registry of available positions in educational administration.

Educational Administration Quarterly (c/o editor James Cibulka, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2400 E. Hartford Ave., Enderis Building, Suite 517, Milwaukee, Wis. 53211, 414-229-5704) is published by Sage Publications in cooperation with UCEA and presents peer-reviewed articles in educational administration.

Planning and changing: An Educational Leadership and Policy Journal (c/o editor Judith Mogilka, Educational Administration and Foundations Department, Illinois State University, 331 DeGarmo Hall, Normal, Ill. 61790-5900, 309-438-5422) is published quarterly and presents peer-reviewed articles in leadership, policy, and administration.

Kappan (c/o editor Pauline B. Gough, Phi Delta Kappa Inc., P.O. Box 789, Bloomington, Ind. 47402, 812-339-1156) publishes 10 times a year, carrying articles about educational research, service, leadership, and policy.

Educational Resources Information Center's Clearinghouse on Educational Management (c/o University of Oregon, 1787 Agate St., Eugene, Ore. 97403, 800-438-8841 or 503-386-5043) collects and disseminates journal articles, speeches, unpublished manuscripts, government reports, which are cataloged and indexed in Resources in Education and available in university libraries.

Getting Published Here and Elsewhere

Whether you are a school leader intending to stay one, a university faculty member in educational administration, or someone in transition, you might consider sharing your know-how and experiences with an audience of fellow professional educators.

Writing for a national readership of practitioners in K-12 education is an excellent way for successful and innovative leaders to contribute to the field. Unfortunately, too few take advantage of that opportunity.

As Albert Holliday, editor of The Journal of Educational Public Relations, recently put it: "Administrators and principals who list articles in their own resumes are almost an anomaly in basic education."

As editor of The School Administrator, naturally I would prefer you think of our magazine first when you are ready to prepare an article for possible publication. We reach an influential audience each month of nearly 16,000 superintendents, central-office administrators, site administrators, and university professors.

Recently we revised our set of author guidelines to help those who want to submit an article to The School Administrator. We also prepared a companion flyer, "Editing Yourself," which offers invaluable advice on how to ensure your article gets full consideration from editors here or elsewhere.

We would be happy to send these to anyone who is interested. We also welcome inquiries from educators who may not be subscribers to our magazine. For copies of these documents, call our office at 703-875-0772 or send me an e-mail message at [e-mail].

Sometimes, your topic may be better suited for a different audience. For that reason, we have compiled a concise directory of 10 education magazines that welcome outside contributions from school leaders. Contact them for contributor guidelines.

Jay P. Goldman

A Snapshot of Today's Professoriate

MARTHA McCARTHY 

NEIL THEOBALD

If you are contemplating a career shift to academe, you ought to consider these trends over the past decade:

* the number of faculty members in educational administration has increased slightly;

* representation of women among educational administration faculty has gained significantly;

* one in 10 faculty members in educational administration once served as a school district superintendent.

These relevant findings emerged from a work in progress, a national study of the educational leadership professoriate today, co-sponsored by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration and the University Council for Educational Administration.

Our project gathered information in 1994 on the characteristics, activities, and attitudes of faculty members currently preparing school leaders. We replicated, in part, studies completed in 1972 and 1986 to facilitate longitudinal comparisons of the educational leadership professoriate. The 1994 data were gathered from faculty and unit heads of the 371 educational leadership units offering graduate programs for K-12 administrators in the United States and Canada.

A few of the findings are highlighted.

Growing ranks: From 1986 to 1994, the number of faculty members in educational leadership units increased slightly from a mean of 5.0 to 5.6.

Growing older: The mean age of educational leadership faculty members continued to climb from 48 in 1972 to 52 in 1986 to 54 in 1994. The portion of faculty under age 40 dropped from 21.5 percent in 1972 to 2.2 percent in 1994.

Changing faces: Female representation increased from 1.6 percent in 1972 to 20.7 percent in 1994. Women comprised 39 percent of the faculty hired during the past five years. Minority representation increased from 2.6 percent in 1972 to 11.5 percent in 1994. People of color comprised 14 percent of the faculty hired since 1989.

Practitioners desired: Among faculty members hired between 1989 and 1994, the majority (54 percent) moved into academe from positions as school administrators; 25 percent of these individuals were Superintendents, 18 percent were principals, and 12 percent were other school administrators (e.g., assistant superintendent). About one fifth of the current educational leadership faculty had been school administrators within the prior 10 years. Overall, though, 69 percent of the faculty listing previous employment held a professorial role at another institution before assuming their current jobs.

Satisfying jobs: As in 1986, educational leadership faculty members in 1994 were very satisfied with their jobs and their graduate programs. The 1994 cohort was more satisfied with the caliber of students than was true in 1986. Eighty-seven percent of the faculty members in 1994 would select academe again if given another chance to choose a career.

Pay expectations: The median academic year salary rane for educational leadership faculty members in 1994 was $50,000 to $54,999. In addition, the median salary range for summer school teaching was $5,000 to $6,999, and the median external (e.g. consulting) income range was $2,000 to $3,999.

Time allotments: Faculty members in 1994 reported they spent 50 percent of their time in teaching activities, 15 percent in research activities, 5 percent in outside consulting, and 30 percent in other service activities.

Top need: Faculty perceptions of the most critical need facing the field have changed in the last two decades from "a more extensive knowledge base" in 1972 to "curriculum reform" in 1986 to "more attention to problems of practice" in 1994.

Connections Worth Considering

Martha McCarthy, a professor of education law and policy, and Neil Theobald, an associate professor of education finance, co-authored the study of the educational leadership professoriate, which will be published as a monograph early in 1996 by the University Council of Educational Administration.

Several national professional associations and conferences can connect school superintendents with people and ideas that prepare superintendents to transition smoothly from schools to universities:

American Association of School Administrators (1801 N. Moore St., Arlington, Va. 22209, 703-528-0700) operates a special division for professors of educational administration that publishes a monograph, The AASA Professor and runs a full-day conference program annually at the National Conference on Education.

American Educational Finance Association (5249 Cape Leyte Drive, Sarasota, Fla. 34242, 813-349-7580) holds annual meetings, publishes the Journal of Educational Finance, and focuses on school finance issues and problems.

American Educational Research Association (1230 17th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, 202-223-9485) holds annual and regional meetings and focuses on the improvement of the educational process through research and its practical application. Division A of AERA specializes in educational administration, governance, politics, organization, and leadership.

National Organization on Legal Problems in Education (3601 S.W. 29th St., Suite 223, Topeka, Kan. 66614, 913-237-3550) holds annual conferences, provides information about legal issues in education, and publishes NOLPE Notes and the School Law Reporter monographs, and a yearbook.

University Council of Educational Administration (Pennsylvania State University, 212 Rackley Building, University Park, Pa. 16802, 814-863-7916) is an association for university programs of educational administration and leadership that meet selective eligibility criteria. Its annual meetings are open. UCEA maintains a national registry of positions in educational administration.