Penn State’s American Indian Leadership Program Awarded New Four-Year Grant to Prepare Principals

by Joe Savrock (July 2008)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State’s College of Education has received funding in excess of $960,000 to offer new graduate fellowships to American Indian and Alaska Native students who are interested in becoming school principals.

The initiative, titled Principals for Student Success (PSS), allows participants to earn a master’s degree in Educational Leadership with principalship certification. The primary purpose is to prepare American Indian and Alaska Natives, over a four-year period, to be effective school principals in schools that serve significant numbers of Indian students.

Participants will be recruited nationally. Fellows will spend two years on Penn State’s University Park campus to complete degree and certification requirements, followed by a year of induction services in the field.

The fellowships are affiliated with Penn State’s nationally recognized American Indian Leadership Program (AILP), under the direction of John Tippeconnic, professor of educational leadership. Susan Faircloth, assistant professor of educational leadership, will serve as co-director of the project. The AILP will collaborate with Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, Kan., in the recruitment, induction, and placement of the fellows.

Leadership development is a constant focus of the program. In addition to taking course work, fellows will attend seminars and participate in internships that prepare them to be highly effective school principals. Induction activities during the fourth year are designed to give the fellows a successful transition from the Penn State academic program to principalship roles.

The fellowship program is funded by the Office of Indian Education, an office of the U.S. Department of Education.

Applications are now being accepted for the fall 2009 semester. The fellowships include a monthly stipend of $1,675, as well as allowances for dependency support, tuition, textbooks, relocation, and health insurance.

For more information, contact Dr. John Tippeconnic, American Indian Leadership Program, Suite 300 Rackley Building, University Park, PA 16802 (phone 814-863-1626; e-mail jwt7@psu.edu or Dr. Susan Faircloth at 814-863-3775; e-mail scf2@psu.edu.