Faculty Research Interests and Career Highlights
Dr. Susan Everson
Susan Everson's research interests include leadership, organizational change, and higher education program development. Dr. Everson spent twenty years directing research at Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) managing research and development programs supporting educational improvement, restructuring, and reform, including planning, plan implementation, evaluation, leadership, and organizational change.
Dr. Donna Jahnke
Donna Jahnke's research interests include program review of schools and districts, women in school superintendency, and transformational leadership. Dr. Jahnke spent over twenty years in the Ladue, Missouri School District as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent.
Dr. John James
John James research interests include Catholic school administration, human resources, and faith formation initiatives in Catholic schools. Dr. James is the director of the Institute for Catholic Education at Saint Louis University and has established the Billiken Teacher Corps and graduate education programs in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Dr. Dennis Lea
Dennis Lea's research interests include planning and development of educational facilities to improve student learning outcomes and school finance issues related to debt management. Dr. Lea served as a school superintendent in the Fulton, Ralls County R-II, and Valley Park School Districts. In 2004 the Missouri Association of School Administrators named Dr. Lea Superintendent of the Year for the state of Missouri.
Dr. Sally Beth Lyon
Sally Beth Lyon's research interests include educational equity and building inclusive environments in schools and communities. Dr. Lyon served as an assistant principal at Gentry Middle School and as director of research, assessment, and accountability for the Columbia, Missouri School District. She became chief academic officer in 2007, which put her in charge of overseeing the district's curriculum, assessments, counseling, and student support programs.
Dr. Karen Tichy
Karen Tichy's research interests include Catholic education, program development and evaluation, school culture and change, and academic excellence. Dr. Tichy served as an assistant principal at Kennedy High School and St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy High School. She held numerous roles at the St. Louis Archdiocesan Office for Catholic Education including Associate Superintendent for Instruction and Special Education, Associate Superintendent for Instruction, and Director of Secondary Education.
Dr. Jody Wood
Jo Nell (Jody) Wood's research interests include educational leadership facets aligned to curriculum, instruction, professional development, literacy, and school improvement and change. These areas include teacher evaluation, lesson design, curriculum mapping, and instructional improvement through cooperative learning, differentiated instruction, and SIOP. Dr. Wood is the Program Director for Educational Leadership in the School of Education.