Indiana State University Newsroom

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has announced that Indiana State and Indiana universities will become part of an expanded network of institutions offering the Woodrow Wilson MBA Fellowship in Education Leadership. The University of Indianapolis launched the effort in Indiana in November 2013.

Designed to improve the preparation of principals and superintendents serving traditional public schools and charter schools, the fellowship provides aspiring education leaders with a rigorous business-based academic program, a year-long clinical experience, and three years of mentoring.

The expansion is the result of a $14.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment. The funds are being used both to extend the program at UIndy and to begin similar programs at Indiana and Indiana State, both of which were selected as part of an exhaustive selection process open to universities throughout Indiana.

"For our children to succeed, they need excellent teachers in their classrooms. And for those teachers to succeed, they need exemplary educators leading their schools and districts," said Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. "The Woodrow Wilson Foundation is honored to have IU and ISU as part of its MBA Fellowship network. Both institutions are educating Indiana's next generation of citizens. Through the MBA Fellowship, they, along with UIndy, will set a new standard for principal and superintendent education across the nation. None of this would be possible without the generous support of Lilly Endowment."

The overarching goal of the fellowship is to increase the quality and relevance of principal and superintendent education.

A national study by Levine makes clear that school leaders play an important role in student achievement, yet many current Masters of Education and Education Doctorate programs need greater selectivity and rigor. The Woodrow Wilson MBA fellowship program-one of a handful of education MBA programs nationwide and the only one with its blend of resources and clinical work-is designed as a new model of principal and superintendent preparation.

The program seeks to prepare education leaders to drive innovation, expand the use of analytics and evidence-based practices, raise student performance to international standards, and improve the quality of school systems and teaching over time. The intensive, highly selective program blends an education-based business curriculum with clinical experience in schools, corporations and nonprofits and gives fellows exposure to innovative schools.

"Indiana State University is excited to be part of this program," said Jack Maynard, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. "The university has a rich tradition of preparing educational leaders for the state and a nationally ranked MBA program. The opportunity for the faculty of the Scott College of Business and the Bayh College of Education to work together to prepare education leaders has the potential to transform the preparation of school leaders in Indiana and across the nation. We look forward to working with the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and the other University partners in this effort."

Maynard will serve as director of the MBA in Education program at Indiana State after completing his term as interim provost on June 30.

Idalene "Idie" Kesner, dean of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, said IU is also proud and excited to be a part of the program.

"We have been working with the IU School of Education the last couple of years with our Effective Leaders Academy, which is based on the philosophy of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation that business training can enhance the preparation of today's educators. This is a wonderful next step in sharing transferrable business strategies and working to improve education for Indiana's future leaders," said Kesner, also the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management at the Kelley School.

In addition to the Woodrow Wilson MBA programs in Indiana, the Foundation also offers its Woodrow Wilson MBA Fellowship in New Mexico and Wisconsin.

The fellowship draws on the foundation's experience with the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, which recruits candidates to teach science, technology, engineering, and math in high-need schools and also works to transform teacher education. The endowment was the primary funder of the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship in Indiana, the nation's first such fellowship. Launched in 2007 with Lilly Endowment funding that would eventually total more than $15 million, the Teaching Fellowship is now funded through the state of Indiana. The Teaching Fellowship is also offered in Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio.

More information about the Indiana MBA Fellowship in Education Leadership is at http://woodrow.org/fellowships/ww-ed-mba

Photo: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/Headshot-Proofs/IP-Portrait-Proofs/Maynard-Jack/i-QQBCP9D/0/X3/09_19_11_Maynard_Jack-4251-X3.jpg - Jack Maynard, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Indiana State University, will direct the MBA in education program at Indiana State.

Media contacts: Patrick Riccards, The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, 703-298-8283 or riccards@woodrow.org; Dave Taylor, media relations director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu