Dr. Loyce Caruthers, Chair and Professor of Educational Leadership, Policy and Foundations at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, teaches courses to prepare prospective school administrators for school leadership and doctoral students to conduct qualitative research. She also serves as Coordinator of the Ed.D. in the pk-12 Education Administration Program. As a past pk-12 teacher and administrator in an urban district, Loyce’ s research involves the use of voice through narrative and critical race theory for exploring phenomena related to race, class, gender and other differences that may influence educators’ beliefs and perceptions, and ultimately their work in schools. Recent publications include a co-authored book, Great Expectations: What Kids Want from Our Urban Public Schools with a forward by Gloria Ladson-Billings. Her manuscripts on voice have appeared in the International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, Journal of Black Studies, The Journal of Negro Education, American Educational History Journal, Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, and Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research. Loyce serves on the REL-Central Governing Board Member and Editorial Boards of the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research and Educational Studies: A Journal of the American Educational Studies Association. While Loyce is heavily engaged in scholarship, her favorite moments are helping to mentor young people as school leaders and social justice advocates. She has been nominated by her colleagues and students for Outstanding Faculty Award (Interdisciplinary Doctoral Student Council and Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award. At the community level, she was the recipient of the Grady Ray Brown Spirit Award for Leadership Excellence and worked for a number of years to incorporate 4H After School Programming in Kansas City Public housing.
Dr. Jennifer Friend is currently the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services and Professor of Education at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. She has 25 years of experience in higher education and K-12 schools. Dr. Friend’s research focuses on educational leadership and issues of social justice in U.S. public education. She uses advanced technologies and digital video production techniques grounded in post-qualitative and arts-based inquiry to illuminate existing inequities in education. She is the co-author of the book, Great Expectations: What Kids Want from Our Urban Public Schools and Co-Editor of the book, Principal 2.0: Technology and Educational Leadership. Recent publications also have appeared in the open access International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research (IJLTER), the Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research(JULTR), the Journal of Research in Leadership Education (JRLE), and Educational Studies.
Dr. Candace Schlein is an Associate Professor of Curriculum Studies in the Division of Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is the Co-Editor of A Reader of Narrative and Critical Lenses on Intercultural Teaching and Learning (Information Age, In press). She serves as Conference Historian for Division B Curriculum Studies of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and as Conference Historian for the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum (AATC). She has also been involved in funded research on exemplary urban educators in Kansas City schools. Her work focuses on experiential curriculum; intercultural teaching and learning; diversity; and narrative inquiry. Her contribution to these fields has been recognized with membership to Professors of Curriculum of AERA, the Early Career Award of the Narrative Research Special Interest Group of AERA, and the Francis P. Hunkins AATC Distinguished Article Award in Teaching.
Dr. Brad Poos is currently the Associate Director in the Institute for Urban Education (IUE). As Associate Director, Dr. Poos is responsible for teacher pathway programs, community partnerships and engagement, and student support. Dr. Poos has experience in both k-12 and higher education. Having started his career in education as a middle and high school social studies teacher, Dr. Poos then moved into school counseling. Dr. Poos focuses his research on issues related to the historical and social context of schooling. In particular, Dr. Poos is interested in the history of urban education, urban teacher preparation, social justice education, and diversity and educational equity. Dr. Poos has written and published broadly in these areas and has presented his work around the country. Recent publications include articles in Multicultural Perspectives, Urban Education, and the American Education Educational History Journal.