Dr. Katherine Rodela, Department Chair
Welcome Statement
High-quality leadership and management matters.
Districts, schools, and students thrive when principal leadership and management are done well!
We believe Washington State University’s land-grant mission is fundamental to our work of developing competent and skilled principals who will, in turn, improve our communities. The department offers certification and master’s degrees in administrative certification and master’s and doctoral programs in Educational Leadership.
In the Department of Educational Leadership and Sport Management, we provide our principal candidates with the knowledge and skills to be well-prepared for leading learning in diverse and complex contexts in Washington State and the world. Rigorous course work is aligned to the NELP-Building Level standards and tied to job-embedded field experience that allows the candidate to learn adaptive and contextual leadership. Additionally, our principal candidates apply these skills and knowledge to create inclusionary, safe, and academically rigorous schools.
Our nationally recognized faculty are committed to providing engaging classroom experiences that prepare principal candidates to lead schools effectively. In each program, students get hands-on training for their future careers by completing an internship and/or a research project focused on a problem of practice. These opportunities allow them to experience the workplace and apply their course learning to real-life work experiences. The WSU faculty facilitates supportive relationships with districts so that our principal candidates gain opportunities to learn the sophisticated and contextual skillsets required to meet the professional demands. Our faculty are team players.
Graduates from our department make a difference across the U.S. and the world. Alumni from our Educational Leadership programs work in school districts and higher education institutions across the state and region. Additionally, they become the Coug Nation Network of educational leaders who support each other continuously and rally new candidates who join the profession. No matter the venue, our graduates succeed at what they set out to do and make a difference!
KATHERINE C. RODELA, PH.D.
CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SPORT MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Vancouver Campus, VUB 317
14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98686
Phone: 360-546-9676
Email: katherine.rodela@wsu.edu