joseph F. Murphy is the Frank W. Mayborn Chair and associate dean at Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. He has also been a faculty member at the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University where he was the William Ray Flesher Professor of Education. In the public schools he has served as an administrator at the school district and state levels including an appointment as the executive assistant to the chief deputy superintendent of public instruction in California. His most recent appointment was as the founding president of the Ohio Principals Leadership Academy. At the university level he has served as department chair Karen Seashore Louis is the Rodney Wallace Professor of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Her area of expertise includes improvement in K–12 leadership and policy over the last 30 years particularly in urban secondary schools. Louis also conducts research on organizational changes within higher education with particular attention to faculty roles and on international comparative policy in educational reform. A past president of Division A of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) she is a widely published author in the field. Recent books include Organizing for School Change Leadership for Change and School Improvement: International Perspectives Handbook of Educational Administration Second Edition and Organizational Learning in Schools. Louis earned a bachelor's degree in History from Swarthmore College and a doctorate in sociology from Columbia University.
This volume examines how the work of principals is being reshaped by transformational reform measures, as well as how the principals themselves are shaping initiatives. The authors explore the challenges and possiblities for principals in restructuring schools, and analyze nine case studies which highlight the changing role of the principal.
