LARS G. BJORK, Ph.D., University of New Mexico

Dr. Lars G. Björk (vita in PDF) joined the faculty in January, 1996, coming to the University from Georgia Southern University where he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Technology and Research, and Director of the Leadership Training Consortium.

Dr. Björk is a Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky. In addition, he serves as the Co-Director of the University Council for Educational Administration’s Center for the Study of the Superintendency with the University of Minnesota. Dr. Björk has served as a Senior Associate Editor of Educational Administration Quarterly and is presently a member of the Editorial Boards of The South African Journal of Education, Journal of Thought, and the Journal of School Public Relations. In addition he serves as a peer reviewer for The Journal of Research on Leadership Education, Journal of School Leadership, Journal of Research on Leadership Education, and  Educational Management Administration and Leadership.  

He has served as guest editor for special issues including: Education and Urban Society (1993), “Minorities in Higher Education”; Educational Administration Quarterly (2000) “Women in the Superintendency”; and, The Journal of School Leadership (2003), “The Superintendent Shortage: Myth and Reality”. He has co-edited several books including Higher Education Research and Public Policy (1988), Minorities in Higher Education (1994), and The New Superintendency: Advances in Research and Theories of School Management and Educational Policy (2001), and School District Superintendents: Role Expectations, Professional Preparation, Development and Licensing (2005).

Dr. Björk has also co-authored, The Study of the American Superintendency 2000: A look at the Superintendent of Education in the New Millennium (2000, with T. Glass and C.C. Brunner), The Superintendent as CEO: Standards-based Performance (in press-with J. Hoyle, T. Glass & L. Collier) as well as co-authored chapters several chapters on leadership and politics (8 & 12) with Theodore Kowalski in his book The School Superintendent: Theory, Practice, and Cases (2005).

Dr. Björk holds Ph.D. and an Ed.S. in Educational Administration, an M.Ed. in Public Administration, an M.Ed. in Secondary Education, and a B. A. in Education from the University of New Mexico. He served on the faculties of the University of New Mexico, University of South Carolina and Georgia Southern University. His areas of academic interest and expertise include organizational change, leadership, school reform, professional preparation, school-university collaboration, organizational theory, micropolitics, and qualitative research methodology.

In addition, he served as the Executive Assistant to the Director of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Regional Director for University Research Corporation, and as a senior staff member of Westinghouse Learning Corporation. He has served as a consultant to Universities in the United States, Europe, and Asia, school districts, state governments, National Associations, foundations and international education agencies. He has been a member of advisory, coordinating committees, and task forces in the United States Department of Education and presented keynote addresses at international conferences on educational leadership.

Courses taught include:

EDL 632 (Word), Leading Organizational Change
EDL 701, Leadership in Educational Organizations I
EDL 702, Leadership in Educational Organizations II
EDL 705, International Perspectives on Educational Reform

Department of Educational Leadership Studies

Updated on October 24, 2007 14:37 by the Webmaster - Content by Dr. Lars Bjork