CANYON, Texas — Educational and community leaders from around the nation have been selected for the second class of West Texas A&M University’s Rural Community Leaders Fellowship.

The RCL Fellowship—a program of the educational leadership doctoral program of WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences—is an opportunity to identify and recognize particularly talented and service-oriented rural leaders after their dedication and effectiveness has been proven in the field.

“In its second year, the RCL fellows class includes outstanding superintendents and college presidents from across the country. We also have recruited several accomplished rural leaders from the fields of philanthropy and rural law enforcement, two areas of crucial need within small communities around the country,” said Dr. Shanna Peeples, WT’s Dr. John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education and co-creator, with Dr. Brad Johnson, of the RCL Fellowship.

“This broadening of the RCL fellows brings additional perspectives to the research we conduct,” Peeples continued.

An appointment gives educators the opportunity to pass on their hard-won wisdom to the next generation of rural leaders through collaboration with doctoral students and other fellows. This professional partnership will deepen the understanding of the doctoral faculty regarding rural communities, said Johnson, WT’s newly named Lanna and Bob Hatton Professor of Rural Community Leadership.

“In the first year of the fellowship we focused on laying the groundwork for rural research by selecting a research model to guide our work,” Johnson said. “Further, we began focusing on the importance of partnerships within and across rural communities. Our fellows were instrumental in advising our doctoral faculty about ways to strengthen the educational experience for our students.”

During their one-year appointment, RCL fellows are connected with the WT educational leadership program in ways that further the effectiveness of future rural leaders through research, education and practice.

They participate in a summit in which they will respond to a national rural research agenda with six focal areas of health and wellness; partnerships and community relationships; spatial and educational equity; teacher and leader preparation, recruitment and retention; college and career pathways; and policy and funding.

The summit will gather and clarify these topics as they apply to rural regions. This work will culminate in a report that will share the practical strategies, areas of research and implications for practice for implementing effective responses to the most critical needs.

The 2024 summit is scheduled for March 6 and 7 in Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center, 720 S. Tyler St.

Fellows receive an honorarium, travel expenses to the RCL Summit, recognition in published reports and the University website, and a certificate of acknowledgment.

The 2024 cohort of fellows were nominated in the fall and selected in January.

Nominees for the next class of fellows are being accepted now. Nominees should have 10 or more years in leadership positions, including five or more years in a single, rural community, and they should be nominated by another rural leader. Rural-serving superintendents and college/university presidents are always eligible, and rural hospital CEOs and heads of rural-focused nonprofit organizations may be included when the research topic might be enhanced by their inclusion.

The 2024 class of fellows include (bios attached):

• Dr. Kristin N. Brown, superintendent of Lake Dallas Independent School District;
• Dr. Michelle DeWitt, superintendent of Lyford Consolidated Independent School District;
• Dr. Kelty Garbee, executive director of Texas Rural Funders;
• Craig Harper, executive director of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators;
• Bill Helwig, Yoakum County criminal district attorney;
• Dr. Dusty R. Johnston, president of Vernon College;
• Dr. Gerri M. Maxwell, owner of Gerico Educational Services and retired professor and chair of educational leadership at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi;
• Dr. John O’Connor, superintendent of Forestville (New York) Central School District;
• Dr. Robin Satterwhite, president of South Plains College; and
• Kevin Wingard, superintendent of Milford (Nebraska) Public Schools.

WT’s fully online Ed.D. degree program was launched in 2018, preparing educational leaders for rural schools and those in higher education and educational organizations.

The Rural Community Leaders Fellowship is one way in which WT excels as a Regional Research University, the primary goal of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.

Photo: Dr. Shanna Peeples, WT’s Dr. John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education, leads discussion at the 2023 Rural Community Leaders Fellowship Summit. The 2024 edition will be held March 6 and 7.