Convention Theme

Renewing Our Engagement: Leading Schools and Communities with Justice and Joy

The 38^th annual UCEA Convention will be held November 20–23, 2024 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles, California. The purpose of the 2024 UCEA Convention is to engage participants in discussions about research, policy, practice, and preparation in the field of education with a focus on the need for and promise of leading schools and communities with justice and joy. The 2024 Convention Planning Committee includes Karen Stansberry Beard (Ohio State University), Rebecca Cheung (University of California, Berkeley), Matthew Militello (East Carolina University), Nathaniel Stewart (University of Minnesota Twin Cities), and Karl Gildner (UCEA Events Manager).

Convention Planning Committee

Karen Beard

Ohio State University

Biography

Karen Beard

Ohio State University

Karen Stansberry Beard, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Administration and an Educational Policy affiliate. She teaches Positive Psychology in Educational Administration, Ethics, The Social and Political Context of Education, and School and Community Relations. Karen’s research focuses on educational administration with the intentional exploration of positive psychology constructs (engagement and well-being) relative to organizational leadership and policy implementation supportive of cross-cultural understanding and achievement gap reduction. African-American and Latinx student achievement and civil rights legislation are central to her interests. These foci undergird her publications as well as her presentation activities across the United States and internationally. She is one of the first scholars to introduce Positive Psychology into the work of educational administration and policy implementation and the first known scholar to introduce flow theory into the Educational Administration literature. For this work, Karen has received multiple teaching, research, and service accolades.

Rebecca Cheung

University of California, Berkeley

Biography

Rebecca Cheung

University of California, Berkeley

Rebecca Cheung is the Assistant Dean of Berkeley School of Education's Leadership Development programs. She also serves as the Principal Investigator and Director for the 21st Century School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) State Center. Funded by the state, 21CSLA is dedicated to the professional learning and support of California’s educational leaders—teacher, site, and district—to create more equitable learning environments that ultimately improve success for underserved students. Dr. Cheung’s research focuses on issues of leadership preparation and development, especially related to increasing capacity to lead for equity and social justice that results in creating more inclusive and effective schooling.

Matt Militello

East Carolina University

Biography

Matt Militello

East Carolina University

Dr. Matthew Militello is the Wells Fargo Distinguished Professor in Educational Leadership at East Carolina University. He has held faculty positions at North Carolina State University (2008- 2014) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2005-2008). Prior to his academic career, Militello was a middle and high public school teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Michigan (1992-2003). Militello has more than 60 publications including five books. Militello has received funding to conduct research from the College Board, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Xian Normal University, and a multi-million-dollar Race to the Top grant to train school leaders in Northeast North Carolina. Most recently, Militello was the principal investigator on a $1 million National Science Foundation grant focused on computational thinking in middle school art and music, as well as a $6.6 million U.S. Department of Education Supporting Effective Educator Development grant focused on a networked improvement community of school leaders understanding, observations, and conversations with math and science teachers (education.ecu.edu/ProjectI4). He is currently a Co-PI on a $9 million grant (U.S. Department of Education Teacher Quality Partnership) focused on fortifying the pipeline of educators in rural NE North Carolina. He is the founding director of an innovative Ed.D. degree for ECU based in Bangkok, Thailand (education.ecu.edu/IntEdD). He earned his undergraduate teaching degree from the University of Michigan (1992) and his Master’s (1996) and Ph.D. (2004) in Educational Administration from Michigan State University. Matt is the father of four boys.

Nathaniel Stewart

University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Biography

Nathaniel Stewart

University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Nathaniel (Nate) D. Stewart is a former middle school science teacher, Black liberatory pedagogist, and assistant professor of education, policy, and leadership. His knowledge-creation activities explore Black, justice-oriented, and K-12 educators’ unique roles as policy activists and Black student agency shepherds. His inquiry is guided by critical quantification, anti-colonial epistemologies, and Black Critical Theory, purposed to bolster the political and pedagogical activities of Black educators, school leaders, and their allies.

Registration

Registration will open in early June.

Call for Proposals

Go to the call for proposals page Here.

Hotel

Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles

Reservations will be available in April.