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Virginia Tech EdD Program Prepares Top-Level Leaders

Rebecca Lowry

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Dr. Rebecca Lowry, formerly superintendent of Virginia’s Westmoreland County Public Schools, earned her Ph.D in educational leadership with a specialty in Student Personnel Services from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) in 1998. An award-winning educator whose work has been distinguished by her commitment to removing barriers for students from lower-income and marginalized backgrounds, Rebecca Lowry currently serves as a school psychologist with Chicago based Cumberland Therapies placement in the greater Dayton, Ohio area.

Approximately 30 percent of Virginia school superintendents are graduates of the Virginia Tech EdD program. This program provides a 69-hour curriculum that focuses on developing the practical skills and the systematic understanding of issues that will prepare its graduates to take on high-level administrative positions in education.
The wide range of subjects covered in the Ph.D curriculum include administrative theory, instructional leadership, planning for development of facilities, and quantitative methodologies in conducting research. Students also gain a practical understanding of issues facing today’s schools, such as accreditation, educational reforms, and special education.
The school offers the program on five of its campuses, and keeps the needs of full-time working educators in mind by scheduling classes in the evenings.
In 2015, Virginia Tech’s EdD program joined the University Council for Educational Administration, a coalition of schools dedicated to furthering the prospects of educational leadership programs.